Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict

Considering the events of October 2023, when Hamas made its great play to force the Israeli government to take them seriously, and brought disaster down upon themselves, I wondered whether this book was still worth the investment of time. Turns out that it is very relevant, as whatever else Oren Kessler does, his exercise in looking at the 1936 Great Revolt in detail demonstrates how the same sorry cycle gets played out over and over, as while there should be justice for the Palestinians, the reality is that their supposed leadership always over-plays its hand, and grants victory to the Jewish State.

Inscrutably wafting through this story is the figure of Hajj Amin al-Husseini. A mediocre man who basically lucked into being the Grand show more Mufti of Jerusalem, and only had one strategy; ride the wave and demand total victory, when too many objective factors were against him and his cause. While it's fashionable to talk about the fading British Empire of the time, when push came to shove London could still bring the hammer down. The ultimate result being that while the Balfour Declaration was nullified, and partition taken off the table, the end result was a material defeat for Palestinian nationalism, which made the Israeli task in 1948 so much easier. If hope is not a strategy, neither is raw anger.

Could things have been different? I don't know; the recurring cycle of events seems to suggest otherwise, even if I have great faith that the Israeli government will eventually make their own grasp too far. I certainly wouldn't be depending on the indefinite American support that is the basis of Israeli military power. As for the Arab world in general, who is to say; effective leadership does not come on demand, and the Arab Ataturk or Ben-Gurion has yet to emerge.

So yes, this book is still worth your time. Though I now want to read a good book on Ottoman economic backwardness, as that is the real bedrock of this tale. show less

I am not going to say I enjoyed this, it felt like enrolling in a very difficult one-week class. I will say it is the single most even-handed, well-written, well-supported book I have read about the formation of Israel and the roots of the Arab-Israeli problem. I am shocked by how little I knew about the first Arab uprising, and I am more shocked by how much it sounds like the current war. I did not realize I was blaming Britain far too much for some things, and not nearly enough for many others. I also did not realize how close they came to partition and the possible peace that might have facilitated. I give this all the stars. If you want to understand what is happening now you should read this. As Faulkner said: "The past is never show more dead. It's not even past." Or maybe as Shakespeare said, "the past is prologue." I am pretty sure one of those is right. show less

Basically the origin story of today's seemingly endless Arab-Israeli conflict. Even handed and well researched, a nicely written and accessible history with real resonance today.