Double podcast episode about the class struggle in Palestine during the British Mandate (1920-48). We discuss the organisations built by Palestinian workers, the 1936-39 revolt, and a number of joint strikes by Arabs and Jews which happened against the backdrop of rising tensions which culminated in the ethnic cleansing of the Nakba.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our
supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to
podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted
merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
You can listen to our podcast on the below links, or on any major podcast app. Links to a few below.
Episodes
For these episodes, we spoke to Palestinian scholar and activist, Leena Dallasheh. Her research focuses on the history of Palestine/Israel, with a particular interest in Palestinians who became citizens of Israel in 1948. For more information about Leena and her research, you can check her website.
- Part 1: the Balfour Declaration and establishment of the British Mandate, the campaign for ‘Hebrew Labour’, the Palestinian Arab Workers’ Association (PAWS) vs the Palestine Labour League (PLL), the Palestine Communist Party (PCP), the 1936-39 Great Palestinian Revolt – available now for our supporters on Patreon
- Part 2: the Palestinian labour movement during
World War II, new Palestinian workers’ organisations, the split in the
PCP, joint struggles by Arab and Jewish workers, war and Nakba – available soon for our supporters on Patreon
- Bonus 2.1: the strange relationship of British authorities to the Palestinian labour movement, Palestinian communists in Nazareth, and why Zionists really hate “From the river, to the sea…” – available soon, exclusively for our Patreon supporters on
More information
- WCH timeline of people’s history stories about Palestine
- WCH timeline of people’s history stories about the Nakba
- WCH timeline of people’s history stories about the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
- WCH timeline of people’s history stories about Israel
- E17-18: Anti-Zionism in Israel – Our double podcast episode looking at Zionism and opposition to it within Israel, in conversation with former members of the Israeli anti-Zionist socialist group, Matzpen
- For some great books about the workers’ movement in Mandate-ruled Palestine, we recommend that you check out:
- The Palestine Communist Party 1919-1948: Arab and Jew in the Struggle for Internationalism by Musa Budeiri
- Comrades and Enemies: Arab and Jewish Workers in Palestine, 1906-1948 by Zachary Lockman
- Budeiri makes an important critique of Lockman’s book (particularly around its overemphasis of Labour Zionism) in his review, ‘Zionism and Arab Workers’ (paywalled)
- We also have some excellent books about the history of Israel and Palestine in our online store
Media
Coming soon…
Sources
- Amnesty International (2024). ‘New evidence of unlawful Israeli attacks in Rafah causing mass civilian casualties’. 12 February [accessed 2024 Apr 26]. Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/02/israel-opt-new-evidence-of-unlawful-israeli-attacks-in-gaza-causing-mass-civilian-casualties-amid-real-risk-of-genocide/.
- Budeiri, Musa. (1999) ‘Review of Zionism and Arab Workers, by Zachary Lockman’. Journal of Palestine Studies 28, no. 2: 95–97. https://doi.org/10.2307/2537938.
- Budeiri, Musa (2010). The Palestine Communist Party, 1919-1948: Arab and Jew in the Struggle for Internationalism. Chicago: Haymarket Books.
- Cronin, David (2017). ‘Winston Churchill sent the Black and Tans to Palestine’. Irish Times, 19 May. Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/winston-churchill-sent-the-black-and-tans-to-palestine-1.3089140 (accessed 15 May 2024).
- Einstein, Albert (1948). ‘Letter to the New York Times: New Palestine Party: Visit of Menachem Begin and Aims of Political Movement Discussed’, New York Times, 2 December. Available at: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/einstein/1948/12/02.htm (accessed 15 May 2024).
- El-Eini, Roza IM (2006). Mandated Landscape: British Imperial Rule in Palestine, 1929–1948. London: Routledge.
- Feldman, Rachel Z., and Ian McGonigle (2023). ‘Introduction’ in Feldman, Rachel Z., and Ian McGonigle (eds.) Settler-Indigeneity in the West Bank. Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, pp. 3-44
- Glazer, Steven A (2001). “Picketing for Hebrew Labor: A Window on Histadrut Tactics and Strategy.” Journal of Palestine Studies 30, no. 4: 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2001.30.4.39.
- Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question. ‘Arab Labor in Mandate Palestine: The Emergence of a Working Class’. Available at: https://www.palquest.org/en/overallchronology?synopses=&nid=14511# (accessed 22 April 2024).
- International Court of Justice. South African government, Application instituting proceedings and Request for the indication of provisional measures, [accessed 2024 Apr 26]. https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf
- Khalidi, Rashid (2007). The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
- King David hotel bombing, Working Class History. 2024. [accessed 2024 Apr 26]. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/11425/king-david-hotel-bombing.
- Klug, Brian (2012). Being Jewish and Doing Justice Brian Klug Bringing Argument to Life. London: Valentine Mitchell.
- League of Nations (1937). “Official Communique in 9/37: Summary of the Report of the ‘Palestinian Royal Commission'” . Available at: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-197740/ (accessed 22 April 2024).
- Lockman, Zachary (1996). Comrades and Enemies: Arab and Jewish Workers in Palestine, 1906-1948. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- ‘Lohamei Herut Israel (Lehi or Stern Gang)’. Jewish Virtual Library. Available at: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/lo-x1e25-amei-x1e24-erut-israel (accessed 15 May 2024)
- Mathew, William M. “The Balfour Declaration and the Palestine Mandate, 1917—1923: British Imperialist Imperatives.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 40, no. 3 (2013): 231–50. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23525764.
- Mayer, Arno (2008). Plowshares into Swords: From Zionism to Israel. London: Verso.
- Morris, Benny (2001). Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001. New York: Vintage Books.
- Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Munayyer, Yousef (2017). ‘ It’s Time To Admit That Arthur Balfour Was A White Supremacist — And An Anti-Semite Too’, Institute for Palestine Studies, 1 November. Available at: https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/232119 (accessed 2 January 2023)
- https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/winston-churchill-sent-the-black-and-tans-to-palestine-1.3089140 (little ulster)
- Pappé, Ilan (2007). A History of Modern Palestine. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Quigley, John (1990). Palestine and Israel: A Challenge to Justice. Durham: Duke University Press.
- Taqqu, Rachelle Leah (1977). ‘Arab Labour in Mandatory Palestine, 1920-1948.’ PhD diss. Columbia University.
- Trail of Tears In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [accessed 2024 Apr 26]. https://www.britannica.com/event/Trail-of-Tears.
- UN partition plan, Working Class History. 2024. [accessed 2024 Apr 26]. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12671/un-partition-plan.
Acknowledgements
- Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman, Fernando López Ojeda and Jeremy Cusimano.
- Edited by Tyler Hill
- Episode graphic: public domain/Library of Congress.
- Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.
Subscribe
Listen and subscribe to WCH in the following ways: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Anchor | Castbox | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Podbean | Radio Public | RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn
No comments:
Post a Comment