May 1 1921 – 23 Nisan 5681
Arab riots broke out in British Mandate Palestine soon after a civilian government replaced military rule. The riots were part of wide-spread unrest in the Middle East, protesting the outcome of World War One in which European powers divided up the region among themselves, completely disregarding the issue of Arab nationalism. The trigger was a clash between two groups of Jewish union workers marching to mark the May-day parade: the communists marched from Neve Shalom in Jaffa to Tel Aviv, where they collided with Ahdut HaAvoda socialists holding their own workers’ parade. A British committee of investigation later claimed that the subsequent fist-fight resulted in rumors that Jews had attacked Arabs. Muslims consequently attacked Jews in Jaffa in response. Other sources reported that armed Arabs began pouring into the Jewish neighborhoods of Jaffa before either march had started, attacking an immigrant hostel. Forty-seven Jews were murdered in the ensuing violence, many of them beaten to death; over a hundred were injured and there were many cases of rape. Jewish property was looted and destroyed. Forty-eight of the rioters died in clashes with British police as they tried to restore order. At Abu Kabir, a Jewish owned dairy was destroyed and its owner killed together with the poet Yosef Haim Brenner, who helped him in his efforts to defend his family home and business. Further riots erupted against Jews in Petach Tikva, Rehovot, Hadera and Kfar Saba. British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel declared a state of emergency, and put Jewish immigration temporarily on hold to bring the violence to an end.
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