CHANCELLOR, Sir John Robert (1870-1952) -- Proclamations by the British Mandatory authorities in English and Hebrew, with a reaction by the Palestine Arab Executive.

A very rare collection of wall posters showing the British and Arab reaction to the 1929 riots.

Proclamation. Jerusalem: 1 September 1929. Poster (430 x 340 mm.) Text in Hebrew. (One vertical and one horizontal creasefold, two short closed tears affecting two words expertly repaired, scattered light spotting.)
Provenance:
unidentified ink signature to recto.

The first sentence of this proclamation refers to Chancellor's recent return from the United Kingdom, and although the Shaw Commission (see proclamation of 4 September described below) exonerated Chancellor and the government's handling of the situation, there was a feeling that events might have taken a different course if he had been present in the Mandate. The poster goes on to reveal that Chancellor is suspending discussions with the Secretary of State on behalf of the Committee of the Arab executive about potential constitutional reforms, and that he will enact the changes outlined in the government's White Paper of 1928 (Cmd 3229).

MOUSA KAZIM EL-HUSSEINI, AOUNI ABDULHADI, JAMAAL EL-HUSSEINI and MOUGHANAM E. MOUGHANAM. The Palestine Arab Executive sent the following telegram to his Excellency The High Commissioner regarding his Proclamation dated 1st. Sept. 1929. Jerusalem: Beyt-Ul-Makdes Press, [n.d., but probably 2 September 1929]. Poster (443 x 282 mm.), text printed in English. (One vertical and 2 horizontal creasefolds, spotted, browned and creased, but mainly affecting verso.) This Arab reaction accuses the Jews of being armed, refutes that Jewish victims were mutilated in Hebron, but rather that Jews mutilated their Arab victims, that Jewish mobs attacked innocent Arab women and children, that British soldiers wilfully shot at murdered Arabs. The key grievance, buried in the middle of the text is that: '[the] troubles in Palestine, past and present, are directly caused by British Zionist Policy, which is aimed at annihilating the Arab Nation in its country in favour of reviving a nonexistant [sic] Jewish Nation'. The Arab Executive then calls for an impartial inquiry into the events. 'In the two previous inquiries made in similar conditions, by unbiassed [sic] British Commissions, Arabs gratefully proclaim they were relieved by having painful agonies and noble national aims unfolded. Arabs strongly believe that similar inquiry will relate to the world a more truthful story of their condition and these troubles'.

Proclamation. Jerusalem: 4 September 1929. Large poster (535 x 418 mm.), British royal coat-of-arms top-centre, text printed in English. (One vertical and one horizontal creasefold, reinforced to verso at the creasefold junction, two small closed tears affecting two words, very small marginal hole to top left-hand corner reinforced, scattered light spotting.) This announces that: a) special courts have been implemented to deal with the many arrested; b) a commission of inquiry will be initiated under Sir Walter Shaw, but will be limited only to the events of August 1929; c) the British have no intention of withdrawing from the Mandatory Palestine. Sold with a copy of Hebrew-language edition of this proclamation.

Sold with a further 4 proclamations, all in Hebrew, published from 25-28 August 1929, and a Hebrew newspaper dated 1 September 1929.

Tensions had been simmering for over a year between the Arab and Jewish populations of Palestine. The flashpoint came with a dispute over the religious status quo of the Western Wall, and ignited after Friday prayers on 23 August 1929. Chancellor, Palestine's High Commissioner 1928-1931, was on leave back in Britain when the riots erupted, which spread from Jerusalem to Hebron and Safed, leading to the deaths of 133 Jews and 110 Arabs.