University of Houston

Fall 2020
Palestine and the Making of the Arab‐Israeli Conflict

Professor Abdel Razzaq Takriti (artakriti@uh.edu)

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30—4:00 pm
Office Hours: By appointment

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This course examines the origins of one of the longest running and most significant
conflicts in modern history. It explores social dynamics in late-Ottoman Palestine;
the birth of the Zionist movement; the establishment of the British Mandate; the
Palestinian revolt of 1936-39; the 1948 war; the creation of the state of Israel and the
dispossession of the Palestinian refugees. Students will consider questions of social,
demographic, and cultural transformation as well as political dynamics. Using a
broad range of primary sources, they will be encouraged to reflect upon the period
in question on its own terms and to search for the voices of its protagonists. The
subject under consideration has attracted lively debate and led to the development
of several major theoretical approaches such as post-colonialism and comparative
settler-colonial studies. These approaches, as well as major historiographical debates
in the field, will be thoroughly engaged with.

Course Aims
By taking this course you will be:
1. Introduced to a wide range of debates on the subject and the
variety of historiographical trends in the field.
2. Encouraged to appreciate the contrasting motivations and
actions of Palestinian natives, Zionist colonists, as well as Arab,
British, and US actors.
3. Afforded the opportunity to develop source criticism skills as
well as comparative historiographical thought.

Course Requirements
You will be offered a series of content-specific classes, looking at a range of
historical topics, issues, and problems that take you through the period in
question, providing both an introduction to the study of Palestine/Israel and the
origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Attendance is mandatory. Preparatory reading
is set in advance for all classes. The reading is necessary to properly navigate the
scholarly terrain of the subject. Every member of the class should complete the
class readings. On the basis of the reading, you will be expected to share your
knowledge of historiographical developments, debate topics, and both listen and
respond to the views of others in a structured, respectful, positive, and tolerant
environment.

Course Webpage
Course readings can be found on the library guides page:
https://guides.lib.uh.edu/HIST3384_Palestine

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Additional Information:

Excused Absence Policy

Regular class attendance, participation, and engagement in coursework are
important contributors to student success. Absences may be excused as provided
in the University of Houston Undergraduate Excused Absence Policy and
Graduate Excused Absence Policy for reasons including: medical illness of
student or close relative, death of a close family member, legal or government
proceeding that a student is obligated to attend, recognized professional and
educational activities where the student is presenting, and University-sponsored
activity or athletic competition. Additional policies address absences related to
military service, religious holy days, pregnancy and related conditions, and
disability.

Interim Undergraduate Grading Policy

Due to the unique and unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19
pandemic, the University of Houston has implemented an Interim
Undergraduate Grade Policy for undergraduate grades which applies to all
undergraduate students in courses offered in all sessions during fall 2020. Under
this policy, students have the option of converting final assigned letter grades to
S (Satisfactory, applicable to any letter grade from A to D-) or NCR (No Credit
Reported COVID-19, applicable to grades of F) on their transcripts. Please visit
FAQs for additional information.

Recording of Class
Students may not record all or part of class, livestream all or part of class, or
make/distribute screen captures, without advanced written consent of the
instructor. If you have or think you may have a disability such that you need to
record class-related activities, please contact the Center for Students with
DisABILITIES. If you have an accommodation to record class-related activities,
those recordings may not be shared with any other student, whether in this
course or not, or with any other person or on any other platform. Classes may be
recorded by the instructor. Students may use instructor’s recordings for their
own studying and notetaking. Instructor’s recordings are not authorized to be
shared with anyone without the prior written approval of the instructor. Failure to
comply with requirements regarding recordings will result in a disciplinary
referral to the Dean of Students Office and may result in disciplinary action.

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Syllabus Changes
Due to the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, please note that the
instructor may need to make modifications to the course syllabus and may do so
at any time. Notice of such changes will be announced as quickly as possible
through Blackboard.

Resources for Online Learning

The University of Houston is committed to student success, and provides
information to optimize the online learning experience through our Power-On
website. Please visit this website for a comprehensive set of resources, tools, and
tips including: obtaining access to the internet, AccessUH, and Blackboard;
requesting a laptop through the Laptop Loaner Program; using your smartphone
as a webcam; and downloading Microsoft Office 365 at no cost. For questions or
assistance contact UHOnline@uh.edu.

UH Email
Email communications related to this course will be sent to your Exchange email
account which each University of Houston student receives. The Exchange mail
server can be accessed via Outlook, which provides a single location for
organizing and managing day-to-day information, from email and calendars to
contacts and task lists. Exchange email accounts can be accessed by logging into
Office 365 with your Cougarnet credentials or through Access UH. They can also
be configured on IOS and Android mobile devices. Additional assistance can be
found at the Get Help page.

Webcams
Access to a webcam is required for students participating remotely in this course.
Webcams must be turned on during class to ensure academic integrity of
instruction administration.

Honor Code Statement

Students may be asked to sign an honor code statement as part of their
submission of any graded work including but not limited to projects, quizzes,
and exams: “I  understand and agree to abide by the provisions in the  (select: University
of Houston Undergraduate Academic Honesty Policy, University of Houston Graduate
Academic Honesty Policy). I understand that academic honesty is taken very seriously
and, in the cases of violations, penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the
University of Houston."

Note
This course is being offered in the Synchronous Online format. Synchronous
online class meetings will take place according to the class schedule. There is no
face-to-face component to this course. In between synchronous class meetings,

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 there may also be asynchronous activities to complete (e.g., discussion forums
and assignments).

Helpful Information
COVID-19 Updates: https://uh.edu/covid-19/
Coogs Care: https://www.uh.edu/dsaes/coogscare/
Laptop Checkout Requests: https://www.uh.edu/infotech/about/planning/off-
campus/index.php#do-you-need-a-laptop
Health FAQs: https://uh.edu/covid-19/faq/health-wellness-prevention-faqs/
Student Health Center: https://uh.edu/class/english/lcc/current-
students/student-health-center/index.php

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Assessment

1. Participation (20%)

2. Reflection on a novel (30%) Deadline: October 15

Please read one of the following novels and write a 1000-1500-word reflection
on it. Briefly describe the novel, and then engage with it by placing special
emphasis on historical context and relevant themes:
- Anton Shammas, Arabesques
- Ghassan Kanafani, Men in the Sun
- Ghassan Kanafani, Return to Haifa
- Elias Khoury, Gate of the Sun
- Emile Habiby, The Pessoptimist
- Ibrahim Nasrallah, Time of White Horses

3. Research Essay (50%) Deadline: December 1

One written paper of 3000 words is required. You will select a topic, approve
it with me, and engage with one or more of the concepts or themes of this
course. Your essay needs to demonstrate critical engagement with the
scholarly literature in the field. Use of primary sources is highly encouraged.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated, and it could result in failure or

expulsion from class!

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 Part I: Late Ottoman Palestine (Weeks 1-4)

Palestine came under Ottoman rule in 1516 and remained so until the end of the First
World War. Although it never acquired the status of an Ottoman administrative
division, it was widely recognised as a sub-region of Greater Syria (Bilad al-Sham),
centred around Jerusalem and its surroundings. The land was inhabited by three
major groups: urbanites, villagers, and nomadic bedouins. The majority of the
population was Muslim, coexisting with Christian and Jewish minorities. Regardless
of religion, the inhabitants were overwhelmingly Arab and spoke the Arabic
language. The political culture was firmly Ottoman and Palestinians were closely
connected to, and were often governed by (and sometimes governed) surrounding
cities located in present-day Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Over the course of the following four weeks, we will examine Ottoman Palestine’s
political, economic, and cultural life. Exploring the richness of the territory’s history
during the period under consideration, we will explore life in political and economic
centres such as Jerusalem, Nablus, Jaffa, Acre, and Gaza, as well as the rural districts
surrounding them. This will allow us to gain insights into the lives of urban
notables, religious dignitaries, merchants, artisans, labourers, landowners and
peasants. What are the logics and motivations underlying the debates on this period?
What are foundations on which different scholars build their contesting arguments
and imagine late-Ottoman Palestine? Can this period be viewed on its own terms
rather than from the prism of the present?

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*Week One
Introduction

Class 1
Introduction

Class 2
Overview of Modern Palestinian History

Readings:
Pappé, Ilan. A Modern History of Palestine. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2006. (Introduction and Chapter 1)

Listen to the Podcast “Ottoman Palestine: The History of a Name:”

http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2012/09/ottoman-palestine-history-of-
name.html

*Week Two
Palestinian Identity: Local Dynamics and Regional Interconnections

Class 1

Readings:
Kimmerling, Baruch; Migdal, Joel. The Palestinian People: A History. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2003 (Part 1, Chapter 1)

Khalidi, Rashid. Palestinian Identity. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
(Chapter 3)

Class 2 Library Research Seminar

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*Week Three
Economic Life

Class 1

Readings:
Doumani, Beshara. Rediscovering Palestine: Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus,
1700-1900. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. (Chapter 5)
https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?
docId=ft896nb5pc&chunk.id=ch5&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch5&brand=ucpress

Class 2

Readings:
Scholch, Alexander. “The Economic Development of Palestine, 1856-1882,”
Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol.10, No.3 (Spring, 1981): 35-58.

*Week Four
The Great War and the End of Ottoman Rule

Class 1

Readings:
Pappé, A Modern History of Palestine. (Chapter 2)

Class 2

Watch PBS Documentary 1913: Seeds of Conflict.

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365519134/

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 Part II Euro-American Perceptions and the Rise of Zionism (Weeks 5-7)

In the previous weeks, we have discussed the dynamic nature of the Ottoman
Empire as a whole, and its Palestinian territories in particular, sampling a literature
that questions the foundations of the ‘Ottoman decline’ thesis. In contrast, early
European and American representations of late Ottoman Palestine portrayed a
backward, decadent, and declining ‘holy land,’ focusing on the urgent need for its
‘redemption.’ These representations had a complex relationship to Zionism, and
played a role in its development in the late 19 th century. Zionism itself has been
presented by historians in varied ways: a response to European anti-Semitism, a
quest for self-determination, a settler-colonial project, and a socialist ideology. This
week, we will read a diverse set of sources- both primary and secondary- on
Zionism. These writings will allow you to reflect on a variety of major questions:
Was Zionism a product of Orientalism and colonial Euro-American fantasies or was
it a nationalist project with liberal undertones? Are its practices and ultimate resort
to force best approached as a coherent application of a settler-colonial framework?

*Week Five
Constructing the “Holy Land”: Euro-American Perceptions of Palestine

Class 1

Readings:
Obenzinger, Hilton. American Palestine Melville, Twain, and the Holy Land Mania.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. (Chapter 1)

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Primary Sources:
Twain, Mark. The Innocents Abroad. Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing
Company, 1869. (Chapters XLVI-LVI)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3176/3176-h/3176-h.htm#ch56

Class 2

Scholch, Alexander. "Britain in Palestine, 1838-1882: The Roots of the Balfour

Policy," Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. 22, No. 1 (Autumn 1992): 39-56.

*Week Six
Zionism I

Class 1

Readings:
Said, Edward. “Zionism from the Standpoint of its Victims,” Social Text, No. 1
(Winter, 1979): 7-58.

Avineri, Shlomi. “Theodor Herzl and the origins of Zionism: an interview with
Shlomo Avineri,” Prospect Magazine. December 18, 2013. goo.gl/0AQ3pK

Class 2

Primary Sources:
Herzl (The Jewish State) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25282/25282-h/25282-
h.htm#II_The_Jewish_Question

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Ahad Ha’am (The Jewish State and Jewish Problem)
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Zionism/haam2.html

Jabotinsky (The Iron Wall—We and the Arabs)

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/quot-the-iron-wall-quot
or
https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/document/mideast/ironwall/ironwall.htm

*Week Seven
Zionism II

Class 1

Watch Eyal Sivan’s documentary Jaffa, The Orange’s Clockwork

http://www.momento-films.com/movie/jaffa-oranges-clockwork

Readings:
Raz-Krakotzkin, Amnon. "Exile, History and the Nationalization of Jewish
Memory: Some Reflections on the Zionist notion of History and Return," Journal
of Levantine Studies Vol. 3, No. 2 (Winter 2013): 37-70.

Class 2

Readings:
Shafir, Gershon and Yoav Peled. Being Israeli: The Dynamics of Multiple Citizenship.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. (pp.37-55)

Sternhell, Zeev. “In Defence of Liberal Zionism,” New Left Review, 62 (March—
April 2010).

Piterberg, Gabriel. “Settlers and their States: A Reply to Zeev Sternhell,” New
Left Review, 62 (March—April 2010).

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 Part III: The British Mandate (Weeks 8-11)

World War I reshaped the history of the Arab lands. Allied to Germany and
Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the war, and all of its
former Arab territories came under European colonial control. British and French
mandates were established in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, and Palestine.
The Palestinian mandate proved to be particularly problematic due to the British
commitment to Zionism and the settlement of European Jews in Palestine,
despite resolute native opposition. In this week, we will examine the ways in
which the British Balfour policy facilitated Zionist settlement in Palestine. We
will then proceed to discuss the nature of the British administration, the ways in
which it interacted with the native Palestinian and the growing Zionist settler
population, as well as the social transformations that affected Palestinian society
between 1918 and 1948.

*Week Eight

Class 1
The Balfour Policy

Readings:
Reinharz, Jehuda. “The Balfour Declaration and Its Maker: A Reassessment,” The
Journal of Modern History Vol. 64, No. 3 (September 1992): 455-499.

Huneidi, Sahar. “Was Balfour Policy Reversible? The Colonial Office and
Palestine, 1921-23,” Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. 27, No. 2 (Winter 1998): 23-41.

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Primary Sources:
Drafts of the Balfour Declaration
http://themiddleeastmirror.weebly.com/uploads/7/5/3/0/7530186/documents_on_
palestine_volume_1-_until_1947.pdf (p.34)

Lord Montagu’s Memorandum

http://themiddleeastmirror.weebly.com/uploads/7/5/3/0/7530186/documents_on_
palestine_volume_1-_until_1947.pdf (pp.35-37)

*Week Nine
The Mandate Years: An Overview

Readings:
Pappé, A History of Modern Palestine. (Chapter 3)

Primary Sources:
King-Crane Commission Report
http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_King-Crane_Report

Memorandum submitted to Winston Churchill, British Colonial Secretary, by the

First Palestinian Delegation to London, 24 October 1921. http://btd.palestine-
studies.org/content/palestinian-diplomacy-4

*Week Ten
Crisis and Resistance: The Palestinian Peasantry

Readings:
Reilly, James. “The Peasantry of Late-Ottoman Palestine,” Journal of Palestine
Studies Vol. 10, No. 4 (Summer 1981): 82-97.

Stein, Kenneth. “Rural Change and Peasant Destitution: Contributing Causes to

the Arab Revolt in Palestine, 1936-1939,” in Kazemi, Farhad and John Waterbury
(eds.) Peasants and Politics in the Modern Middle East. Miami: Florida International
University Press, 1991. Pp.143-170.

Primary Sources: Hope Simpson Report

http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/E3ED8720F8707C9385256D19004F057C

*Week Eleven
The Great Revolt of 1936-39

Class 1

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Readings:
Kanafani, Ghassan. The 1936-39 Revolt in Palestine. London: Tricontinental
Society, 1980. http://newjerseysolidarity.net/resources/kanafani/kanafani4.html

Kayyali, A.W. Palestine: A Modern History. London: Croom Helm, 1978. pp. 155-
231.

Class 2

Readings:
Kelly, Mathew Craig. “The Revolt of 1936: A Revision,” Journal of Palestine Studies
Vol.44, No.2 (Winter 2015): 28-42.

Norris, Jacob. “Repression and Rebellion: the British Response to the Arab Revolt
in Palestine of 1936-1939,” Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History Vol. 36,
No.1 (2008): 25-45.

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 Part IV: The 1948 War and its Aftermath (Weeks 12-14)

The end of the British mandate witnessed the outbreak of full-scale war between
Zionist settlers on one side and Palestinian natives and surrounding Arab states
on the other. The former achieved victory and established the State of Israel on
78% of the land of Mandate Palestine. In contrast, the Palestinians were not only
militarily vanquished, but most of them were also forced into becoming refugees,
prevented from going back to their lands and villages. Thus, Israelis began to
refer to 1948 as the ‘War of Independence’ while Palestinians called it the
“Nakba” (catastrophe), signalling the formal erasure of Palestine from the map
and the dispossession of the majority of its inhabitants. This part of the course
features a range of debates over this milestone event in the modern history of the
Middle East, focusing on the rise of the Israeli New Historians. Our discussion
culminates with a brief overview of the 1967 war, the resulting conquest of the
entirety of historic Palestine by the Israeli state, and the ongoing conflict today.

*Week Twelve

Class 1
Debating 1948: Part 1

Readings:
Khalidi, Walid. “Plan Dalet: Master Plan for the Conquest of Palestine,” Journal of
Palestine Studies Vol. 18, No. 1 (Autumn 1988):

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Pappé, Ilan. “The 1948 Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine,” Journal of Palestine Studies,
(Autumn 2006):

Morris, Benny. “Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus of 1948,” in Rogan, Eugene

and Avi Shlaim (eds.) The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd Edition, 2008. pp. 37-59.
https://thebasebk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/BENNY-MORRIS-2001-
REVISITING-THE-PALESTINIAN-EXODUS-pp.37-59.pdf

Class 2
Debating 1948: Part 2

Readings:
Masalha, Nur. “A Critique of Benny Morris,” Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. 21,
No. 1 (Autumn 1991): 90-97.

Finkelstein, Norman. “Myths, Old and New,” Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. 21,
No. 1 (Autumn 1991): 66-89.

Morris, Benny. “Response to Finkelstein and Masalha,” Journal of Palestine Studies

Vol. 21, No. 1 (Autumn 1991): 98-114.

Finkelstein, Norman. “Rejoinder to Benny Morris,” Journal of Palestine Studies

Vol. 21, No. 2 (Winter 1992): 61-71.

*Week Thirteen
The New Israeli Historians and their Critics

Class 1

Readings:
Shlaim, Avi. “The War of the Israeli Historians,” Annales Vol. 59, No. 1 (January-
February 2004): 161-167.
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ssfc0005/The%20War%20of%20the%20Israeli
%20Historians.html

Class 2

Readings:
Beinin, Joel. “Forgetfulness for Memory: The Limits of the New Israeli History,”
Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. 34, No. 2 (Winter 2005): 6-23.

*Week Fourteen

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Class 1
Aftermath: 1967 and Beyond

Readings:
Pappé, A Modern History of Palestine (Chapters 5&6)

Class 2
Conclusion and reflection

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