This book is a historical study of the survey and mapping system of Palestine under the British Mandate. It traces the background and the reasoning behind the establishment of the survey programme, examines the foundations upon which the system was based, and strives to understand the motivation of those who implemented it. This study shows that the roots of the modern survey system of Palestine are to be sought in the Balfour Declaration and its implications regarding land in Palestine. The land issue was at the core of the mapping of Mandatory Palestine, and it remains as a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

This book is a historical study of the survey and mapping system of Palestine under the British Mandate. It traces the background and the reasoning behind the establishment of the survey programme, examines the foundations upon which the system was based, and strives to understand the motivation of those who implemented it. This study shows that the roots of the modern survey system of Palestine are to be sought in the Balfour Declaration and its implications regarding land in Palestine. The land issue was at the core of the mapping of Mandatory Palestine, and it remains as a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

First published in 1950, Palestine Under the Mandate is an account of the role of Britain in Palestine during the British mandate period from 1920 to 1948. The author served as the chief immigration officer in British Mandate of Palestine from 1921 to 1934 and considers this book an attempt to dissipate the fog of propaganda in which the whole subject is shrouded. He delineates the difference between the terms Jew, Jewish and Zionist before situating the central question of his argument: What would have been the position of the Jewish National Home today if its germ had not been carefully nursed and protected for a quarter of the century after the acceptance of the Mandate? Since the author was a government employee, it is no surprise that his loyalty lies with the British government; however, this book is still an important record of the arguments employed to both build and destroy Palestine and will be worth reading for students of history, politics, international relations, global studies, and geography.

This thesis analyzes the British Mandate in Palestine 1920-1948. It examines the significance the British placed on their continued involvement in the Middle East following World War I, and the inherent contradictions that were a result of three separate agreements, each initiated to distribute lands previously ruled by the Ottomans. The British inability to reconcile the promises they made to both the Zionists and the Arabs, combined with their Mandate administration policies, %aped the Jewish/Arab conflict that has continued until the present day. The influence of the Zionist lobby on British leadership resulted in policies that favorably biased the Jewish population in Palestine. Additionally, Arabs disadvantaged themselves by refusing to participate politically with Jews, while Jewish leaders embraced opportunities to establish political institutions. Arab standing was further disadvantaged by British reaction to political violence displayed in response to British policies. The Jewish leadership capitalized on every opportunity to consolidate power, while the Arabs missed opportunities by remaining politically fragmented and unwilling to compromise.

“An essential purchase for anyone interested in modern Middle East history.” —Jerusalem Post The strife-torn three decades of British rule over Palestine, known as the Mandate, is one of the great dramas in British imperial history, and remains passionately controversial now, some fifty years after the last British High Commissioner left Jerusalem. British policies, promises, the mere presence of Britain in the Holy Land, are all still argued, deplored, or--less frequently--admired. In all the polemic surrounding the Mandate, the thousands of British men and women who actually lived and worked in Palestine have been overlooked, as if their presence there had been irrelevant. Whether civil servants, teachers, soldiers, or missionaries, posted to Jerusalem or remote outposts in the hills, whatever their rank or tasks, the British of the Mandate lived through an extraordinary, transforming personal adventure. Here for the first time is their often poignant story, written largely in their own words, with honesty, humor, and occasional bitterness, against a background of tragic and violent events. Their letters home, diaries, and memoirs vividly describe British landscapes, cultural affinities and misunderstandings, feelings for Arabs or Jews, accomplishments and mishaps, and a strong sense of imperial mission coupled with an often sorrowful awareness of human limitations and the folly of unrealistic expectations. This powerful and authentic personal writing, enhanced by evocative illustrations, brings to life a notable chapter in imperial history and illuminates the experiences and motivations of the last, remarkably articulate generation of British proconsuls and their wives.