1931 in Mandatory Palestine

Events in the year 1931 in the British Mandate of Palestine.

1931 in the British Mandate of Palestine
««« 1930 1929 1928		»»» 1932 1933 1934
See also: 1931 in the United Kingdom Other events of 1931

Incumbents

• High Commissioner – Sir John Chancellor until 20 November; Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope
• Emir of Transjordan – Abdullah I bin al-Hussein
• Prime Minister of Transjordan – Hasan Khalid Abu al-Huda until 22 February; Abdallah Sarraj

Events

• According to official statistics there were 4,075 Jewish immigrants during 1931.
• 5 January – Third Jewish Assembly of Representatives election.
• 10 April – The right-wing "revisionist" Zionist armed underground paramilitary group "Irgun" (meaning "Organization", a short form for the full name "National Military Organization", whose acronym in Hebrew is pronounced "Etzel") is founded by Avraham Tehomi together with several other former Haganah commanders. The founders had left the Haganah due to their objection to the official policy of havlagah (restraint), which Jewish political leaders (who had become increasingly controlling of the Haganah) had imposed on the militia, and they demanded more decisive action against the rising Arab violence which targeted Palestinian Jews.
• 11 April – Three members of kibbutz Yagur were killed by members of a local Arab gang.
• 18 November – The 1931 census of Palestine is carried out by the Mandate authorities under the direction of Major E. Mills.
• 22 December – Two members of Nahala Moshav, a man and his son, killed when a bomb was thrown into their home. The attack is attributed to members of the Black Hand Gang.

Unknown dates

• The founding of the kibbutz Ein HaHoresh by Hashomer Hatzair members from Eastern Europe who reclaimed the land.

Births

• 17 January – Yaakov Gil, Israeli politician (died 2007)
• 13 February – Assaf Yaguri, Israeli politician and soldier (died 2000)
• 8 August – Yehoshua Matza, Israeli politician (died 2020)
• 16 May – Geula Zylberman, Jewish-Palestinian born Venezuelan artist
• 24 May – Eliezer Goldberg, Israeli jurist, judge on the Israeli Supreme Court and former State Comptroller of Israel (died 2022)
• 28 July – Michal Har'el, Israeli beauty queen (died 2012)
• 5 September – Amnon Rubinstein, Israeli law scholar, politician, and columnist (died 2024)
• 20 September – Haya Harareet, Israeli actress (died 2021)
• 21 September – Shmuel Auerbach, Israeli Haredi rabbi and posek (died 2018)
• 8 October – Sara Kishon, Israeli musician, author, and art collector (died 2002)
• 27 October – Shalom Cohen, Israeli rabbi and rosh yeshiva, spiritual leader of the Shas party
• 17 November – Amira Sartani, Israeli politician
• 27 November – Yaakov Ziv, Israeli computer scientist
• Full date unknown
  • Naim Attallah, Palestinian Arab businessman and writer
  • Ruth Horam, Israeli painter and sculptor
  • Avraham Katz, Israeli politician
  • Farouk Kaddoumi, Palestinian Arab, senior member of Fatah
  • Shaul Foguel, Israeli mathematician (died 2020)
  • Taha Muhammad Ali, Israeli Arab poet (died 2011).
  • Ram Karmi, Israeli architect (died 2013)

Deaths

Rachel Bluwstein

• 16 April – Rachel Bluwstein (commonly referred to as "Rachel the poetess") (born 1890), Russia-born Palestinian Jewish poet.