With the defeat of the Ottomans at the end of World War I, Rusafi was compelled to leave Istanbul, travelling first to Damascus and then on to Jerusalem before finally returning to Baghdad. Rusafi was marginalised when Hussein's son Faisal, his former colleague in the Ottoman Parliament, established a government in Syria in 1920. He found sanctuary in Jerusalem where he lectured at the Teachers College, thanks to the intervention of Raghib al-Nashashibi. While in Jerusalem, Rusafi was heavily criticised for failing to use his poetry to resonate Arab nationalist sentiments during the momentous events of 1920 in Syria and Palestine. As a result, Rusafi's academic role in Palestine became untenable. The problem was resolved in 1921 when he received a telegram from Hikmat Sulayman, inviting him to return to Baghdad as editor of a newspaper supporting Talib Pasha al-Naqib's aspiration to become head of a new Iraqi state. By the time Rusafi reached Baghdad, al-Naqib had been arrested at a tea party held by Gertrude Bell and deported to India, paving the way for Faisal, who had lost his throne in Syria, to become the king of Iraq. Rusafi had once again backed the losing side, this time in opposing Britain's plans for Faisal in Iraq.