Haifa’s new urban proletariat: stevedores, railwaymen, and construction workers. Some were former tenant farmers whose lands were now Jewish-owned; many were illiterate. “He laughed like a child, and spoke with the simplicity of a child,” one student remembered. Qassam quoted hadiths on martyrdom by memory. New followers pledged their loyalty with

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In mid-October, Arab workers at Jaffa Port discovered an arms cache hidden in a cement shipment from Europe and addressed to Jews. Arab opinion was inflamed, sparking protests nationwide. Qassam moved to seize the moment.12 On November 6 he and two dozen companions sold their belongings (including their wives’ jewelry) to buy arms. Next to a cave

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