The rise of the Arab–Israeli conflict
In studying the conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, it is important
to note several scholarly problems, given that the basic elements of this con-
flict are still playing themselves out. Most pertinent sources are biased in one
direction or another. In addition, it is essential to distinguish the views of
rank-and-file Jews and Arabs from those of leaders and ideologues on both
sides; the latter have tended to be more radical and contentious.
From the outset, moreover, there were three sides to this conflict. The
Jewish/Zionist side included Jewish settlers in Palestine, and “third-person”
Zionists. The Muslim/Arab side of the conflict included Arabs in Palestine
and neighboring Arab and Muslim states. Finally, the British Mandatory gov-
ernment in Palestine’s role as mediator of the conflict played a key role in its
expansion and intensification.
In locating the beginnings of this conflict, historians generally agree that
it began after the First World War. Prior to the war, Arabs and Jews had a
long tradition of peaceful coexistence in Palestine that dated back to the
Middle Ages. The initial Zionist settlers, moreover, brought improved tech-
nology, making the land more livable by draining swamps and “making the
desert bloom.” They traded with Arabs and improved the local economy,
which had deteriorated under Ottoman rule.
Moreover, prewar Zionists did not see Arabs as an obstacle to settlement.
Before 1908, violence between Arabs and Jews was sporadic, and consisted
mainly of unorganized Arab banditry. There were occasional clashes over live-
stock and water, but without any nationalist component. Palestine was
sparsely populated, with only 500,000–600,000 people, and had vast tracts
of unpopulated land. There was every reason to believe that there was plenty
of room for Jewish settlements. This explains the willingness of Arab
landowners to sell land to Zionist settlers. Until the 1930s, Arabs offered
Jews more land than the latter could buy. However, the Arabs who owned and
sold the land were not those who lived on and worked the land.
In addition, there was no organized Palestinian national movement prior
to the First World War. Palestine was not a well-defined entity, but part of
Syria. Few Arabs in Palestine were politically mobilized or literate. A small
circle of Muslim landowners dominated Arab society in Palestine. By 1914,
Arabs in Palestine began to resent Turkish domination, prompting a more
pan-Arab outlook and the beginnings of the notion of an Arab nation. Yet
such sentiments were minimal before the First World War.
Early Zionist leaders had little concern regarding a conflict with the
indigenous Arab population. Some Zionist leaders regarded Palestine as an
ideal refuge for Jews because it was largely uninhabited or, at least, under-
populated. Theodore Herzl had little to say about Arabs in Altneulandor Der
Judenstaat; neither did Asher Ginsberg envision any clash. An extreme exam-
ple in this regard was Israel Zangwill, who described the Land of Israel as “a
From renewal to devastation, 1914–45 215