Palestine Commission | Reports relating to the Palestine Disturbances of 1929. London: HMSO, 1930, together 3 volumes

Palestine Commission

Three volumes, comprising:

i) Report of the Commission on the Palestine Disturbances of August, 1929. Presented by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to Parliament by Command of His Majesty, March, 1930. London: HMSO, 1930. 4to (244 x 156mm.), 202pp, 4 folding maps (of which 2 colour-printed), 4 colour-printed graphs, original blue grey printed wrappers, stapled, frayed at head and tail of spine, wrappers slightly browned at extremities, pencil annotations to upper wrapper, staples rusting

ii) Palestine Commission on the Disturbances of August, 1929. Evidence heard during the 1st to 29th [and 30th to 47th] Sittings. London: HMSO, 1930. 2 volumes, folio (323 x 202mm.), 1110pp, later purple facsimile wrappers, a few pencil annotations at margins in volume 1, worming to volume 1, two pages of volume 2 torn at lower margins (slightly affecting text on pp. 1013-1014), a few leaves slightly creased at margins, lacking volume 3 (index)

The Shaw Commission Report of 1929 concerned long-running tensions amongst Muslim Arabs and Jews regarding access to the Wailing Wall, which had erupted in August of that year, resulting in the deaths of 133 Jews and 110 Arabs, as well as the destruction of property. The Shaw Commission of Enquiry was created by the British government to investigate why this violence had taken place. The report urged a final settlement of the rights and claims by the different religious parties, regarding the Western Wall.

Palestine Commission on the Disturbances of August, 1929 is an exceptionally rare publication from the British government. We have been unable to trace any other copies at auction.