Crime of nationalism: Britain, Palestine, and nation-building on the fringe of empire

261 Pages·2018·2.627 MB·English

by  Kelly, Matthew Kraig

Th e Crime of Nationalism
britain, palestine, and
nation-building on the fringe of empire
Matthew Kraig Kelly
university of california press
Th e Crime of Nationalism

Th e Crime of Nationalism
britain, palestine, and
nation-building on the fringe of empire
Matthew Kraig Kelly
university of california press
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
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University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2017 by Th e Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kelly, Matthew Kraig, author.
Title: Th e crime of nationalism : Britain, Palestine, and nation-building on
the fringe of empire / Matthew Kraig Kelly.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: lccn 2017016676 (print) | lccn 2017019351 (ebook) |
isbn 9780520965256 (ebook) | isbn 9780520291485 (cloth : alk. paper) |
isbn 9780520291492 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: lcsh: Palestine—History—Arab rebellion, 1936-1939. | Palestine—
History—1917-1948. | Great Britain—Foreign relations—Palestine. |
Palestine—Foreign relations—Great Britain. | Palestine—Politics and
government—1917-1948. | Violence—Palestine—History.
Classifi cation: lcc ds126 (ebook) | lcc ds126 .K39 2017 (print) |
ddc 956.94/04—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017016676
Manufactured in the United States of America
26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my parents, Kraig and Dolores Kelly
In memory of David Batza

contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
part one
april–october 1936
1 British Causal Primacy and the Origins of
•
the Palestinian Great Revolt 11
2 “A Wave of Crime”: Th e Criminalization
•
of Palestinian Nationalism, April–June 1936 35
3 “Th e Policy Is the Criminal”: War on
•
the Discursive Frontier, July–August 1936 47
4 Th e British Awakening to the Military Nature
•
of the Rebellion, August–October 1936 70
part two
1937–39
5 Th e Peel Commission Reconsidered 93
•
6 Towards a Rebel Parastate: Th e Arab Rejection
•
of Partition and the Eff ort to Institutionalize
the Revolt, 1937–38 124
7 New Policy, New Crime: Th e Abortion of
•
the Balfour Declaration 141
8 Th e End of the Revolt, 1939 155
•
Conclusion 177
Notes 187
Bibliography 231
Index 241
acknowledgments
I cannot put into words my gratitude for the many people who made this
book possible, but I will try. Above all, I want to thank my family. My wife,
Tammie, traveled with me to England and to Israel during the research phase
of the book. To help support me, she waited tables in London, and taught
dance workshops all over England, Israel, the Netherlands and France. And
she did it all without complaint. My parents, Kraig and Dolores Kelly, were
unfailing in their support, both moral and material, through my years in
graduate school and during the research and writing phases of the book. My
uncle and dear friend, the great Dr. Gary Lynch, carefully read and com-
mented on various draft s of the manuscript. He also saved this project from
the scrapheap of books-to-be by stepping in with fi nancial support on more
than one occasion. More generally, “UG” has been a source of intellectual
and spiritual inspiration to me for many years. I have to thank a number of
friends who happen also to be fi rst-rate scholars and therefore readers. Th ese
include my lifelong friend Tommy Givens, and two of my most cherished
confi dantes, Fredrik Meiton and Adam Talib. Tom off ered invaluable advice
early in the writing process, and has been a source of personal strength for as
long as I have known him. Fred and Adam went well beyond the call of duty
in closely vetting the manuscript and off ering me indispensable historical,
linguistic, and stylistic advice. Th e book would never have seen the light of
day without the support of James Gelvin. I am profoundly thankful for his
years of institutional, intellectual, and moral support. It is fi tting that he gave
me the book title. In addition to Gelvin’s, I am fortunate to have received the
learned input of the other three members of my dissertation committee,
David N. Myers, Gabriel Piterberg, and Michael Mann. As important, my
good friends Gaby Goldstein and Tony Peterson, as well as Nehad Khader,
ix