“A tour de force, based on diligent archival research that looks boldly at the impact of Zionism on Palestine and its people in the first part of the 20th century. The book is the first comprehensive and structured analysis of the violence and terror employed by the Zionist movement, and later the state of Israel, against the people of Palestine. Much of the suffering we witness today can be explained by, and connected to, this formative period covered thoroughly in this book.” ILAN PAPPÉ, ISRAELI HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR Other books by Thomas Suárez Palestine Sixty Years Later [Americans for Middle East Understanding, 2010] Early Mapping of the Pacific [Charles E. Tuttle, 2004] Early Mapping of Southeast Asia [Charles E. Tuttle, 1999] Shedding the Veil: Mapping the European Discovery of America and the World [World Scientific, 1992] First published 2016 by Skyscraper Publications 20 Crab Tree Close, Bloxham, Oxon OX15 4SE, U.K. www.skyscraperpublications.com Copyright © 2016 Thomas Suárez The author’s rights are fully asserted. The right of Thomas Suárez to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Nor be circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN-13: 978-1-911072-03-4 Cover concept and design by John Chandler and Thomas Suárez Designed and typeset by Chandler Book Design Printed in the United Kingdom by Latitude Press The growth of Fascism in Palestine at a time when the liberated nations will put it into its grave is a tragi-comedy. —Physicist Wolfgang Yourgrau, a German Jew who emigrated to Palestine but left in 1948, in the journal Orient, February, 1943.1 CONTENTS Acknowledgments Illustration credits Introduction Notes Part I Other People’s Lands 1. The Third Temple 2. Zionism and the British Mandate to 1938 3. While the War Raged, 1939-1944 Part II The Fall—and Rise—of Fascism 4. Allied Victory, 1945 5. Race for Fanaticism, 1946 6. ‘A Besieged Garrison’, 1947 Part III ‘Only a Beachhead’ 7. Partition, the ‘temporary expedient’, 1947-1948 8. Israel sans frontières 9. Postscript: Segue to Today Bibliography Sources used at The National Archives (Kew) End Notes Index Dedicated to the resilient youth of Palestine, who from their parents’ unwavering struggle for freedom will build a future of their own choosing. Acknowledgments T his book grew out of conversations with Ghada Karmi in the aftermath of Israel’s ‘Cast Lead’ attacks against Gaza. Documents I had come across when writing my 2010 book, Palestine Sixty Years Later, raised questions about Mandate-era terrorism that Ghada encouraged me to pursue. This led me to the National Archives—and to the present book. Without her encouragement and assistance, this book would not exist. I was fortunate to have had very smart people peruse the draft and share their expertise—Laurence Dreyfus’ academic rigour and acumen; Nancy Elan’s attention to language and political context; Francis Manasek’s organizational perspective as a scientist; Nancy Murray’s historical input; John Suárez’ help with detail and cohesion; and my daughter Sainatee’s tenacious regard for logic and accuracy. My gratitude goes as well to Emily Dreyfus, Mirene Ghossein, Yosef Grodzinsky, Elaine Hagopian, Reem Kelani, Joseph Massad, Sami Musallam, Jamal Rjoub, Rona Sela, Chris Somes-Charlton, Rawan Yaghi, as well as the entire always-helpful staff of the National Archives in Kew. My publisher Karl Sabbagh’s encouragement, trust in my work, and extensive knowledge of the subject all helped make this book a reality. I was fortunate to have Skyscraper Publications bring the book to the light of day, joining such other works on its list as Mads Gilbert’s Night in Gaza and Karl Sabbagh’s own Britain in Palestine. Three eye-witnesses to events in the 1940s shared their experiences with me. The late Hanna Braun, ex-Hagana member, met with Nancy Elan and me in London in 2007. ‘Max’ Maxwell, Sgt Maj, 16 Field Security Section, Intelligence Corps, was present after the Austrian train bombing of August 1947, and kindly shared his documents and photos. Ted Steel, who was in Palestine with the British during the last years of the Mandate, spent an afternoon sharing memories, information, and photographs. On 22 July, 1946, he delivered documents to the British headquarters in the King David Hotel and, breaking with his routine of heading straight to the canteen, left the building. As he did, it blew up. He awoke later in an oxygen tent. An unknown well-wisher visited him