A House Divided in the Nebi Musa Riots

Shortly after 10am on Sunday 4 April 1920, a cinematographer set up his camera near the entrance to the Christian suq inside Jerusalem’s walled Old City to film Muslim pilgrims gathering near the Jaffa Gate at the start of the festival of Nebi Musa. According to local legend, the 12th-century Muslim leader Saladin invented Nebi Musa to thwart any attempt by Christian pilgrims pouring into Jerusalem at Easter to reclaim it for Christendom. Elsewhere in the Holy City, Christians were celebrating Easter and Jews were preparing for Passover. The mood of the crowd at the Jaffa Gate was cheerful at first but, as the film shot by the unknown cameraman shows, violence suddenly broke out and the crowd scattered. It is impossible to tell exactly who was attacking whom, but the film captures the very moment when Jerusalem was plunged into a frenzy of anti-Jewish rioting that lasted four days.