The 1920 Nebi Musa Riots: Palestine's Bloody Passover Revisited

In April 1920, during the Nebi Musa pilgrimage festival, violent clashes erupted in Jerusalem between Palestinian Arabs and Jewish Zionists, leaving over a dozen dead and hundreds wounded. This episode revisits the immediate spark—a speech by Ze'ev Jabotinsky and accusations of Arab aggression—and explores the deeper causes: rising nationalist tensions, British military mismanagement under General Louis Bols, and the symbolic significance of the Buraq/Western Wall. We examine the role of Haj Amin al-Husseini, who later became Grand Mufti, and the aftermath including the Palin Commission's criticism of British policy. The riots are often cited as the birth of organized Jewish self-defense, with Vladimir Jabotinsky's founding of the Haganah, and as a key moment in the crystallization of Palestinian national identity. We also discuss the controversy over casualty figures—British official counts versus Arab and Jewish sources—and the long-lasting impact on intercommunal relations in Mandate Palestine.

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