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Book Summary History of the Middle East (Bunton & Cleveland)
History of the Middle East: Weeks 1 - 5
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History of the Middle East
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Janaan Farhat
History ME Notes
History of the Middle East: Week 6
Recap of last session
The invention of a ‘new instrument’ of domination: the ‘mandate’
Article 22 of the Covenant of the LoN imposes the respect of the will of the people living under
the mandate
However, if the Mandate is formally in line with the new language of ‘Internationalism’ it is
actually a continuation of the ‘civilizing mission’, with all its brutal practices
The role of the British Mandate of Palestine
The mandate for Palestine was founded on a unique premise
o A small territory that had been inhabited by an Arab majority for 1,200 years was
promised by Britain (third party) as a national home to the international Jewish
community (another people), the majority of whom lived in Eastern Europe
Zionist claims to the same territory inhabited by Palestinian Arabs lay at the root of the
conflict over Palestine
The role of nationalism
Zionism
o Although sentiment of Zionism was deeply ingrained in Jewish religious life, it
received little organizational expression until the late 19th century
o Jewish communities kept dream of returning to Holy Land
o Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), did not originate the idea of Zionism; author of The
Jewish State (1896), turned the ideology into a coherent international movement
He believed Jews constituted a nation, but lacked a political state within
which they could express their national culture
Existence of Jewish nationality + absence of Jewish state = Jews as aliens in
lands which they lived
Also did not specify Palestine as location of future Jewish state
First Zionist Congress convened in Basel in 1897: milestone for Zionist
movement
The congress adopted a program that stated that the objective of
Zionism was to secure a legally recognized home in Palestine for the
Jewish people.
o Political Zionism—inspired by nationalism + religious belief—spawned by
conditions in nineteenth century Europe
o REACTION TO ANTI-SEMITISM
o Modern political Zionism—Jewish nationalism focusing on Palestine—originated in
Russia, where anti-Semitism was most virulent.
o Leo Pinsker’s Autoemancipation argued that anti-Semitism was so deeply embedded
in European society that Jews would never be treated as equals Need for a State
[although he did not insist that the Jewish state be in Palestine]
Palestinian Nationalism
,Janaan Farhat
History ME Notes
o Opposition to the Mandate since the early 1920s
o Unlike Iraq and Syria (see last week’s lesson), no unified movement, but atomized
forms of resistance
1929: Collective action
1936-39: Armed resistance for liberation from British rule
o After the 1960: Influence of Arab nationalism
o Also a mix of nationalist and religious beliefs
o Role played by Al Hajj Al-Husseini (1897-1974)
o He opposed Zionism and adopted a reformist position in regard to British rule
The Balfour Declaration
November 2, 1917: British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, wrote ambiguous declaration of
sympathy for Jewish Zionist aspirations.
Unilaterally issued by Britain
The insoluble contradiction in the Balfour Declaration:
o How could Britain facilitate the establishment of a Jewish national home while
ensuring that the rights of the Arab majority would not be threatened?
The Palestinian Mandate
British gov. issued a White Paper in 1922: served as basis for policy during most of the 1920s
o To placate the Arab community, the White Paper stated that the development of a
Jewish national home did not mean the imposition of Jewish nationality upon the
inhabitants of Palestine as a whole. However, it also conceded certain Zionist demands
by declaring that the Jewish people had a right to be in Palestine and that Palestine
should become a center in which the Jewish people as a whole could take pride on the
grounds of religion and race.
o White Paper failed to remove the ambiguities of the Balfour Declaration
High Commissioner Sir Herbert Samuel believed that without Arab political participation, the
mandate would be unworkable.
The constitution of 1922
o unitary representation in a legislative council composed of elected Muslim, Christian,
and Jewish representatives.
Arab leaders rejected the plan, unable to compromise on annulling the Balfour Declaration.
Without institutions representing the population as a whole, the Arab and Jewish communities
became increasingly hostile to one another.
The Boundaries of the Palestine Mandate, 1923-1948
The Palestinian Arab Community: Leadership and Institutions
Palestinian Elites:
o Not only did they have to confront British imperialism, Zionist determination, and the
demands of their own constituents within the frontiers of the mandate, they also had
,Janaan Farhat
History ME Notes
to present the Palestinian case in the corridors of power in London, where none of
them commanded the respect and influence that were accorded Weizmann
o Their collective leadership weakened by factionalism
Arab Executive (1920):
o It claimed to represent all Palestinians, but:
It was not an authoritative body and it lacked structure
The British refused to acknowledge its legitimacy
Failed to secure mass support.
It fell apart in 1934.
The Supreme Muslim Council:
o Hajj Amin al-Husayni, mufti of Jerusalem and president of Council
Opposed to Balfour Declaration
o Council responsible for:
Supervision of the shari’ah courts and the appointment of court officials and
judges
Management of waqfs, the assignment of waqf funds, and the appointment of
waqf trustees
System of Islamic religious schools, including the selection of teachers.
o Hajj Amin vilified by Zionists, glorified by certain Arab nationalists; BUT – his
political behavior up to 1936 was more moderate than either group acknowledges
The mufti at first urged restraint and demonstrated a willingness to cooperate
with the British in seeking a negotiated solution to the question of Jewish
immigration
The Jewish Community: Leadership and Institutions
Zionist organizations enjoyed more resources than the Palestinians Therefore they were
better organized and better connected.
The Jewish Agency (1929): quasi-government of the Jewish community in Palestine.
o Managing an impressive array of services that ranged from banking systems to health
care and immigrant settlement.
The Federation of Jewish Labor, Histadrut, represented labor unions and gradually expanded
to exercise influence over ideology and politics of Yishuv (the name of the Jewish community in
Palestine before 1948)
o Histadrut created public works projects and founded companies that by the 1930s
included such enterprises as shipping, agricultural marketing, road and housing
construction, banking, and insurance.
o Since one of its objectives was to ensure the self-sufficiency of Jewish labor and
produce, Histadrut instituted a boycott of Arab workers and Arab products.
o Control over the Haganah, the Jewish defense force
o Acted as trade union and largest employer under the mandate
o In 1930, 2 labor groups merged to form the Mapai Party, the body that dominated the
political life of the Yishuv and the state of Israel until 1977.
, Janaan Farhat
History ME Notes
David Ben-Gurion first Israeli prime minister in 1948; as Mapai Party head and Jewish
Agency chairman
Symbol of the Mapai Party
Outside Support for Zionist Cause
In 1920, the World Zionist Organization transferred its headquarters to London.
o Chaim Weizmann, the president, was able to pressure the British gvt quickly when
British policy towards Palestine veered from what he wanted
The Zionist Organization of America was founded in 1917
o With US rise after WWII, American Jewry would play vital role in shaping the Palestinian
conflict
Divisions within the Yishuv
Revisionists: condemned Weizmann’s approach as too hesitant and too dependent on Britain.
o Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880–1940), called for massive Jewish immigration into Palestine
and the immediate proclamation of a Jewish commonwealth.
Revisionism lost much of its force with Jabotinsky’s death.
o Two of his disciples, Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, later became Israeli prime
ministers and revived their former leader’s uncompromising Zionism
Immigration and Land Acquisition
Jewish immigration and land acquisition lay at the heart of the communal tension in Palestine.
o The Zionist objective: Build up the Jewish population of the mandate through
unrestricted immigration.
o Zionism resembled a project of settler colonialism undertaken at the expense of the
local Arab population.
o The Arabs of Palestine opposed them by attempting to negotiate with Britain to
restrict immigration and land transfers.
o When that tactic failed, Arabs turned to armed revolt.
Jewish immigration to Palestine occurred in a series of waves called aliyahs.
o The fifth aliyah (1933-1936): ~170,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine, doubling the size
of the Yishuv and creating widespread alarm within the Arab community.
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