ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the events of April 1920 that set a pretext for the use of religious symbols for political goals, known as the Nebi Musa riots. It outlines 1929 Muslim–Jewish clashes over the Western Wall, and concludes with an analysis of the British attempts to resolve the conflict. During the 1920s, both Arab-Muslims and Jews worked to revitalize and consolidate their most important holy sites in order to promote and enhance their nationalist political goals. The aim of the works was to glorify the holy shrine and to mobilize the entire Muslim world to support the Arabs of Palestine against Jewish Zionism and Christian British rule in the Holy Land. In September 1929, with the approval of the League of Nations, the British government appointed a commission to review the claims of Muslims and Jews over the Wall. By presenting their respective narratives of the past, the two sides to the dispute sought to legitimize their rights and claims.
