During the early years of Abdülhamid II’s reign, there were several attempts to reinstate ex-Sultan Murad V to the throne. One of these was the initiative of Ali Suâvi, which has come to be known as the Çırağan Incident. Although the Ottoman press had to be very circumspect in reporting Suâvi’s attempt and its aftermath, the British newspaper of the Ottoman Empire, The Levant Herald, was instead able to carry the news about the incident for several days by framing its reportage in pro-government terms. The situation changed, however, when a letter from a reader praising Ali Suâvi and supporting the claim of Murad V to the throne was published by the paper and spurred the Sublime Porte into action. Although the authorship of the letter remains unknown, it is doubtful that it was actually written by an average reader of the paper; some sources instead point to Cleanthi Scalieri, the Master of the Prodoos Masonic Lodge. After publication, the proprietor of The Levant Herald, Edgar Whitaker, took refuge in the British Embassy, resulting in the confiscation of the printing house and the remaining copies of the newspaper on the order of the Sublime Porte. Whitaker protested that he had informed the Marshal of the Palace, Said Pasha, regarding the letter’s contents, and that he was now the subject of death threats and harassment; Said Pasha responded by denying any knowledge of the matter. The dismissal and exile of Said Pasha brought only further tension. The British Foreign Ministry claiming that the Sublime Porte had acted beyond its jurisdiction according to the capitulations. In the midst of negotiations between the British and Ottoman governments over the transfer of Cyprus, the furor over the letter and the newspaper provoked major discussion in the European press, and caused negative public reaction in Britain towards the actions of the Ottoman government. This article focuses on the anonymous letter published in The Levant Herald, and examines the course of these developments primarily through their representation in the British press.

Palestine, throughout modern known history has been geographically called "the least of all lands". Meanwhile because hosted holy shrines of three monotheistic religions, it was/is one of the most praised/precious small piece of land on the globe. Palestine came under Ottoman rule after Sultan Selim's Egyptian Campaign in 1517 and until the year of 1917 was an Ottoman land during 400 years. Before Ottomans, following old Roman experience, small colonies or administrations had been planted in Palestine with the express intention of preventing the political regeneration of the Jews. Under Ottoman rule, Jews and other two religions have been peacefully living in Palestine. In 1897 at Basel Congress, World Zionist Organization decided to establish a Jewish State in Palestine. They asked Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II for a national home in Palestine but could not achieve what they desired. Abdulhamid II also restricted Jewish pilgrimage to Palestine to prevent any possible de facto unpermitted foreign settlement of Jews. But, due to corruption and bribery of local rulers that rule could not be implemented properly. Nowadays addressing their future plans Zionists were asking to send high number of Jews to Palestine and the progress taken by bribery was not enough such kind of stream. The opportunity Zionists looking for emerged during WWI while British search of support for unsustainable war economy. In the year of 1916, a Zionist sympathizer Lloyd George became British Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of his Cabinet Arthur Balfour proclaimed his famous publication promising a national home hence Israeli State for Jews. To realize that aim Palestine had to be occupied and become a British colony. This paper will search archive documents and related second hand publications to shed light on Zionist activities and establishment process of Israel, special focus will be put on the role of Lloyd George Government. Arab reactions, especially the attitude of Sheriff Hussein and his son Faisal to the developments also will be discussed.