Title: One Palestine, Complete (Book Review): 2151
Abstract: One Palestine, Complete, by Tom Segev. Tr. by Haim Watzman. New York: Henry Holt, 2000. 519 pages. Notes to p. 599. Acknowledgments to p. 602. Index to p. 612. $35. Reviewed by Lawrence Davidson Tom Segev's One Palestine, Complete is an episodic examination of the Mandate period through the eyes of the British, the Zionists, and to a lesser extent, the Palestinians. This attention to the perspectives of all parties makes the book a genuine contribution to our knowledge of the time. Drawing on diaries, letters, and records, Segev reveals an array of experiences ranging from those of British generals and High Commissioners, to Zionist leaders and colonists, to a smattering of Arab intellectuals. However, the fact that 80 percent of this material deals with Englishmen and Zionists does render the book's subtitle, Jews and Arabs under the British Mandate, misleading. Nonetheless, any attention to Arab feelings, even if presented in a questionable contextual fashion, is welcome. This attention places Segev within the broad context of Israel's new historians. Segev, a noted Israeli journalist who holds a doctorate in history from Boston College, writes his anecdotal history in a matter of fact way, and clearly wants to achieve objectivity in his story telling. Allowed to speak for themselves, the points of view of Palestinian nationalists such as Khalil al-Sakakini, initially appear every bit as heartfelt and worthy of a hearing as those of Zionists with whom they are juxtaposed. The effect of this approach is to suggest that the British, Zionists, and Palestinians are on an equal moral footing. Each appears to have his/her own, understandable, and legitimate point of view. However, by the time the author reaches 1929, he is editorializing. He persistently describes Arab resistance to colonialism as terrorism, and repeatedly reminds readers that, beginning in the 1930s, the Palestinians became Nazi sympathizers. In addition, he fails to place these events properly in context. For instance, why is it that historians of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict seem unable judge the violence of resistance to colonialist occupation as different from the violence perpetrated by the colonizer? Why is it that the Arab rebellion that began in 1936 was, according to Segev, the work of terrorist bands (p. 363)? He repeats this latter characterization at least ten times. In contrast, he refers to Haganah violence as Jewish defense (p. 361). Describing British behavior in putting down the Arab rebellion in all its brutal reality, Segev nonetheless characterizes it as an exercise in counterterrorism (p. …
Publication Year: 2001
Publication Date: 2001-04-01
Language: en
Type: article
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