Jewish Riots 1947
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Until 1947 the 8,550-strong Jewish community in Aden, despite some underlying resentment from the Arab Muslims, lived in relative tranquility. Eighteen years earlier in 1929 the disturbances in Palestine between Jews and Arabs had little to no effect on the Aden community, perhaps largely in part to there being no newspapers in Aden at the time, and little communication between Arabs in Aden and those in Palestine.
There were rare, religiously motivated, outbreaks of violence, and a relatively small riot in 1932, but these were of minor significance when compared to the terror unleashed three days after the 1947 UN vote on the partition of Palestine when the lives of the Adami (Aden Jews) were irreparably shattered.
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Most Arab countries protested peacefully and declared a 3-day strike following the November 30th UN resolution. But the protests in Aden erupted into unrestrained bloody violence against the Jews, triggered by the false accusation of Jews for the murder of two local girls.
The horrors of December 3rd 1947 will remain forever etched in the minds of Adeni Jews who suffered terribly after Muslims, joined by the local police force, engaged in a bloody spree in the Jewish quarter of Crater that killed 87 Jews, wounded many more, and destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes.
With no British troops in Aden at that particular time the Jewish community felt some relief when they heard that the Aden Protectorate Levies were to be bought in to protect them. But the Levies, comprised of Arab Muslims, were seen to turn a blind eye to the violence and themselves fired indiscriminately on the Jews, killing many. However, there were reports of individual cases of heroism by some Muslims, who, at great personal risk, endeavoured to assist their Jewish friends by offering sanctuary.
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Chaos reigned for 4 days till a detachment of Royal Marines were brought in to quell the troubles. The Jewish quarter was cordoned off with barbed wire and for several months the penniless community, justifiably fearful of venturing outside, were supplied with food by the British authorities.
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Aden's Jewish community was economically paralysed as most of the Jewish stores and businesses were looted and destroyed. Four synagogues and both the Jewish schools were burnt down.
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An Alternative Viewpoint
The narrative in the article ‘Jewish Riots 1947’ reflects what happened from the Jewish point of view. As in the lesser riots in the 1930s the various Jewish institutions in the United Kingdom and the United States got somewhat hysterical in the wording of their telegrams and cables as to what was happening to their minorities. This article is an attempt to put the other side of the picture, but not with the intention of debunking the Jewish claims altogether.
The problem began on 2 December 1947 when a large hostile demonstration approached the Jewish quarter in Crater. The police succeeded in protecting the quarter but could not prevent the looting of a few isolated Jewish shops, in spite of the use of tear smoke and deliberate rifle fire by the police. [Here it is worth mentioning the standard tactics in such situations throughout the British Empire. Police (and soldiers) were trained not to fire over the heads of demonstrators; if fire needed to be opened individual riflemen received orders to fire single shots at selected demonstrators (often the ringleaders if they could be identified), and shot to kill.] That these procedures were being followed is shown by the Arab casualties by police gunfire on that first evening of rioting: three killed and only four wounded.
By 2100 hrs on the 2nd the police were tiring and the situation was becoming dangerously confused. There followed another standard procedure: the formal handing over of control by the Civil Authorities to the Military, in this instance to the Fortress Commander. By the time the troops, from the Aden Protectorate Levies (APL), were deployed the situation had calmed down and the night was quiet. But 13 shops had been looted and nine Jewish cars and one shop burnt.
Apart from those Arabs killed or wounded by rifle fire a number were injured in baton charges by the police. No Jewish casualties had been reported and there had been no serious injuries to the police. About 100 Arabs had been arrested. At that stage things were under control but as the Governor was finishing his report the next morning news arrived of renewed arson and mob action in Crater.
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By midday on the 3rd the situation in Crater was out of control in spite of a curfew being in force. There had been extensive looting and many houses had been burnt. Some 20 Arabs had been shot and killed by the military and another 100 wounded. Although initially the APL had been hesitant to open fire on their Muslim brothers, they soon realised there was no alternative.
Meanwhile some 900 Jews were evacuated from Sheikh Othman to the nearby camp of Yemeni Jewish migrants, swelling the numbers there to approaching 4,000. Of the 900 some 415 needed to be escorted by the APL who were also guarding the camp. Unfortunately 14 Jews had decided to remain in Sheikh Othman and these were killed by the rioters. No incidents were reported in Maalla but in Tawahi there were repeated arson attempts against Jewish property. Police riot squads were deployed and two Arabs were killed and another two wounded by police selective shooting. But five Jews had been murdered in Tawahi and another four wounded. Jewish casualties in Crater had been high – about 50 being killed during the rioting on 3 December. In his situation report on that day the Governor reported that the situation throughout the Colony was extremely serious and that it was difficult to foresee the outcome.
Reinforcements were urgently needed. The first outside assistance was from landing parties (presumably of Royal Marines) from two destroyers, HMS Contest and HMS Cockade which arrived on 4 December. British infantry trained in crowd control ‘in aid of the civil power’ were urgently needed and two companies were being sent from the Canal Zone by air and were expected to arrive on 5 December.
The Jewish community in Aden and abroad were beginning to make grave accusations about the conduct of the APL, in particular that they had fired indiscriminately against the Jews. The truth was somewhat different. Unfortunately some Jewish snipers opened fire on the troops, who naturally returned the fire. Investigations after the riots were over concluded that there was no evidence of the Levies shooting at Jews other than during fire-fights with snipers. Undoubtedly there would have been a few civilians caught up in the return of fire (as happened on Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland). One Levy was killed by sniper fire, as was a Government (Muslim) doctor. But a few of the Levies joined in the looting, 12 being subsequently court-martialled.
On the morning of 5 December 17 Dakotas landed at Khormaksar, bringing two companies of infantry of the 2nd Battalion the North Staffordshire Regiment from the Canal Zone. With their arrival the Commander-in-Chief the East Indies Fleet cancelled the sending of a cruiser, which he had somewhat reluctantly agreed to send in the first place, as he reckoned the Staffords would be sufficient reinforcements.
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Up to 6 December those killed in the riots were 34 Arabs, two Indians and some 75 Jews. Although things were getting progressively quieter, over the next few days following their arrival, the Staffords had to open fire on several occasions, firing altogether 70 rounds of .303 (as well as five rounds of .38, the ammunition of the revolvers carried by officers).
To help relieve pressure in Crater, on 10 December Government decided to move 100 Yemeni Jews who had been lodging there to the camp outside Sheikh Othman. By then the Armed Police were gradually resuming control from the military. In his final report on the riots the Governor emphasised that the police had done extremely well. As to the Aden Protectorate Levies, in his opinion they had generally done well in trying circumstances but that it was unfair and unwise to have expected too much from them, especially when they came under increased moral pressure.
Although the situation was quite soon back to normal there was a new problem to be faced: the Jews in Aden were in a parlous state as regards life in general. Many houses had been destroyed, and both the Jewish schools. They were short of food and other necessities of life. They were also short of leadership. Added to which, if one included the Yemeni Jews, the number of Jews in the Colony was twice the number that was to an extent being already supported financially by Jewish organisations in the United Kingdom, to the limit of their abilities.
