The strife-torn three decades of British rule over Palestine, known as the Mandate, is one of the great dramas in British imperial history. Thousands of British men and women lived and worked in Palestine at the time. Here is their story, written largely in their own words, with honesty, humor, and occasional bitterness, against a background of tragic and violent events. 55 illustrations.
Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Introduction -- Genesis of a Project -- The Power of a Cultural Paradigm for British Mandate Palestine and Christian Communities -- Precedents -- Looking at Cultural Diplomacy in a Proto-National Setting: Towards an Integrative Approach -- Overview of the Book -- Speaking to the Silences? -- Bibliography -- Turning the Tables? Arab Appropriation and Production of Cultural Diplomacy -- Introduction Part I Indigenising Cultural Diplomacy? -- Bibliography -- Orthodox Clubs and Associations: Cultural, Educational and Religious Networks Between Palestine and Transjordan, 1925-1950 -- Orthodox Laity in the Emirate of Transjordan: Developing Diplomatic Ties in a Political Sphere in Reconfiguration -- Orthodox Laity During the Interwar Period: Regional Networks and Circulations -- Claims for Cultural and Educational Facilities in the New Capital -- Orthodox Laity and the Mandate Representative: Creating Political Ties -- The Orthodox Notables in Transjordan and the Development of the Arab Orthodox Nahda Association -- The Foundation of the Arab Orthodox Nahda Association: A Palestinian Connection? -- The Arab Orthodox Nahda Association: Creating a Communal Urban Presence -- Migration and Regional Circulation: Expanding the Arab Orthodox Imprint in Amman -- The 1940s and the Change of Diplomatic Paradigm -- From Sunday School to the Educational Association -- Sporting and Cultural Associations: Family Networks and Know-How -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- The Making Stage of the Modern Palestinian Arabic Novel in the Experiences of the udabāʾ Khalīl Baydas (1874-1949) and Iskandar al-Khūri al-BeitJāli (1890-1973) -- A Cultural Life Before Its Destruction -- Literature, Nahda and Russian Schools in Palestine.
A panoramic and provocative history of life in Palestine during the three strife-torn but romantic decades when Britain ruled and the seeds of today's conflicts were sown Tom Segev's acclaimed works, 1949 and The Seventh Million, overturned accepted views of the history of Israel. Now Segev explores the dramatic period before the creation of the state, when Britain ruled over "one Palestine, complete" (as noted in the receipt signed by the High Commissioner) and when its promise to both Jews and Arabs that they would inherit the land set in motion the conflict that haunts the region to this day. Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials, Segev reconstructs a tumultuous era (1917 to 1948) of limitless possibilities and tragic missteps. He introduces the legendary figures--General Allenby, Lawrence of Arabia, David Ben-Gurion--as well as an array of pioneers, secret agents, diplomats, and fanatics. He tracks the steady advance of Jews and Arabs toward confrontation and with his hallmark originality puts forward a radical new argument: that the British, far from being pro-Arab, as commonly thought, consistently favored the Zionist position, and did so out of the mistaken--and anti-Semitic belief that Jews turned the wheels of history. Rich in unforgettable characters, sensitive to all perspectives, One Palestine, Complete brilliantly depicts the decline of an empire, the birth of one nation, and the tragedy of another.
Though they are almost completely absent from the historical record, Palestinian women were extensively involved in the unfolding national struggle in their country during the British mandate period. This history studies the development of the Palestine women's movement between 1920 and 1948.
A landmark history of one hundred years of war waged against the Palestinians from the foremost US historian of the Middle East, told through pivotal events and family history In 1899, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, mayor of Jerusalem, alarmed by the Zionist call to create a Jewish national home in Palestine, wrote a letter aimed at Theodore Herzl: the country had an indigenous people who would not easily accept their own displacement. He warned of the perils ahead, ending his note, “in the name of God, let Palestine be left alone.” Thus Rashid Khalidi, al-Khalidi’s great-great-nephew, begins this sweeping history, the first general account of the conflict told from an explicitly Palestinian perspective. Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials and the reports of generations of family members—mayors, judges, scholars, diplomats, and journalists—The Hundred Years' War on Palestine upends accepted interpretations of the conflict, which tend, at best, to describe a tragic clash between two peoples with claims to the same territory. Instead, Khalidi traces a hundred years of colonial war on the Palestinians, waged first by the Zionist movement and then Israel, but backed by Britain and the United States, the great powers of the age. He highlights the key episodes in this colonial campaign, from the 1917 Balfour Declaration to the destruction of Palestine in 1948, from Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon to the endless and futile peace process. Original, authoritative, and important, The Hundred Years' War on Palestine is not a chronicle of victimization, nor does it whitewash the mistakes of Palestinian leaders or deny the emergence of national movements on both sides. In reevaluating the forces arrayed against the Palestinians, it offers an illuminating new view of a conflict that continues to this day.
The British Army's devastating effectiveness against colonial rebellion is exposed in this military history of Britain's pacification of the Arab revolt in Palestine.
In 1948, Britain withdrew from Palestine, bringing to an end its 30 years of rule in the territory. What followed has been well-documented and is perhaps one of the most intractable problems of the post-imperial age. However, the long-standing connection between Britain and Palestine before May 1948 is also a fascinating story. This volume takes a fresh look at the years of the British mandate for Palestine; its politics, economics, and culture. Contributors address themes such as religion, mandatory administration, economic development, policy and counter-insurgency, violence, art and culture, and decolonization. This book will be valuable to scholars of the British mandate, but also more broadly to those interested in imperial history and the history of the West’s involvement in the Middle East.
In 1917, the British issued the Balfour Declaration for military and strategic reasons. This book analyses why and how the British took on the Palestine Mandate. It explores how their interests and policies changed during its course and why they evacuated the country in 1948. During the first decade of the Mandate the British enjoyed an influx of Jewish capital mobilized by the Zionists which enabled them not only to fund the administration of Palestine, but also her own regional imperial projects. But in the mid-1930s, as the clouds of World War Two gathered, Britain’s commitment to Zionism was superseded by the need to secure her strategic assets in the Middle East. In consequence she switched to a policy of appeasing the Arabs. In 1947, Britain abandoned her attempts to impose a settlement in Palestine that would be acceptable to the Arab States and referred Palestine to the United Nations, without recommendations, leaving the antagonists to settle their conflict on the battlefield. Based on archival sources, and the most up-to-date scholarly research, this comprehensive history offers new insights into Arab, British and Zionist policies. It is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Palestine, Israel, British Colonialism and the Middle East in general.
This book recreates British rule in Palestine from the winter of 1917 to the spring of 1948. Between these dates, the Jewish minority turned political weakness into strength, and the Palestine Arabs headed for disaster. How this happened under British administration is the subject of this richly documented account, based on public and private papers, memoirs, and interviews--many never previously published. After the First World War the British in Palestine were handed an ambiguous brief: to encourage the formation of a "national home" for the Jews and to protect the "civil and religious rights" of the local Arabs. Colonial officials tried vainly to create a pluralist, "composite state" from communities divided by politics, religion, language, culture--even economic and social structure. They attempted to legislate for the benefit of Arabs and Jews alike, but saw many of their laws on immigration and land evaded by both, often in collusion. Trying at first to settle political conflict by persuasion and conciliation, in the end they turned disastrously to force. This study is the first to reconstruct in detail the workings of the troubled Mandate administration, and the influence of its chief personalities. At the end, with the land records preserved and military equipment consigned to the sea, a leading official complained bitterly that all constructive efforts in Palestine had been like "ploughing sand."
