Imperial Perceptions of Palestine: British Influence and Power in Late Ottoman Times

Description

The Palestine Exploration Fund, established in 1865, is the oldest organization created specifically for the study of the Levant. It helped to spur evangelical tourism to the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which in turn generated a huge array of literature which presented Palestine as a Holy Land, in which the Arab population and the Jewish minority were often portrayed as a simple appendix to well-known Biblical scenarios. In the first book focused on modern and contemporary Palestine to provide a top-down and a bottom-up perspective on the process of simplification of the region and its inhabitants under British influence, Lorenzo Kamel offers a comprehensive outlook that spans a variety of cultural and social boundaries, including local identities, land tenure, toponymy, religious charges, institutions and borders. By observing the process through which a region of different races, cultures and societies has historically been simplified, the author explores how perceptions of Palestine have been affected today." Front cover Author bio Endorsement Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Abbreviations Note on Transliterations Acknowledgements Introduction The Simplification of ‘the Others’ 1. From Prophecies to Empire 2. The Standard Conquest Myth 3. The Ownership of the Land 4. Zionism: Beyond the Either/Or 5. Zion–London: the Archimedean Point 6. Palestine’s ‘Non-Jews’ 7. Mandate for Palestine: Legitimizing the Simplification Process 8. Divide and Rule: the Creation of the Transjordan Emirate 9. Ḥajj Amīn al-Ḥusaynī and the Supreme Muslim Council: the Longa Manus of London 10. Breaking the Standardization Process: Getting Back into History Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index