Jerusalem 1920: The Nebi Musa Riots and the Birth of Arab Nationalism

In April 1920, Jerusalem erupted in violence during the Nebi Musa procession — a week of clashes between Arabs and Jews that left a dozen dead and hundreds wounded. This episode walks through the tense backdrop: the waning British military administration, rising Zionist immigration, and the aftermath of the Balfour Declaration. We focus on the Nebi Musa festival itself, an annual Muslim pilgrimage to the presumed tomb of Moses near Jericho, which in 1920 became a flashpoint for political anger. We explore the role of Haj Amin al-Husseini, a young nationalist who would later become Mufti of Jerusalem; the British response under General Louis Bols and the court-martial that convicted al-Husseini in absentia; and the contrasting perspectives of the Arab Executive and the Zionist Commission. We also touch on the Haycraft Commission of Inquiry, whose report the British tried to suppress. Lucas and Luna examine how the riots transformed the political landscape, hardening communal identities and setting the stage for decades of conflict. This is a story about a religious festival turned political protest — and how the British struggled to control a city they barely understood.

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