My Amazon Review of Oren Kessler's "Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict"

 The First Intifada

 

On April 15, 1936, at an Arab checkpoint in Palestine three Jewish drivers were singled out and shot.  Immediately thereafter the Irgun paramilitary retaliated by killing two fruit pickers and of a sudden the Great Arab Revolt, which would last for three years, is on its way. Oren Kessler, a journalist, and policy analyst based in Tel Aviv, argues convincingly that the die was cast for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that continues to this day.

 

Kessler takes us back to the mindset of the Jews, Arabs and British in the 1930’s. As the storm clouds of the Holocaust gather over Europe Jewish immigration to Palestine surged up to 75,000 a year and land purchases from local and absentee Arab landlords took off. Indeed, some of the sellers were leaders in opposition to the Jews in the local Arab community.  As a result Arab resentment against the newcomers rose and all it took was the match of the two murderous events to set off a general strike and a revolt against the British.

 

Kessler puts us into the mindsets of the Jews, Arabs and British as they grapple with the crisis. He demonstrates the charm of Chaim Weitzmann, the leader of the World Zionist Organization, the single-mindedness of David Ben Gurion’s policy Havlegah (self-Restraint) in the face of provocations and the realism of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the leader of the Revisionist Zionists.  On the Arab side he goes into great detail about the actions of Haj Amin al-Husseini the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who would later be found in Hitler’s court during World War II. Husseini establishes the policy of no compromise with the Jews. He even opposed the 1939 British White Paper that undid the Balfour Declaration and sharply limited Jewish immigration to Palestine. Kessler also highlights the role of Arab intellectuals Musa Alemi and George Antonious; the latter wrote “The Arab Awakening.”

 

On the British side he notes the influence of High Commissioners Herbert Samuels (1920-25) and Arthur Wauchope (1931-38). To me the most interesting character on the British side was General Orde Wingate, who was responsible for stopping the Arab sabotage of British assets in Palestine, especially the Iraq-Haifa oil pipeline. In order to this he enlists the nascent Jewish Hagenah by establishing the Special Night Squads. (SNS) Out of the SNS grew the Israel Defense Forces and its early leaders Moshe Dayan and Yigdal Allon.

Wingate drew his inspiration from Gideon of Book of Judges fame. As a longtime Bible reader, Wingate was knowledgeable of Gideon’s successful night attacks on the Midianites which coincidently was in the same general place where the SNS were operating.

 

In response to the Arab revolt the British initially adopted the Peel Plan in 1937 which called for a geographic separation of the parties, if you will, a two state solution. The Jews accepted the plan, and the Arabs rejected it out of hand. In 1939 facing a war in Europe the British seek to curry favor with the Arabs and adopt their infamous White Paper. The Jews rejected it and although the White Paper was popular amongst the Arab community, no compromise Husseini rejects it.

 

Nevertheless, by Spring 1939 the revolt is a spent force. The revolt succeeded in undoing the Balfour Declaration, but the Palestinian Arabs remained divided. On the other hand, the Jews, despite the general strike, jump-started a self-sustaining economy built on orange exports and local manufacturing, including weapons. Importantly, the Hagenah became the basis for what was to become the Israel Defense Force that was so successful in 1947-48.

 

As Kessler argues the events of 1936-39 formed the basis of today’s conflicts. Both the Jews and Palestinians are here to stay and a way has to be found for them to live together in a modicum of peace. Otherwise, we will continue to relive a 21^st Century version of the events of 1939.

For the full amazon URL see: The First Intifada (amazon.com)