The 1929 violence grew from a dispute over prayer at the Western Wall, competing national claims and rising communal tension under British rule. On August 23, Arab attackers assaulted Jews in Jerusalem; violence spread over the following days to other towns. The British Shaw Commission called the Jerusalem outbreak an attack by Arabs on Jews and found no earlier Jewish murders to justify it.
How the dispute escalated
The Wall was a Jewish place of prayer beside the Temple Mount, while Muslim authorities asserted rights over the adjacent area and its religious property. British officials regulated what worshippers could bring and do at the narrow prayer space. In August 1929, Jewish and Arab demonstrations and counter-demonstrations sharpened the dispute. The British government’s annual report records the developments and the inquiry that followed. The 1929 Mandate report identifies the week of August 23–29 as the period of disturbances.
Violence and the inquiry
Attacks and killings occurred in Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and other locations. The Shaw Commission reported 133 Jewish and 116 Arab deaths; hundreds more were wounded. Its findings distinguished the immediate outbreak from deeper causes, including Arab hostility toward Jews, political and national aspirations, and fears about economic prospects. It also stated that the outbreak was not premeditated as a coordinated event across all locations.
The commission addressed both the violence and the Wall dispute. A 1930 international commission later ruled that the Wall and adjacent pavement belonged to Muslim waqf property, while Jews had a right to worship there subject to the status quo and regulations. The record shows why the episode cannot be reduced to a disagreement about a movable screen or one isolated incident. The UN-hosted commission record sets out the worship questions and rulings. For the longer history of access, see Jewish prayer at the Wall through the centuries.