Jerusalem
Absence of regular Turkish population resulted in appearance of local Arab elite, economical and political power of which was based on controlling taxation and inheriting religious offices. By the end of the Ottoman dominion members of noble Arab families of Jerusalem were appointed to high governmental and administrative offices. Rebels and invaders who emerged in the country from time to time did not even try to gain Jerusalem, which at that period of time had neither economical nor political significance. Napoleon I captured Gaza, Ramla, Lod and Jaffa in 1779 but made no single attempt to enter Jerusalem.
The Christian population of Jerusalem, which according to Ottoman tax lists, increased between 1525-1533 from 600 to 1,800 people, consisted mainly of Arabs belonging to the Syrian church and was as restricted and discriminated by the authorities as the Jews were. Because of unceasing conflicts between comparatively small Christian communities and their arguments with the dominating Syrian church over the rights to possess this or that part of the Church of the Sepulchre, the keys of it were given for keeping to one of Moslem families of the city –– a tradition remaining until this day.
In 1535, between the French King Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent a treaty was signed about capitulations, and since that time heads of the European countries and the Pope of Rome began to appeal to the kings of France in all the cases when interests of the Christians of Palestine needed to be protected and Christian Holy places needed to be guarded, first of all –– in Jerusalem. Christian pilgrims who arrived to Jerusalem, both Catholics and Protestants, were under protection of the Franciscan Order. Only in XIX century, Orthodox pilgrims from Russia began to arrive to Jerusalem (their number being very insignificant).
Favorable attitude of Suleiman the Magnificent towards Jews helped a revival of Jewish spiritual life in Eretz Israel as soon as in XVI century. But because of hard economical situation of the Jewish population of Jerusalem counting up to 1,000 people Safed became the Jewish religious center for a period of time; outstanding teachers of Law and mystics concentrated there, and the majority of Jewish immigrants who arrived in the country settled down in Safed. By the end of XVI century the Jewish community of Safed declined, and the role of the religious center once again passed to Jerusalem.
Activity of the main Rabbi of Egypt Batsalel Ashkenazi (around 1520 –– between 1591-1594), who became in 1587 the main rabbi of the city and reorganized Jerusalem’s community and took measures for improvement of its material situation, played a special role in this process. Jewish immigrants from Turkey, North Africa, Italy and Western Europe began to settle in Jerusalem. In XVII century, spiritual flourishing of Jerusalem, which took Safed’s place as the center of the Cabbalists, continued. By the end of XVII century there were around 1,200 Jews in Jerusalem. Since this number exceeded the quota established by the Turks, the community had to appease the authorities with huge bribes. For the covering of these and other extraordinary expenses the community sent special emissaries to gather means among the Jews of galut. This tradition that had been existing for a long time even before that by then became a well organized and permanent activity. Among the emissaries were outstanding rabbies, knowledgeable in social activities. Sabbatai Tsvi was one of them.
Sabbathian activity of 1650s-1660s did not manage to attract a big number of supporters in Eretz Israel, in particular, in Jerusalem. But Sabbathian unrest did not calm down soon. In 1700, a group of Sabbatians (more than 500 people) from Poland and other European countries headed by rabbi Yehuda Hasid (Segul) Ha-levi and rabbi Haim Malch (between 1650 or 1660 –– 1716-1717) appeared in Jerusalem. It was the first organized migration of a significant group of Ashkenazi to Eretz Israel.
The newcomers purchased a piece of land in the city where they built a synagogue. But quick death of Rabbi Yehuda and conflicts between moderate and radical supporters of the movement resulted in Sabbatian communities’ collapse; a part of its members returned to Europe, and Ashkenazi community of Jerusalem that counted up to a sixth part of the Jewish population of the city in 1700, was forced to bear payment of a heavy tax that the Turkish ruler of Jerusalem laid upon the corporate possessions of the Sabbatians. For this goal the Ashkenazi had to borrow a significant amount from Arab moneylenders; however, after several years they found themselves not able to pay annual interest of the debt.
In 1720, a crowd of Arabs headed by the creditors-moneylenders broke into the synagogue built on the lot purchased by the Sabbatians, burned the scrolls of the Torah, destroyed the synagogue and captured the very lot that remained in the hands of Arabs until 1816. The Ashkenazi community almost completely ceased to be and revived only in the beginning of XIX century. After that the few Ashkenazi left in Jerusalem did not dare to show up on the streets of the city dressed in their traditional clothing, and before leaving the house put on the clothes common among the sefards.
In XVIII century, the leaders of the Jewish community of Istanbul took under their patronage the Jerusalem’s community and committed themselves to cover its debts and to put its financial affairs in order. Committee of commissars of Constantinople was created; because of its activities economical situation of the Jerusalem’s community improved. Jews from the countries of dispersion once again began to arrive in Jerusalem; Yeshivas were founded, for the maintenance of which means from the Jews of galut were sent. However, this flourishing did not last long, and at the end of the century the number of Jewish population of Jerusalem began to decrease. Many of the Jews who moved to Jerusalem, most likely, left the country because of turmoils and frequent epidemics. In the last years of XVIII century, there were less than 5,000 Jews. In the first half of XIX century, Jerusalem was twice (in 1824 and 1834) seized by rebellious Arab fellahs who, however, did not do any serious damage to the Jewish community.
In 1835, Ibrahim Pasha, a son and vicegerent of Egyptian ruler Muhammad-Ali in Palestine allowed the Jewish community in Jerusalem to rebuild four old synagogues. In the next year Muhammad-Ali in response to vigorous intercession of the European countries who strived to increase influence in the region through their Jewish subjects cancelled limitations to immigration to Jerusalem from Eastern Europe. A devastating earthquake in Safed (1837) and tumults in the north of the country in 1840s caused many Jews of Galilee to move to Jerusalem, the Jewish community of which from the middle of XIX century became the biggest in Eretz Israel.
The most influential group in the city at that period was prushym –– followers of Vilensky Geon. They arrived to Eretz Israel in 1808-1810 and settled down in Galilee but in 1812 because of the epidemics that were devastating the area moved on to Jerusalem. In 1830s, hasids began to settle in the city (the first groups began to arrive in the country as early as in 1764-1777). In 1837, the prushim built a synagogue on a lot with a destroyed house purchased by a group of Yehuda Hasid and called it Manahaim Zion and in 1854 built there one more synagogue – Sha’arey Zion.
After the recovery of Turkish dominion with support of the European countries in Palestine (1840) Sultan Abn al-Madjid on advice of M. Montefiore and E. Cremier who fought for the rights of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire issued a decree in October of 1840 that granted all the Jews of the Empire including dwellers of Jerusalem equal with other subjects civil and religious rights.
European powers –– France, Russia, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia –– strived to strengthen their political status and influence in Palestine; in Jerusalem consulates of European powers opened one after another. Due to comparatively big number of Jews with European origin dwelling in Jerusalem, Great Britain, Austria and Russia appointed Jews as consulates’ agents, committing to them the responsibility to pay special attention to protecting interests of their Jewish fellow-subjects. Great Britain spread its patronage even to the Jews who were not its subjects.
By the middle of XIX century among the Jews of Jerusalem missionary activity of representatives of different Christian confessions (at times to irritation of European governments) increased because missionary activities were forbidden among Moslems by Turkish law. In 1841, in Jerusalem Anglican episcopate was founded, the head of which was a convert from Judaism Mikhael Solomon Alexander, who immediately plunged himself into active missionary activity, much to disapproval of British Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because British consul in Jerusalem (from 1845) J. Finn assisted missionary activities he was fired from his office in 1862. Among the most fervent fighters against Christian missions were: E. Bardaki (1790-1862), Consul of Russia and Austria-Hungary in 1840s, and U. Cresson (1798-1860), honorable Consul of the USA in Jerusalem, converted into Judaism in 1848, who became a member of the Sefard community of Jerusalem.
European influence, increased manifold after the European powers’ help to the Turkish Sultan in his fight against Muhammad Ali, increased even more after the Crimean war of 1853-1856 (one of the causes of which were conflicts between Orthodox and Catholic clergy in Jerusalem) and led to modernization of Jerusalem. In 1848, members of a sefard family Valero opened the first bank in the city; in the same year Austria-Hungary (its pattern was soon followed by France, Prussia and Italy) established the first postal agency in Jerusalem and opened postal communication between Palestine and Europe: after an earthquake in Safed, Israel Buck (1797-1894) moved his printing shop to Jerusalem (1841), which was the first and until 1862 the only Jewish printing shop in the city; in 1847-1853, printing shops of Latin, Armenian and Greek Patriarchates were founded. Due to generous support of philanthropists, first of all M. Montefiore and the Rothschild family, clinics, hospitals and schools were established in Jerusalem: the first Jewish hospital (18 beds) was opened by the Rothschilds in 1854; in 1856, on the means of Austrian philanthropist S. von-Lemel a Jewish secular school for boys was established.
In 1844, in Jerusalem there were 15,000 residents including 7,100 Jews. Natural growth of Yishuv and influx of immigrants increasing through the years led to overpopulation of the Jewish district of the Old City. A necessity emerged to build new quarters outside the city walls. The first one was Mishkenot-Shaananim quarter build by Montefiore; the money for purchasing a piece of land was received from an American philanthropist J. Thuro. The windmill (1857, “the Montefiore Mill”) near Mishkenot-Shaananim that became a landmark of the city was the first industrial construction of Jerusalem. Building of the quarter begun in 1855 on a demand of the authorities was postponed until 1860 that is until the beginning of construction works on the Russian quarters undertaken by the Russian spiritual mission. In 1868, Natives of Algeria and Morocco founded Mahane-Israel district, and in 1869, on the Jaffa Road Ashkenazis, natives of the Old City, built Nahalat-Shiva district. Those who moved into these districts repeatedly suffered from bedhuins attacks.
Construction of Christian quarters of the New City was started by a German sect of Templiers, who in 1873 founded the so-called German colony south of the Old City and paved in it one of the first cobbled streets. Between the new quarters and the Old City roads were built, and gradually the Gates of the Old City that used to be locked for the night and during the midday Friday’s prayer of the Moslems began to remain unlocked all around the clock.
In 1863, in Jerusalem newspapers “Ha Lebanon,” an organ of the orushim, and “Hava Tsselet,” an organ of Jerusalem Hasids started coming out. In 1865, a telegraph connection between Jerusalem and Jaffa was set and in 1868 a highway to Jaffa was built. In 1864, despite protests of the Orthodox Jews the first girl school was opened (Evelyn de Rothschild school). In 1865, construction of a big Ashkenazi synagogue Beth-Jacob in the Old City was completed, the third one on the spot, on which the synagogue of the followers of Yehuda Hasid stood in the beginning of XVIII century (the locals called a new synagogue “Hurvat Rabbi Yehuda he-Hasid”). In 1865-1872, a big Hasid synagogue Tiferet Israel was also built (known as Nissan Baca synagogue).
Development of the city in the northern and north-western directions occurred almost exclusively because of building up of the Jewish quarters. They were for the most part square lots built up along the perimeter and alongside inner narrow streets. Solid outer walls scarcely cut through by locked for the night gates with grated windows made a quarter look like a fortress. In 1844, Mea-Sharim emerged; one year later –– Aven Israel (on the Jaffa road); in 1877 –– Beth Jacob, which afterwards mingled with Mahane-Yehuda quarter founded in 1877.
In 1880s, Jerusalem outside of the Old City began more and more to resemble a European city. In between the old quarters (mainly along the roads) streets emerged built up with houses in the so-called Colonial Style; many-storied buildings emerged. By that time in Jerusalem two hotels already existed, mainly designated for Christian pilgrims; the first modern stores opened as well as a number of banks. In these years roads to Shhem and Jericho were built; scheduled transportation of coaches between Jerusalem and Jaffa was introduced.
In 1881, a new Christian quarter, the so called American colony, was built. Many buildings – hospitals, monasteries, schools and so forth – were built on means of European governments, among which the French government was the most active. In 1889, the so called New Gates were cut in the northern section of the city wall to make the traffic between the old city and Christian establishments adjoining it easier. In 1892, a railroad was opened between Jerusalem and Jaffa. On the occasion of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s visit to the city a breach was made near the Jaffa gates, and the fortress ditch was filled with earth in fall of 1898 to allow the Kaiser and his court to enter the Old City on horseback and in carriages.
Booming development of Jerusalem in the beginning of XX century (on the eve of the WWI the population of the city was already around 80,000 people) was stopped when the Ottoman Empire engaged in the war at the end of 1914. Famine, epidemics, arrests and displacement of certain people harmfully affected the population, which by the end of the war was 55,000 people. The Jewish community of Jerusalem suffered the most.
The British mandate period (1917-1948). On December 11, 1917, Jerusalem was surrendered to British forces without fighting, and Commander of the British forces on the Palestine front, General A. Ellenby entered the city. On July 1, 1920, Jerusalem officially became the center of the British civil administration, which replaced the military administration of Palestine. British civil authorities established administrative and justice offices in Jerusalem; in 1924, the city council was elected for the first time consisting of four representatives from each of the three religious communities. Despite the fact that the Jewish community outnumbered the others the British government referring to historical tradition always appointed a Moslem as Jerusalem’s Mayor, and his deputies – a Christian Arab and a Jew.
The heyday of Palestine under the mandate, as a result of an orderly administrative regime and, mainly, Jewish immigration to the country and development of Jewish agricultural segment, spread to Jerusalem as well. In April of 1925, Lord Balfur on the Scopus Mountain formally opened the Jewish university. Jerusalem became the center of main establishments of Zionist organizations (Executive Board of Jewish Agency, Keren ha-iesod, Jewish national fund, Ieshuva va’ad leummi, Supreme Council Rabinad) and also Arab institutions: Supreme Moslem Council and Supreme Arab Committee established in 1921 and 1936 accordingly.
Jerusalem’s turning into the administrative center of the under-mandate Palestine was accompanied by the city’s refurbishing. In 1929, Jerusalem was electrified. In 1935, a pipeline supplying Jerusalem with water via a system of pumping stations from the Yarkon River was placed in operation. In 1936, Palestine radio broadcasting service started to function. Since 1923 newspaper “Ha-Arets,” which was published in Jerusalem, moved to Tel Aviv, but newspaper “Doar ha-iom” was still (until 1936) published in the city, and in 1931 a new English language newspaper “Palestine Post” (since 1950 “Jerusalem Post”) was founded.
The city continued to rapidly grow: in 1921, quarters Romema, Rehavia and Bite-va-gan, in 1922 – Talpiot, in 1923 – Beth ha-Kerem and Kiriat-Moshe, in 1925 – Mekor-Haim, in 1926 – Geulla and Sanhedria, in 1928 – Kiriat-Shmuel, in 1931 – Arnona and Tel-Arza, in 1933 – Kerem-Abraham appeared. Some of the new quarters (for instance, Bite-va-gan, Mekor-Haim) were founded and settled by religious Jews who wanted to reproduce the habitual way of life of the Galuta’s closed communities; a number of others were founded by different fellow-expatriates. Along with intensive construction of living quarters, administrative, public and cultural establishments were also built at this period.
In 1928, medical Health center named after Nathan and Lena Straus was opened; in 1929, Jewish National University Library was built on the Scopus Mountain (main project of the campus by architect F. Kornberg); in 1931, construction of the residency of the Chief Commissar of Palestine was completed; in 1932, architectural complex of the Jewish Agency (project by I. Ratner) was erected, in 1933 – the building of Young People’s Christian Association (YMCA); in 1938, the Central Post office, Hadass Hospital on the Scopus Mountain (architect A. Mendelson) and Museum of Archeology named after Rockefeller (architect O.B. Harrison) were opened. In 1931, International class “King David” hotel started to function in Jerusalem.
Development of the Jewish Jerusalem encountered resistance of the Arabs that frequently resulted in straightforward tumults. The first incident of that kind occurred in Pesses in 1920 when Arabs killed 6 and injured 211 Jews. In the counter-actions of self-defense organized by the Jews headed by V. Zhabotinsky 4 Arabs were killed and 21 injured. In an attempt to control the Arab population the British authorities founded the Supreme Moslem Council. Mufti Hadj Amin al-Huseiny who looked down on Jews with animosity was elected as its member.
The British authorities managed to maintain peace in the city until September of 1928, when the Mufti using as a pretext the Jews’ attempt to erect by the Western Wall a slight partition between praying males and females required by religious tradition announced on behalf of the Council headed by him that the Jews were trying to gradually take possession of the Al-Asq Mosgue. The tension rapidly increased; many gatherings and counter-gatherings at the Western Wall in August of 1929 grew into riots. The attacks of the Jewish Jerusalem quarters by the Arabs were fought back by the Jewish self-defense forces. As a result of the clashes that spread in the entire under-mandate Palestine 133 Jews and 116 Arabs were killed, while 339 Jews and 323 Arabs were injured (the majority of casualties among the Arabs was caused by actions of the British Police and Army).
In 1936, Arab tumults in Jerusalem and in other parts of the country once again broke out as a protest against alia. Supreme Arab Committee with Amin al-Huseiny as chairman was established in Jerusalem; it announced a general strike and ceasing of tax payments until the time when Jewish immigration into the country stopped. A special British commission that arrived to Palestine in the same year (the so-called Peel Comission) proposed to divide Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab states and to establish a new special mandate over Jerusalem and Bethlehem as well as Nazareth. The commission proposed the Balfur Declaration should not be valid in the zone of this mandate and that Jerusalem’s dwellers would be able to choose between citizenship of the Jewish and the Arab Palestine’s states. (In November of 1938, the British government acknowledged the plan of division to be “practically unrealizable”).
In 1937, cases of the Arabs’ attacks on Jewish transport between Jerusalem and other parts of the country frequented; in the Jewish quarters of Jerusalem and other cities with mixed population bombs set up by Arabs blew up. Hagana that held on to so-called tactic of self-control (havlaga) restricted itself to active defense and counter-attacks on the centers of the Arab raiders; a Jewish military organization Ergun Zvai Leummi (Etsel) that broke away from Hagana announced a tactic of counter-actions and attacked Arabic transport along with arranging diversions in Arab quarters. Arabic individual terrorism against the Arabs who supported moderate national policy reached a large scale.
When terrorist activities of the Arabs became quite menacing the British authorities announced the Supreme Arab Committee non-grata and deprived Amin Al-Huseiny of the title of Chairman of the Supreme Moslem Council. Avoiding arrest the mufti fled to Lebanon; Arabic mayor of Jerusalem (Dr. Haldi) with other members of the Supreme Arab Committee was exiled to the Seashell islands, while a Jewish deputy of mayor (D. Auster) was temporarily appointed as head of the City Council (in the next year a Moslem was once again appointed as mayor).
In 1938, attacks of Arab gangs became well-organized and pretty much coordinated activities; the Old City of Jerusalem according to a governmental report as of 1938 became a stronghold of Arab terrorist groups. In 1939, the English managed to suppress Arab tumults. The government of Great Britain in a new White Book actually gave up its previous obligation to create in Palestine a Jewish national cradle. Jerusalem became an arena of mass Jewish protest rallies, while Etsel set its activity of diversions against British administration.
When WWII began, one of the headquarters of the British Armed Forces in the Middle East was accommodated in Jerusalem, and the tension in the city weakened. However, when after 1944 Etsel and Lahami Herut Israel (Lehi) resumed their fighting against the British dominion, Jerusalem as the center of the British administration turned into the main arena of military actions. A number of buildings, in which the British military and governmental establishments were accommodated, were blown up including the “King David“ hotel (July 1946) — departments of the administration and headquarters of the British Armed Forces were located there. Not feeling themselves safe anymore, the English officials and soldiers located themselves in guarded strengthened zones called “Bevingrades” by the Jews (after British Foreign Affairs Minister E. Bevin). In some quarters of Jerusalem after every military action of the Jewish underground movement against the British authorities state of siege was announced, postal and telephone communication was interrupted and food supplies were cut off.
When in November of 1947 the UN passed a resolution about the division of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states and about internationalization of Jerusalem England refused to participate in this plan. In Jerusalem continuing to be nominally under British authority anarchy ruled. The Old City of Jerusalem with its Jewish population was cut off from the New City divided up into zones that were controlled by both the Jews and the Arabs. Arab extremists who were supported by anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish elements in the British administration and army launched a terrorist war against the Jewish population of the city. Unceasing attacks of the Arabs on Jewish car caravans with supplies arriving to Jerusalem on the roads that connected the city to the near sea plane resulted in actual blockade of the city of Jerusalem.
Because the British authorities did not take any practical measures to normalize the situation the Jewish agency and Va’ad Leummi formed an urgent committee responsible for providing the Jewish population of Jerusalem with necessary services, victuals, water, fuel and electricity. Jewish superintendent of the city D. Joseph was the head of the committee.
In the beginning of 1948, terrorist activity of the Arabs significantly increased: on Feb. 1, Palestine Post printing shop was blown up and Hadassa policlinic was seriously damaged; on Feb. 23, in an explosion on Ben Yehud street in the center of the city around 50 people were killed and a significant damage was done to the buildings; on March 11, in an explosion in the yard of the Jewish Agency 12 people were killed and the building was very much damaged. In a response to these action Etsel and Lehi undertook a joint attack (April 9) on Arabic village Der-Yassin, which was a starting point for attacks on the nearby quarters of Jerusalem; in the attack 254 dwellers of the village were killed, which stirred up much condemnation from the public and representatives of the organs of Issuv. On April 13, Arabs attacked a car caravan heading up to the University and Hadassa hospital on the Scopus mountain separated from the Jewish quarters of Jerusalem by Arab quarters and killed 78 people — doctors, nurses and scientific workers; the British soldiers that happened to be nearby not only did not hinder the attack but also frustrated Hagana group’s attempts to help the victims of the raid.
Unlike the blockaded Jewish quarters of Jerusalem, its Arab quarters were not cut off from Arab populated districts north-south and east of the city. The streets that separated the Jewish and Arab quarters turned into front lines, along which barbwire fences were set and fortifications were erected. Defense of the Jewish quarters was carried out by Hagana, Etsel and Lehi detachments; Arab quarters were controlled by Arab militia later replaced by Arab Legion of Transjordan.
In the beginning of April of 1948, Hagana with fighting delivered from the West of the country soldiers, victuals and arms into besieged Jerusalem. This operation called Nahshon was the first major military operation of Hagana designed to liberate the main road to the city. In the middle of May, the strike forces of Hagana began an operation (Har’el) with a goal to take possession of the points towering over the road to Jerusalem. However, a fear that the English would give their fortified positions in Jerusalem to the Arabs caused the Jewish commanders to cease the operation and thrust all their powers to Jerusalem.