Shouting that he had been insulted, Auni Abdul Hadi Bey, member of the Arab Executive, interrupted the trial today of the eighteen Arabs accused of participation in the illegal Arab demonstration in Jaffa on October 27, which led to much bloodshed. The incident occurred when a British constable nudged Auni Bey and told him to stop talking with Jamal El Husseini, another of the accused, after Auni Bey had ignored repeated warnings from Magistrate Ralph Bodilly.
Auni Bey claimed that the policeman had hit him, but Magistrate Bodilly replied that it was the duty of the police to maintain respect for the court. After a brief recess, the session was resumed with a statement from the prosecutor that no insult had been intended and the incident resulted merely from an effort to maintain order in the court.
The Arab lawyers cross-examined police witnesses in an attempt to show that since District Commissioner Crosbie had promised to receive a deputation composed of demonstrators, the dispersal of the demonstration was unjustified.
The Jaffa Arab demonstration of October 27, part of a series of protests against Jewish immigration, organized by the Arab Executive turned out to be the most serious single incident of the campaign. Eleven were killed and one hundred wounded in the battle between the police and the Arabs.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
