One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate

By Tom Segev and Tom Segev, Tom; Seger

Book Overview

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award
Named a Best Books of the Year by The New York Times
Named an Editors' Choice Best Book by The New York Times

"The best single account of Palestine under the British mandate . . . This will doubtlessly become the authoritative text for the pre-state history of Israel." --The New York Times Book Review

Rich in historical detail, sensitive to all perspectives, One Palestine, Complete brilliantly depicts the decline of an empire, the birth of one nation, and the tragedy of another.

One Palestine, Complete explores the tumultuous period before the creation of the state of Israel. This was the time of the British Mandate, when Britain's promise to both Jews and Arabs that they would inherit the land, set in motion the conflict that haunts the region to this day.

Drawing on untapped archival materials, Tom Segev reconstructs an era (1917 to 1948) of limitless possibilities and tragic missteps. He introduces an array unforgettable characters, tracks the steady advance of Jews and Arabs toward confrontation, and puts forth a radical new argument: that the British, far from being pro-Arab, consistently favored the Zionist position, out of the mistaken--and anti-Semitic--belief that Jews turned the wheels of history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805065873
• ISBN13: 9780805065879
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 640 Pages
• Weight: 1.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Segev's masterpiece

This is Segev's finest work, and even if you disagree with its general thesis or its particular details, few can find fault with Segev's organization of his materials; he provides a wealth of larger information about the Mandatory period, but tempers it with a few individual "characters" who he introduces and reintroduces, here and there, to illustrate the human dimension of this period. In an area of study where few people will be wholly pleased, this aspect of the work can be nearly universally agreed upon. Independent of its historiagraphical worth (which I think is quite high), One Palestine, Complete, is well written and completely realized.

One of the best renditions about Palestine ever written

This is a captivating book about Palestine with immense detail. Written with superb academic prowess by Tom Segev, we get a detailed look at the history of the country/region known in modern times as Palestine. Highly recommended for those looking for an objective look at the area.

History as Personal Narrative

It takes skill to teach history through engaging personal narratives. Segev did exactly that, and I enjoyed the book thoroughly as a result. I picked it up because I am very interested in the Isael-Palestine issue and wanted an introduction. Segev's book answered all the factual questions I had, and more. I understand, however, that this is a controversial book -- for portraying the British as being more sympathetic than perhaps they actually were and for creating the appearance of equivalence between violence on the Palestinian side and violence on the Israeli side. I can't comment on the validity of these criticisms. I should say, however, that his book has left me as committed to Israeli as I ever was...

Riveting, depressing, and very worthwhile reading

`One Palestine, Complete' is a brilliant piece of history and a very depressing book. Author Tom Segev is a columnist for Ha'aretz and a resident of Jerusalem, intimately acquainted with his topic. Segev effectively combines anecdote, a gift for striking quotes, excellent research and a broad historical vision into this amazingly informative volume about the 31 years of British rule. As Benny Morris has stated: "He treats the Mandate period as a novel." The overwhelming image of the British mandate is that of parents trying to keep peace between their two children, their favored eldest son and his younger brother ... The parents tried and tried to get the kids to stop misbehaving -- and eventually gave up.Many of us seem to have forgotten that Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire until a short 84 years ago! In fact, the British controlled this region for only three decades, from 1917 until 1948. This book is the story of those years. Among the horrors covered in this tome are: the Nebi Musa rampage of 1920, the Jaffa riot of 1921, the Jerusalem riot of 1929, the riots of 1933, and the Arab Rebellion of 1936-39. Segev's traces their origins, but even more chillingly, describes how they unfolded, event-by-event and horror-by-horror. Early Arab atrocities insured that many Jews would never trust their Arab neighbors.Segev clearly distinguishes Zionism and Judaism. He reminds us that "much of the pre-Zionist Jewish population - that is, those who lived in Palestine before the 1880s - were ultra-Orthodox. They were deeply hostile to the notion of secular Jewish autonomy in the Holy Land, which, according to religious doctrine, would be redeemed only through divine intervention in the messianic age. To the traditional Jewish population was sacrilegious." [p. 14] Segev shows how this caused problems for the early Zionists, Ashkenazi upstart socialists scorned by the religious. Under the `chalukkah' system, the Diaspora supported pious Jews in Palestine. In return they studied the Torah and prayed on behalf of Jews worldwide; the ultra-Orthodox saw no need for change. Segev establishes that even from the turn of the century relations between European Zionists and native Palestinian Arabs were bad. Regarding the `land issue', he points out that most people were tenant farmers on lands they did not own. He quotes Chaim Margalit Kalvarisky, a Polish-born agronomist whose job included purchasing land for the Jewish Colonization Association: "After the first purchase of land I made here I had to dispossess the Arab residents of their land for the purpose of settling our brothers.... They sang songs of mourning for their bad fortune, which forced them to leave the cradle of their birth. Those songs cut through my heart and I realized how tied the Bedouin is to his land." Segev quotes the words of British foreign secretary Arthur James Balfour: "Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is of far profounder import than the desires and p

The impact of history on today's events

This book is definitely a must read for those who are interested in the events that currently take place in Israel! Tom Segev gives an impartial and balanced view of the historical facts that led up to, and are currently impacting today's situation and explains the reasons for today's violence and turmoil, without taking sides. This book is intelligently written and well researched. Despite having lived, worked and travelled extensively throughout the Middle East myself for the past ten years, I learned a lot from this book about the less well-known historial aspects of today's problems that so often are ovelooked by the media. Very enjoyable read and highly informative!