Manuscript text of a broadside, by Syrian General Fawzi al-Qawuqji, calling for armed resistance to Jewish settlement and the British regime in Eretz Israel. Signed "Fawz al-Din al-Qawuqji", "Southern Syria" (Eretz Israel), 28 August 1936.
Official proclamation no. 1 to the Arabs of Palestine by Fawzi al-Qawuqji, calling to make war against the Zionist forces conspiring to expel the Palestinian Arabs from their property and land, and to sow destruction in the country.
The letter is combative, full of quotations from the Quran, and repeatedly calls for jihad – religious warfare in this context – demanding Palestinian Arabs go "for arms" (ila al-silāḥ, written in large, emphasized letters in the center of the second leaf of the letter), and immediately stop Jewish immigration to the land.
The proclamation likewise demands opposition to the British, who had promised the Palestinian Arabs freedom and independence, but in fact ignore their demands and needs, while effectively supporting the Jewish settlement; and demands cancellation of the Balfour Declaration.
The proclamation is signed: "General of the Arab Revolt in Southern Syria, Fawzi al-Qawuqji".
This text is quoted in Abdel-Wahab al-Kayyali (ed.), Documents on the Palestinian Arab Resistance to the British Mandate and Zionism (1918-1939), Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1968, pp. 433-436 (Arabic).
Fawzi al-Qawuqji (1890-1977) was a Syrian general trained in an Ottoman military academy. He fought as part of various armies, under regular Arab forces as well as independent ones. He participated in the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in the Arabian Peninsula, fought the French Mandate in Syria, and assisted in the establishment of the armies of Saudi Arabia and Iraq – all for the cause of Arab independence.
From 1936, Qawuqji was a general of the Great Arab Revolt in Mandatory Palestine (known in Arabic as Thawrat Filistīn al-Kubra – the Great Palestine Revolt), during which he led a force of Palestinians and foreign volunteers against the Jewish settlement and the British army. He was recognized by many as the supreme general of the Arab Revolt in Southern Syria [Palestine], as he signs in the present letter.
Qawuqji continued his struggle against the British during World War II by joining forces with the Nazis in various ways. He moved to Germany and married a German woman, adopting anti-Semitic rhetoric in his writings and speeches. During the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, he commanded the Arab Liberation Army. Upon defeat to Yishuv forces, he moved to Damascus and later Beirut. He died in 1977.
[3] leaves. 25.5 cm (third leaf cut in half, not affecting text). Overall good condition. Creases and light stains. Folding marks lengthwise and widthwise. Minor tears and holes to margins and corners, not affecting text.
