Palestine 1936

The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict

By: Oren Kessler

Narrated by: Shawn K. Jain

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

In spring 1936, the Holy Land erupted in a rebellion that targeted both the local Jewish community and the British Mandate authorities. The Great Arab Revolt would last three years, cost thousands of lives, and cast the trajectory for the Middle East conflict. The revolt was the crucible in which Palestinian identity coalesced, uniting all in a single struggle for independence. Yet the rebellion would ultimately turn on itself. British forces' aggressive counterinsurgency took care of the rest, finally quashing the uprising on the eve of World War II.

To the Jews, the insurgency would leave a very different legacy. It was then that Zionist leaders began to abandon illusions over Arab acquiescence, to face the prospect that fulfilling their dream of sovereignty might mean forever clinging to the sword. The revolt saw thousands of Jews trained and armed by Britain. This is the story of two national movements and the first sustained confrontation between them. The rebellion was Arab, but the Zionist counter-rebellion—the Jews' transformation—is a vital element in how Palestine became Israel. Today, the revolt's legacy endures.

Palestine 1936 is the origin story of the world's most intractable conflict, but it is also more than that. It reveals world-changing events through extraordinary individuals on all sides.

©2023 Oren Kessler (P)2024 Tantor

Fascinating pre-play of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

I did not know before listening that the two-state solution is an old idea from the mid 1930s. The reasons for vagaries of the policy of the British colonists Kessler makes clear. Although I am well versed in the conflict I did not know the extent to which the British kept switching sides. The section on the White Paper of 1939 is spellbinding. The analysis of the long term effect of the 1936-39 Arab uprising on their economy and culture is interesting.

there is contant striff

this describes the constant battles that have been going on in palestine since the 30's. there is constant killing by all involved and constant fighting. there does.ot seem to be a road to peace.

Excellent

Gained an even deeper understanding of the relentless Palestinian religious jihad/war against Israel, Zionism and the Jewish People.

Fascinating and well researched

This book is incredible well-researched and thoughtful. One of the few authoritative sources on the first half of 20th century in Israel/Palestine. Explains much about the contours of the conflict today.

Terrific history but with a perplexing gap.

Kessler has made an important contribution to the scholarship of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The narration couldn’t be better.

What surprises me is that Kessler treats the Palestinian cause purely in nationalistic terms. He doesn’t develop or give due attention to the religious and cultural drivers of Palestinian rejectionism of Jewish sovereignty on any borders. Haj Husseni, portrayed as the villain of this story, inflamed Arab Palestinians with claims the Jews intended to destroy al-Aqsa. In doing so, Husseni understood his audience and how to inflame them. That canard lives on as a battle cry among today’s Palestinians. The Hamas charter states explicitly that Islam cannot tolerate Jews occupying “Islamic lands.” Arab humiliation over Jewish and Israeli success has deep cultural roots.

So while readers will learn important history about Palestinian Arab nationalism going back to early 20th century, I just don’t know why Kessler did not paint the complete picture of this conflict by highlighting the religious and cultural aspects of Palestinian Arab rejectionism. Indeed, Hamas’ barbaric attack in Oct 7 was accompanied by shrieks of “Allahu Akbar.”

Important history-Horrible narration

The Great Revolt of 1936 is an important piece of history to understand contemporary Arab (Palestinian) vs Jewish (Israeli) history. The narration here is mechanical (probably AI) is horrible. I had to listen at 1.5 speed

The people with the deepest pockets win the war.

This is a story of cash poor Palestinians with property who sold it to Jews at inflated prices. Over time the Jews continued to purchase property until the Palestinians were about to become a minority. The poor Palestinians without property got the short end of the stick. After a while they were willing to die to get “their” land back.

Poor narration, stream of random facts

Worst narration of any book I’ve listened to, seemed almost like a computer reading it. The writing wasn’t much better, just a stream of names, events, etc without much effort to make a narrative.