Ottoman Brothers: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Early Twentieth-Century Palestine (63 page)

^83.
Such was the case in Mecca, Jidda, and the Yemen. Kayali,
Arabs and Young Turks
, 66.

^84.
Al-Itti
ād al-‘Uthmānī
, October 10, 1908.

^85.
Consulate General of France in Palestine (G. Gueyrand) to the Directorate of Political and Commercial Affairs, Subdirectorate of the Levant, October 8, 1908; MAEF, microfilm roll 132, Correspondence Politique et Commerciale/Nouvelle Série (Turquie). On the “peasants' party,” see
Ha-Po'el ha-
a'ir
, September 1908; Levi to A. Ruppin, October 14, 1908. CZA L2/43; Antébi to Franck, October 21, 1908. AAIU, Israel-VIII.E.25.

^86.
Musallam, ed.,
Yawmiyat Khalil al-Sakakini
, 306;
Ha-
vi
, October 26, 1908.

^87.
Knight,
Turkey
, 273 .

^88.
Ibid. See also Kayali, “Elections and the Electoral Process in the Ottoman Empire”; and Buxton,
Turkey in Revolution
, 187.

^89.
Abbott,
Turkey in Transition
, 106–7.

^90.
Knight,
Turkey
, 275–78.

^91.
ava
elet
, October 19, 1908.

^92.
One paper reported that only half of the voters at the first level showed up to vote for the second level electors—namely, 40 percent of Jews with voting rights stayed home.
Ha-Po'el ha-
a'ir
, September 1908. Levi, a former Ottoman government official, was closely identified with the Zionist movement, and considered himself the Zionist candidate for parliament. The local Zionist Palestine Office also supported his candidacy financially. Antébi, on the other hand, was hostile to the expansionist political aims of the European Zionist movement, even though in practice he aided the Zionist settlers. See Levi to Ruppin, September 18, 1908, CZA L2/43; Zionist Centralburo to Ruppin, September 15, 1908, CZA L2 /26I; Antébi to Henri Franck, September 7, 1908, AAIU, Israel-VIII.E.25. As it turns out, “Antébi's Yemenites” were split into two electoral districts, ultimately benefiting David Yellin. Levi to Ruppin, October 6, 1908, CZA L2/43. A letter by a leader of the Society of Ottoman Jews, Haim Michlin, indicated that they had little idea how to go about making concrete alliances with village leaderships. H. Michlin to Rabinowitz, Matalon, Abulafia, etc, September 22, 1908. CZA L2/43. On the Christian votes, see: Musallam, ed.,
Yawmiyat Khalil al-Sakakini
, 307.

^93.
Ephraim Cohn to A. Ruppin, September 28, 1908. CZA L2/43.

^94.
Levi related to the Zionist official Arthur Ruppin that he had been told by Malchiel Mani, a leading Jewish figure in Hebron, that it was possible to purchase votes in his district. Levi to Ruppin, September 18, 1908. CZA L2/43.

^95.
E. Saphir to Antébi, November 22, 1908. AAIU, Israel-VIII.E.25.;
Ha-
vi
, October 2, 1908. When the governor of Jerusalem, Subhi Bey, was informed about this, he told the press to notify voters in Gaza that such pressure was illegal.

^96.
See Antébi to Franck, October 21, 1908. AAIU, Israel-VIII.E.25.; Antébi to Dizengoff/Saphir, October 23, 1908. AAIU, Israel-VIII. E.25.;
Ha-
vi
, October 23, 1908; Ruppin to Wolffsohn, November 11, 1908. CZA Z2/632.

^97.
ava
elet
, October 26, 1908. With his strong base in the coastal region of Jaffa and Gaza, al-Sa‘id edged out ‘Uthman al-Nashashibi, who had been the third leading candidate in the Jerusalem-area electoral rounds.
ava
elet
, vol. 39, nos. 7 and 10.