Overview

Great Britain ruled Palestine from 1917 to 1948. The British presence replaced 500 years of Turkish control and led to the State of Israel, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998. The British brought Palestine into the twentieth century. When they arrived the country lay in a Levantine nirvana; by the time they left it had become the arena for one of the century's major international conflicts. Among the personalities who shape this narrative are Lawrence of Arabia, Winston Churchill, the archaeologist Flinders Petrie, King Feisal, Chaim Weizmann and David Ben Gurion. One momentous consequence of these 30 years was that the Jewish population increased by a factor of ten.

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9780349112862

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Wonderfully readable and humane - INDEPENDENT New and remarkable ... this excellent book - SUNDAY TIMES Topicality is never an issue where Israel and the Palestinians are concerned. The arguments--not to mention bloodshed--over Jewish and Muslim nationhood and land rights have been going on for centuries and, whatever the best intentions of the current peace process, will probably go on for centuries to come. Both parties fanatically believe they have an inalienable historical right to statehood on the land in question and both regard Jerusalem as a holy City. As befits the disenfranchised, the Palestinians are slightly more open to a negotiated settlement, but the Israelis remain intransigent about handing over any but the most inhospitable of scrubland and the impasse remains. In the battle between the bullets and the ballot box, the bullets are winning hands down. Tom Segev is one of Israel's most notable historians and journalists--one of the few to strive for any sense of objectivity in his writings--so a new book by him is always worth waiting for. One Palestine, Complete is a detailed account of Palestine under British rule from 1917-48, the critical period in the modern history of the region that lead up to the creation of the state of Israel. Segev begins by carefully detailing Britain's well-known inconsistencies in dealing with both the Jews and the Arabs, both

The British took control of Palestine from the Turks in 1917, and stayed until 1948. According to Segev, they derived no economic or strategic benefit from it, and there were early signs that they were getting themselves into an insoluble political problem. Both Arab and Jews wished for independence and assumed they would win it under British sponsorship; however, the two competing national movements advanced steadily towards confrontation, and outbreaks of violence were regular features of British rule. In this balanced account of the Mandate period, Segev, a leading Israeli historian, has used much previously untapped archival material, and in 519 pages of meticulously researched text (there are also detailed source notes), he has the space to convey richly varied detail. He quotes from the diaries of such diverse individuals as Count Ballobar, the influential Spanish consul of Jerusalem in World War One; the noted Palestinian educator and writer Khalil al-Sakaini; Chaim Weizman, the leader of the Zionist movement; and many British High Commissioners and officers, high-ranking and low. Part One is entitled 'Illusion' - the British illusion that it was possible to establish a 'national home' for the Jews without hurting the Arabs. 'From the start,' writes Segev, 'war between the two was inevitable.' There were riots in 1920, with many more to follow, rivalries and disagreements between the powerful Husseinis and Hashashibis, Ben-Gurion and Jabotinsky, High Commissioners and the Colonel Office. The closest comparison that was often made to the insoluble problem was Ireland. Part Two, 'Terror', details the escalation of atrocities and riots as the British authorities tried to limit Jewish immigration, and to react appropriately to increased Arab terrorism. Counter-terrorism became a strong force. One British minister wrote, 'You can't have a secure base on top of a wasps' nest'. In 1947 the Mandate was handed over to the UN. Segev clarifies the complex origins and developments of the two entrenched and passionate nationalisms, and the clarity is deeply depressing. The war for Palestine began even before its partition into two independent states. (Kirkus UK)

'Wonderfully readable and humane' INDEPENDENT 'New and remarkable ... this excellent book' SUNDAY TIMES 'Topicality is never an issue where Israel and the Palestinians are concerned. The arguments--not to mention bloodshed--over Jewish and Muslim nationhood and land rights have been going on for centuries and, whatever the best intentions of the current peace process, will probably go on for centuries to come. Both parties fanatically believe they have an inalienable historical right to statehood on the land in question and both regard Jerusalem as a holy City. As befits the disenfranchised, the Palestinians are slightly more open to a negotiated settlement, but the Israelis remain intransigent about handing over any but the most inhospitable of scrubland and the impasse remains. In the battle between the bullets and the ballot box, the bullets are winning hands down. Tom Segev is one of Israel's most notable historians and journalists--one of the few to strive for any sense of objectivity in his writings--so a new book by him is always worth waiting for. One Palestine, Complete is a detailed account of Palestine under British rule from 1917-48, the critical period in the modern history of the region that lead up to the creation of the state of Israel. Segev begins by carefully detailing Britain's well-known inconsistencies in dealing with both the Jews and the Arabs, both of whom it had appeared to promise if not the world, at least the country after independence was granted and goes on to make a convincing case that because Palestine fell into the category of an emotional rather than self-interested colonial possession, the Brits hoped the situation would unwind to everyone's mutual advantage. Where Segev departs from the historical norm is in his assertions that whatever the British may have said to the Palestinians their actions were uncompromisingly pro-Zionist from the off. This, he claims, was done out of the mistaken, anti-Semitic belief that the Jews controlled business and turned the wheels of history--in other words they were one of us--rather than a recognition of the rightness of their cause. Be this as it may, it is at best a partial explanation. Prior to the Second World War, Britain was on the verge of handing over Palestine to the Arabs and Segev completely downplays the impact of Western war guilt over the Holocaust that led to a huge growth in support for an independent Israeli state at the expense of Palestinian rights. Even so, One Palestine, Complete offers a thoughtful and dramatic account of the evolution of two nationalist movements that seem destined never to be reconciled. With a past like this, what hope is there for the future?' - John Crace, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW

Author Information

Tom Segev is the acclaimed author of THE SEVENTH MILLION and writes a weekly column for HA'ARETZ, Israel's most prestigious newspaper.

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