Anti-imperialist, anti-Zionist Jewish Communists in Palestine face the severest repression from Britain’s mandatory police, the notorious Black and Tans that terrorized Ireland.

‘British Reign of Terror in Palestine’ by J. Crossley from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 8 No. 40. July 26, 1928.

During 1927-28 there has been an ever increasing regime of persecution of the militant sections of the worker’s movement in Palestine. This persecution has taken the form of (a) Refusal of citizen rights to workers who, in most cases, have been resident in Palestine for many years, thus rendering them outlaws. (b) Mass arrests of workers suspected of belonging to the Communist Party, Communist Youth, R.I.L.U. and the Red Aid organisations, many of whom are kept in prison for long periods without even being tried, then sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, often accompanied by floggings, and afterwards deported from the country. In many cases these workers are deported to Poland and Roumania, where they are handed over to the police in these countries and again sentenced to imprisonment. (c) Attacks upon worker’s demonstrations and meetings by the British Gendarmerie (recruited from the infamous Black and Tans who were sent from Ireland to Palestine).

This White Terror which is carried on by the British forces of occupation with the help of the reactionary Zionist bourgeois government officials, is part of the Anglo-Zionist imperialist policy to preserve Palestine, under the guise of a National Home for the Jews, as a strategic base for the purpose of providing a jumping off ground for future attacks on Soviet Russia, for the development of Britain’s designs on Iraq, Arabia, Transjordania, Persia and the other Near Eastern countries, and also, by the development of British subsidised roads, railways and harbours, to afford an alternative and more rapid route to the Persian Gulf and India, to that of the Suez Canal.

Following are a few of the examples of this White Terror and Mass persecution during the period of 1927-1928.

Following the British Tory Government’s raid on the Arcos institutions in London and the subsequent breaking off of diplomatic and trading relations with Soviet Russia, many Demonstrations of protest were held throughout Palestine, in Jerusalem, Afluh, Tel-Aviv and Petach Tikvah as well as in many communes and factories, etc. These were followed on June 10th by a great Demonstration in Haifa. This Demonstration was attended by practically the whole of the Arab and was a Jewish working population of the town and the surrounding country.

These Demonstrations were in most cases smashed up by the police and were the signal for wholesale arrests. In Haifa alone 30 workers were arrested and sent to Acre Gaol, without trial, no bail being allowed.

A Strike against the inhuman conditions operating in the “N.U.R.” match Factory commenced in February 1927. On June 24th, the proprietors endeavoured to break the strike by the introduction of ‘Scabs’. When pickets of the striking workers endeavoured to dissuade the scabs from entering the factory the proprietor summoned the British Mounted Gendarmerie, which arrived at the factory under the command of the Police Commandant of Haifa. Major Sinclair. He immediately gave the order to the police to charge the pickets and other assembled strikers and onlookers. The workers were beaten and many of them, including several girls, were cruelly injured, the gendarmes treading them under the horses feet as they lay on the ground, 22 of the strikers were arrested including 13 women and were transported to Acre prison although bleeding from their injuries. On the following night the police made a raid on the houses of strikers suspected of participating in the organisation of picketing and 39 further arrests were made, including many women, the prisoners in many cases being taken from their beds to gaol without being allowed to cover their nakedness. They were all taken to gaol at Acre in chains. The whole incident aroused tremendous indignation throughout the country, but this was of no avail carrying on in deterring the arrogant British authorities in carrying on their repressive measures.

The Palestine section of the International Red Aid has received the special attention of the authorities. Its bulletin has been suppressed and the editor, Aria Karp was arrested. In spite of the workers protests that the Red Aid is a perfectly legal organisation and also despite questions on the matter raised in the British House of Commons by Saklatvala and other labour members, Arie Karp was convicted on the charge of carrying on subversive propaganda and of belonging to an illegal organisation, was sentenced to 2 months imprisonment and afterwards deported from Palestine after being resident in that country since childhood. A mass of sympathetic workers accompanied him to the railway station, where he was taken in chains, and held a protest meeting against his deportation which was broken up by the police and several arrests made.

On February 10th, 1928 a worker, Zakariah Koish was arrested and charged with belonging to the Communist Party. He was sentenced to imprisonment and deportation and also to receive 10 strokes of the rod. The latter part of his sentence was waived owing to the mass protests which were organised by the Red Aid and the Communist Party as well as by his own declaration of a Hunger-strike in the State Prison of Jerusalem. 2 other political prisoners named Ben Simon and Kotik were sentenced to solitary confinement in dark damp cells which are called “Karcer” for refusing to kneel and bow to the prison administrators. Koish was deported on June 26th of the present year without trial.

Following are some of the latest examples of British “Kultur” which have recently come to hand in a report.

Nahman Listvinsky (resident in Palestine for 14 years). Arrested and sentenced to deportation.

Eliezer Aisenberg (resident in Palestine for 8 years). Sentenced to 25 days imprisonment and deportation for belonging to the Communist Party.

Jehuda Langman (Resident 7 years). Sentenced to 3 months imprisonment and deportation for having in his possession an article intended to be sent to the foreign press.

Jan Pinhas Zaitman (4 years resident). Sentenced to 1 month bus imprisonment for belonging to the Y.C.L. and participating in a meeting.

Joseph Boyarsky. Sentenced to 1 month for spreading manifestos on May 1st.

Jacob Lukk (9 years resident). Sentenced to one month and deportation for participation in May 1st demonstrations.

Abraham Kanevsky (6 years resident). Sentenced to 1 month and deportation for participation in May 1st, Demonstration.

Israel Volkocicky (4 years resident) sentenced to 1 month and deportation for participating in May 1st demonstration.

Arje Levin (5 years resident) sentenced to 66 days imprisonment and deportation for belonging to the Y.C.L.

 On May 29th, when the prisoners were taking their to customary exercise in the State Prison in Jerusalem, the warder ordered them back to their respective cells before they had had their 15 minutes exercise. On the prisoners protesting and demanding that they should have their full allotted time for exercise, they were seized, put into chains and thrown into their cells where they were all cruelly beaten. The prisoners replied to this barbarous treatment by declaring a hunger strike which commenced on May 30th. This was accompanied by demands for treatment as political prisoners with the right to have beds, books, newspapers and visits from their relatives and friends and also a demand for the punishment of the officials responsible for their ill-treatment. This hunger strike was joined by other prisoners in the gaol in sympathy with their demands, including several Arabs. On the third day of the strike 3 of the prisoners were sentenced to be flogged. Kanevsky to 12 strokes of the rod and Langman and Zaitman to 10 strokes each. So serious was the condition of 2 of the comrades after this flogging that they had to be removed on stretchers to the prison hospital.

These declaration of the hunger-strike and the corporal punishment aroused a tremendous wave of sympathy with the prisoners and anger at the authorities on the part of the masses of workers in Palestine. Demonstrations were organised which the police broke up in some cases. In one case they made several further arrests, but such was the infuriation of the crowd that they attacked the police and released their comrades. Several strikes of 1 hour’s duration also have been organised land protests have been made to the government and the British Labour Party etc. by the Hystadruth (Jewish Confederation of Labour) who are seriously concerned at the magnitude of the protests.

The Terror is still raging in Palestine but the workers are powerless to put up an effective resistance to the brutal bullying British forces and their allies of the Jewish bourgeoisie without the active co-operation of the British working class  and the workers of the other European countries. Workers everywhere should rally to the assistance of our brave Palestinian comrades and organise the greatest possible resistance to the Imperialist terror led by Britain which is raging throughout Palestine and the whole of the Near East.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecorr” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecorr’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecorr, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly. Inprecorr is an invaluable English-language source on the history of the Communist International and its sections.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/inprecor/1928/v08n40-jul-26-1928-inprecor.pdf