Toward Jerusalem
Mokarzel, Salloum A.
662 THE COMMONWEAL October 3 ~ , I929 TOWARD JERUSALEM By SALLOUM A. MOKARZEL N MY travels in Syria I had counted on making my visit to Jerusalem the supreme goal of my ex-...
...I had seen no real indications of any disturbance thus far, and could not conceive of any reason for retracing our course...
...I could see that the governor held views compatible with his office...
...The officer in charge had strict orders, he said, to let no one pass...
...On the way we were stopped by an automobile coming from the opposite direction...
...Less than an hour later we had reached Kafar Cana, the same Cana of the Gospels where Christ transformed the water into wine...
...Engaged at the same task was a troop train headed in the opposite direction...
...At Cook's they looked worried over the situation...
...And the Sea of Galilee is no peaceful little body of water...
...In this my Syrian driver concurred as he frequently conducted tourists in Palestine in winter...
...My own driver began to falter...
...She is inciting one faction against another to weaken both sides and strengthen her hold on the country...
...We also saw several soldiers and policemen...
...In the morning we learned that in the Jewish colony of Mount Carmel, the mountain suburb of Haifa, one Jew had been killed and three had been wounded...
...But I was wearing a hat which constituted an element of danger...
...She is now performing in Palestine the r61e she played in India...
...The editors of The Commonweal are glad to say that Mr...
...Still I would not give up...
...Not a single tree or shrub is to be seen for miles...
...Couldn't you have retained it and worked it in the same manner as they are now doing so profitably...
...We then shifted the conversation to general topics, at which the governor seemed visibly relieved...
...The natural scenery at sunset was wondrous...
...For countless generations we had been tenants working the land for the benefit of the masters...
...We discussed the merits of the Zionist ambition to settle Palestine as a national home...
...We have naught to do but break stones," he complained...
...So early on the morning of August 24 we hastened to leave Tiberias after but a brief visit to its famous thermal baths and the old quarter of the town...
...This argument had its effect...
...We were rapidly gaining the top of the hill of Hatteen, scene of the decisive battle between Moslems and Crusaders which ended the occupation of the Holy Land by Christian Europe...
...we were allowed to proceed to Janin, a Moslem village lying some twenty-five kilometers further south on the road which leads to Jerusalem...
...Everyone wearing a hat was taken for a Jew and set upon...
...The driver offered his advice for "the generous face of Allah...
...Yes, sir...
...I finally decided it was impossible to continue to Jerusalem and that I would take my chances getting to Haifa in my hat...
...This was his explanation : "It was not we who sold to the Jews...
...Not that we do not wish to let you pass, but we simply think the roads are not sufficiently safe for us to take such risks...
...He received me courteously, expressing his regret at the situation...
...We have been informed about you and would wish to show you all hospitality...
...We had not proceeded a hundred and fifty feet beyond the mosque when a crowd motioned frantically to us and ordered us to turn back and report to the authorities...
...that I was a Syrian publisher in America ; that I had been honored and feasted everywhere I went in Syria and Lebanon, and extended exceptional official courtesies by the authorities...
...It is situated on a gently sloping hill at a short distance from ~he vast and fertile plain known as Marj Ibn Amer...
...Twice during my stay at the Governor's office he was called on the telephone apparently from headquarters in Jerusalem...
...His people, he said, would be safer with any power than with England...
...I asked a tommy who was peering curiously out of the window...
...Meanwhile, a dapper young man in a silk Jombaz and a new tarboush, who sported a whip as his only weapon, was earnestly admonishing my driver not to consent to drive me to Jerusalem if he were offered a hundred pounds...
...When the sale was consummated to the Jews we were reduced to the necessity of breaking stones on the roadway...
...Yes, sir, your orders shall be strictly carried out...
...It is due to this condition of insecurity that the immense Syrian plains present the appearance of desert wastes, especially after harvest time...
...We would loath to see any harm befall you," he began...
...The whole of the Marj plain was owned by Sursuq of Beirut who was tempted by the high price offered, and sold, and drove us out of employment...
...On this assurance we planned to cover the distance of I75 kilometers from Tiberias to Jerusalem in five hours at the most...
...There was unmistakable determination on the part of the crowd, however, that I see the authorities first...
...The concern of the Arabs is to earn a living in the manner obtaining in their country from time immemorial...
...But why did you sell your land to the Jews...
...At Gaza our train stopped to take on water...
...I was directed to the office of the chief of police...
...What could we earn to invest in the price of land when the whole plain was held as a single unit and would not be parceled October 3 ~ , I929 THE COMMONWEAL 663 out in small 10ts...
...If his identity were discovered, it would prove dangerous for us both...
...Being a native and wearing a tarboush, he was asked about my identity and my business and he explained to them in words to which fear lent added eloquence that I was a friendly Christian traveling about the country to study conditions...
...Moslem-Jewish riots had taken place in Jerusalem and other cities of Palestine, and he was being transferred from the comparatively quiet sections of the border to more exposed interior localities...
...At the station I was surprised to see a native soldier approach me with a familiar greeting...
...It was unsafe to proceed any farther, he said...
...The peasants would not waste their efforts planting trees which took time to give fruit and which they felt they had to plant for the benefit of others...
...England never wished the Jews well...
...they had not received mail from Jerusalem for three days, and telephonic communications were interrupted...
...Some were waving sticks and showed by their gestures and general demeanor that they did not approve of the liberty we were taking...
...The crowds that gathered from neighboring towns were induced to return to their homes today...
...I gathered that feeling ran as high against the landowners as against the Jews...
...They had been stopped before reaching Janin and made to return...
...I came across the same situation in northern Syria and in Houran and the Druse Mountain...
...True, he was wearing a tarboush, which was in itself assurance of safety...
...An educated Palestinian Christian with whom I was sitting on the veranda of our hotel told me that many among them were peasants from neighboring villages who had come to take part in a proposed demonstration...
...We picked him up at A1Ja'oune and dropped him off at Tiberias...
...Large numbers of Arabs were flocking to the city from neighboring towns and were intent on dealing decisively with the unreasonable ambitions of the Jews...
...When I descended to where the crowd remained watching me and reported the situation, a young fellow consented to lead me to the office of the governor of the district...
...He proved to be not only a versatile entertainer but a purveyor of many bits of unique and delightful information...
...One of the mob was about to plunge a knife into his prostrate body when he was recognized by a native Moslem and spared...
...We stopped to question one as to general conditions in that section...
...The Tiger explained that in times of storm it is capable of raising waves that wash the roadway which skirts it even at places twenty or thirty feet high...
...There was a look of deep anguish in the man's eyes as he grasped the meaning of my question...
...The bleak hills took on a rich reddish tinge which was accentuated by the gathering darkness on the water...
...Proceeding southward through beautiful Lebanon, I had consistently resisted the pressure of friends to tarry longer with them and was making rapidly for the northern border No doubt the recent disturbances in Palestine will be remembered [or a long time to come as an indication of social feeling in the near East, and as a commentary upon the potential ineffectiveness of mandates through which nationalism comes to grips with imperial internationalism...
...Upon leaving the governor's office, I found that my chauffeur had proved a most able press agent...
...They immediately swarmed around our car for information...
...We could not, or did not think of saving...
...I was able to prevail upon him only when I explained that, compared to him, I ran a double danger...
...I later learned that a young Christian in Jerusalem, because of his wearing a hat, was attacked by a mob and badly beaten...
...That night the authorities ordered all theatres and public places closed...
...The military were helpless and the roads were unsafe...
...It bore the first military contingent sent from Egypt to Palestine...
...Yes, sir...
...Thanks to the representations of my two companions--a prominent native of Jedaidat recently returned from the United States, and an influential newspaper publisher of Beirut--the border inspection at the Lebanese post of departure and the Palestinian post of entry (al-Mutellat) was quickly dispatched...
...England is the instigator of all these troubles...
...Then the dapper young man began to deal out some of his advice to me...
...Toward evening large crowds began to collect in groups in the principal streets...
...Representing myself as an American citizen going to Jerusalem on urgent business, I protested that the general orders upon which the officer was acting did not apply to me and insisted upon seeing someone of higher authority...
...The night of August 2 3 was spent in a comfortable hotel in Tiberias conducted by a German...
...I spoke to them in Arabic, saying that I was an American citizen compelled to report to the American consul in Jerusalem...
...Our district is now comparatively quiet," was the gist of his replies...
...He explained that although he was a Moslem, he was a Shiite whom the Sunnite Moslems hated even more than they did the Jews...
...At the junction of Ludd, many refugees boarded the train bound for Egypt...
...So back we went to report to the authorities...
...I would be only too willing to give you an escort if I could but spare a single soldier...
...The country now needs co6peration for its full development, and it is regrettable that the spirit of strife should be so rampant as to retard the progress of Palestine materially...
...Although suppressed and the authorities had the situation well in hand...
...The driver was a native but the occupants appeared to be American or English missionaries: a seriousmiened, middle-aged gentleman riding with two boys in the back seat and a spectacled lady sharing the front seat with the driver...
...He begged to turn, but I refused...
...I also felt some concern, as it was plain from the action of the crowd that they were not friendly...
...They are now engaged in the gathering of ther sumsum crops...
...But, though the governor was, as I learned, the mufti's cousin, he remained unrelenting...
...A night at hospitable Jedaidat Marjioun was all I would permit myself, so anxious was I to conserve my time for a more prolonged stay in the Holy City...
...As reaching Jerusalem was out of the question, I decided to leave the next day for Egypt...
...The following record of a personal experience is, we feel, doubly interesting...
...I then produced a letter of introduction which I carried to Haj Ameen Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem and leader of the Arab movement in Palestine, from one of his personal friends in America...
...If I should encounter any interference on the 664 THE COMMONWEAL October 3 o, I929 way, I felt sure I could explain the situation to the satisfaction of the Moslem population...
...On the main highway skirting the town was a gang of Arab workmen breaking stones...
...A certain German Jew from Jaffa was outspoken in his condemnation of the English...
...At A1-Afoule, the next military post, there was gathered a large number of Jews from Balfouriat...
...Anticipating trouble at Half a, the authorities had ordered every man they could spare from outlying districts to the scene of possible disturbance...
...Australians...
...At the'military post of AIJa'oune a thorough search of the car was made and our identity ascertained...
...He was our friend of yesterday, the Roaming Tiger...
...The Governor gave me the reason for not entertaining such an argument: "You will not be given the opportunity to explain...
...We entered Haifa shortly after noon...
...Many Zionist colonies flourish there, principal among them Balfouriat, named after Lord Balfour in recognition for his having given Palestine to the Jews as a national homeland...
...All roads leading to Jerusalem were barred, as the disturbances in the city had been renewed...
...The Jews first took possession of it by right of conquest...
...Not even for a thousand," replied the driver, overjoyed at his feeling of assurance that his argument would prevail...
...I said that once in Palestine I had to report to the American consul in Jerusalem and would take upon myself the risk of reaching him...
...The mob will not listen to reason and even were I to give you a letter of recommendation there is the grave danger that you will not have a chance to produce it...
...We had not proceeded far when we met another train loaded with artillery and ammunition...
...Consequently it was a different crowd around my automobile when I emerged from the governor's office...
...But the Chief of Police was not to be found...
...Mokarzel has been long and favorably known to them.--The Editors...
...It has been written by a competent American-Syrian journalist, and it is based on first-hand observation...
...It was the landowners...
...It was Saturday and Balfouriat was peaceful and quiet...
...Our next halt was at Nazareth which, quite in contrast with the other cities we had seen, presented an invitingly clean appearance...
...My driver did not need any argument...
...It was but ten in the morning when we reached there, and considering that it was harvest time and that the day was not a day of rest (Friday is the Moslem Sabbath) there were surprisingly large crowds in the square of the mosque at the entrance to the town...
...You will soon quiet them," I remarked, by way of encouragement...
...There was something severe and awesome about the panorama, especially when viewed in the light of its historic associations...
...They courteously opened a way to let me pass and some of them bestowed upon me approving smiles...
...Under these conditions, and ~nasmuch as we had been in occupation of it so long, we felt ourselves secure...
...At A1Cantata, the ferry town on the Suez Canal, we were informed that the British were draining Egypt of all available men to reinforce their ridiculously small force garrisoned in Palestine...
...But if you will take my advice you will discard your hat as it may cause you to be mistaken for an enemy...
...Our car tore along the road at reckless speed over the steep hills of northern Palestine and through the fertile plains of A1-Houle...
...At a mass meeting of the Jews in Jerusalem yesterday," he told me, "a telegraphic petition to the League of Nations begged that the mandate over Palestine be given either to the United States or to Italy...
...I am sure we now have the situation well in hand...
...My forces are inadequate but I anticipate no further trouble...
...It was here that a splendidly built young native officer in trim khaki uniform begged for a lift to Tiberias...
...Therein was the secret of the danger to which I had been exposed...
...The roads are all guarded and the distance between here and Afoule is under regular patrol...
...They may quiet us, for all we know," was his laconic reply...
...No, you will not be given a chance to explain your identity and your motives in the present mood of the population...
...From the outskirts of Balfouriat we pushed along rapidly to AI-Afoule...
...They seemed to have their suspicions about my motives...
...The roads are dangerous and the authorities are in no condition to guarantee anyone's safety...
...The next day we met him at Haifa...
...The country belongs to its conquerors," he said...
...The Jews have taken possession of the land and driven us out...
...On the way derisive calls of "Jew, Jew !" were hurled at us by boys and workmen on the road, but our car was speeding at too fast a pace to permit of any other interference...
...The Arabs can lay no better claim to it...
...We have strict orders," he said, "not to allow anyone to go to Jerusalem...
...We were then approaching the Sea of Galilee which lies about six hundred feet below sea level in a deep hollow surrounded by high hills...
...His name was Ta'ih Nemrmthe Roaming Tiger-and he was living up to it...
...662 THE COMMONWEAL October 3 ~ , I929 TOWARD JERUSALEM By SALLOUM A. MOKARZEL N MY travels in Syria I had counted on making my visit to Jerusalem the supreme goal of my excursions...
...No, from South Wales," he replied...
...it had accommodations for a hundred or more people, the guests on that day did not exceed four: a resident German archaeologist, a missionary and his wife from the American colony in Jerusalem visiting for a day, and I. I was told that the disturbances of the previous week in Jerusalem had been of Palestine...
Vol. 10 • October 1929 • No. 26
