Britain and the Palestine Problem • 283In the days of Samuel and his immediate successor, it looked as if Jewish-
Arab differences could be resolved. The number of Jewish olim shrank;
in 1926-1928 more Jews left Palestine than entered it. There was also a com¬
plementary relationship—ill concealed by each side's propaganda—between
settlers and natives, between Jewish technical expertise and Arab knowledge
of local conditions, and between Jewish capital and Arab labor. Wise British
administration could have moderated their differences. There were always
Jews who advocated friendly relations with Arabs, as well as Arabs who, qui¬
etly, welcomed Jewish immigration and investment; maybe they would take
the lead if both sides toned down their most extreme claims.A New Arab-Jewish Clash
These hopes were dashed by the 1929 Wailing Wall Incident. The issues
were complex. The Wailing Wall (more properly called the Western Wall) is
a remnant of the second Jewish Temple and an object of veneration to most
Jews. To some it symbolizes the hope that some day the Temple will be re¬
built and the ancient Jewish rituals revived. However, the Western Wall also
forms a part of the enclosure surrounding the historic Temple Mount or
Sacred Enclosure (Arabic: al-Haram al-Sharif) on which stand the Dome of
the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, pilgrimage centers almost as important for
Muslims as Mecca and Medina. Legally, it had been a waqf since the time of
Salah al-Din. Muslims feared that Jewish actions before the Western Wall
could lead to their pressing a claim to the Temple Mount.
In 1928 Jewish worshipers at the wall brought benches to sit on and a
screen to separate men from women. Muslims viewed this activity as an at¬
tempt by Jews to strengthen their claims to the Western Wall. These actions
violated mutually accepted rules that sought to maintain traditional prac¬
tices. Positioning the screen blocked the narrow public thoroughfare used
by the local Arab residents. Unable to persuade the Jews to take away the
benches and screen, the police removed them forcibly, causing provocative
Zionist protests. Several fights broke out between Arabs and Jews. During
the following year, these escalated into a small civil war, causing hundreds
of casualties on both sides. Arabs perpetrated massacres elsewhere in Pales¬
tine, notably Hebron, where they killed most of the Jewish inhabitants and
forced the others to leave. British police could not protect innocent civil¬
ians. When the Jews complained, Britain sent a commission of inquiry,
which later issued a report that recognized the Arabs' grievances. Then the
colonial secretary, Lord Passfield, issued a white paper blaming the Jewish
Agency and Zionist land purchases from Arabs (which had rendered some
peasants homeless) for the 1929 disturbances. The British also tightened