The much-heralded Arab general strike to protest the UNSCOP partition recommendations passed quietly today, with only very minorincidents reported. The worst violence was the stoning of a Jewish bus.
Thousands of Arabs gathered in mosques throughout the country where they heard religious and political leaders urge them to fight to preserve their country. All Arab shops were closed and most vehicles operated by Arabs stayed off the streets. The effectiveness of the strike was aided by the fact that Friday is the Moslem sabbath.
Early in the day, a group of Moslem women gathered in the Old City and elected a delegation to visit the various consuls in the city and leave protests against the establishment of a Jewish state.
A Jewish Telegraphic Agency dispatch from Cairo, where demonstrations had been banned because of the cholera epidemic, reported that no incidents had occurred, although helmeted police were posted throughout the city in readiness for any eventuality. Reports from Lebanon and Syria said that quite “successful” strikes had taken place there. The Arab press in Jerusalem, Cairo, Beirut, Damascus and other cities published special strike editions today.
Jerusalem had a fifteen-minute alert from 6:30 to 6:45 this evening, but it turned out to be a false alarm.
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.
