Jamal Kanj
This is a review
of an exceptional photobook, Images of Palestine (1898-1946). The book is a
collection of photographs that spans nearly five decades, captured in the
period leading up to the Palestine Nakba. Together, these black-and-white
images chronicle a vibrant and diverse Palestinian society, highlighting its
connection to the land, its achievements in commerce, architecture, and civil
society, and its development into a modern socio-political entity chafing to
break free from colonial domination.
The photographs
cover the final years of the Ottoman Empire, World War I, the establishment of
the British Mandate of Palestine, the large-scale European Jewish immigration
under the British colonial rule, and the emergence of a popular movement for
Palestinian independence.
The
photographers were members of the American Colony Photo Department and
employees of the Photo Department’s successor, the Matson Photographic Service.
The American Colony was a Christian utopian community founded in Jerusalem in
1871. Its members began taking photographs in the late 1890’s, eventually
developing a full-fledged photographic division. In the 1940’s, the American
Colony ceased to exist as a religious community, but the photographic work was
continued by Colony member G. Eric Matson under the name Matson Photographic
Service.
More than 23,000
glass and film negatives, transparencies, and photographic prints created by
the American Colony Photo Department and the Matson Photo Service were
transferred to the Library of Congress between 1966 and 1981. Since then, the
images have been digitized for archival preservation by the Library of
Congress.
The American
Colony did not set out to document the emergence of modern Palestine through
its photographs. Instead, its efforts were driven by a religious utopian
vision. Composed of American and Swedish immigrants living in Jerusalem, the
Colony’s work was deeply influenced by this vision, as well as by the
Orientalist perspectives its members carried with them. These influences are
evident in both their choice of photographic subjects and the descriptions
accompanying the images in their archives.
The photobook is
divided into eight galleries, each designed to highlight a unique and integral
aspect of the pre 1948 vibrant Palestinian societal structure. The galleries
serve as a visual narrative, weaving together the diverse cultural, social, and
economic elements that define the collective community. Each segment focuses on
specific themes, such as City Life, Commercial, Education, Landscape, Medical,
Colonialism and Resistance, Palestine Broadcast Service and Individual
Portraits, creating a comprehensive portrayal of the dynamic interplay within
the society. This structured approach provides a glimpse into an aspect of
Palestinian life, enabling viewers to appreciate the richness and depth of the
community’s identity through a curated lens, delivering a meaningful and
immersive experience.
During the
period when these photos were taken, Palestinians endured three distinct forms
of foreign intervention: the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate, and the large
European Jewish immigration supported by British colonial authorities, aimed at
transforming Palestine into a new political and social entity. This was
combined with the emergence of a popular movement for Palestinian independence.
The interplay
between external interventions and indigenous social and economic structures,
along with the resulting conflicts, is vividly depicted in the stories these
photographs convey. However, these stories are not bound to a single moment in
history. Instead, they are part of an ongoing historical continuum. The
underlying dynamics that shaped them persist, with their narratives continuing
to evolve and unfold visibly in the present day.
While
Palestinian society during this period was often described as “traditional” by
external observers, the photographs reveal a sophisticated social fabric.
Palestinian cities boasted thriving marketplaces, diverse religious and
cultural communities, and connections to regional and international trade
networks. Intellectual life flourished in urban centers, with schools, mosques,
churches, and libraries serving as vibrant hubs of education and cultural
exchange. This blend of tradition and modernity highlighted the resilience and
adaptability of Palestinian society in navigating external interventions and
shifting historical dynamics.
The over 200
large size page photobook was produced by KARAMA (www.karamanow.org), San
Diego, California, an independent non-profit organization dedicated to
promoting understanding of the Arab and Islamic world, with a particular focus
on Palestine. KARAMA launched its Palestine Photography Project in 2015,
believing that distributing high-quality photographs of life in Palestine prior
to 1948 could effectively convey the dignity, humanity, and cultural richness
of the Palestinian people.
In addition to
the photobook, the Palestine Photography Project has created a portable
“Museum-in-a-Box,” featuring selected photographs from the book, designed for
tabletop display at community events. The photobook and the Museum-in-a-Box, as
well as individual prints of the photos, can be ordered from
www.PalestinePhotoProject.org.
Images of
Palestine (1898-1946) is a must have coffee table book!
Ramzy
Baroud
The
problem with political analysis is that it often lacks historical perspective
and is mostly limited to recent events.
The
current analysis of the Israeli war on Gaza falls victim to this narrow
thinking. The ceasefire agreement, signed between Palestinian groups and Israel
under Egyptian, Qatari, and US mediation in Doha on January 15, is one example.
Some
analysts, including many from the region, insist on framing the outcome of the
war as a direct result of Israel’s political dynamics. They argue that Israel’s
political crisis is the main reason the country failed to achieve its declared
and undeclared war objectives—namely, gaining total “security control” over
Gaza and ethnically cleansing its population.
However,
this analysis assumes that the decision to go to war or not is entirely in
Israel’s hands. It continues to elevate Israel’s role as the only entity
capable of shaping political outcomes in the region, even when those outcomes
do not favor Israel.
Another
group of analysts focuses entirely on the American factor, claiming that the
decision to end the war ultimately rested with the White House. Shortly after
the ceasefire was officially declared in Gaza, a pan-Arab TV channel asked a
group of experts whether it was the Biden or Trump administration that deserved
credit for supposedly “pressuring Israel” to agree to a ceasefire.
Some
argue that it was Trump’s envoy to Israel, Steve Witkoff, who denied Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any room to maneuver, thus forcing him,
albeit reluctantly, to accept the ceasefire terms.
Others
counter by saying that the agreement was initially presented by the Biden
administration. They argue that Biden’s supposedly active diplomacy ultimately
led to the ceasefire.
The
latter group fails to acknowledge that it was Biden’s unconditional support for
Israel that sustained the war. His UN envoy’s constant rejection of ceasefire
calls at the Security Council made international efforts to stop the war
irrelevant.
The
former group, however, ignores the fact that Israeli society was already at a
breaking point. The war on Gaza had proven unwinnable. This means that, whether
Trump pressured Netanyahu or not, the outcome of the war was already sealed.
Continuing the war would have meant the implosion of Israeli society.
On
the Palestinian side, some analyses—affiliated with one faction or
another—exploit the war’s outcome for political gain. This type of thinking is
extremely insensitive and must be wholly rejected.
There
are also those hoping to play a role in Gaza’s reconstruction to gain political
and financial leverage and increase their influence. This is a shameful stance,
given the total destruction of Gaza and the urgent need to recover the
thousands of bodies trapped under rubble, as well as to heal the wounded and
the population as a whole.
One
thing all these analyses overlook is that Israel failed in Gaza because the
population of Gaza proved unbreakable. Such notions are often neglected in
mainstream political discussions, which tend to commit to an elitist line. This
line is entirely removed from the daily struggles and collective choices of
ordinary people, even when they achieve extraordinary feats.
Gaza’s
history is one of both pain and pride. It stretches back to ancient
civilizations and includes great resistance against invasion, such as the
three-month siege by Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army in 332 BCE.
Back
then, Gazans resisted and endured for months before their leader, Batis, was
captured, tortured to death, and the city was sacked.
This
legendary resilience and sumoud (steadfastness) proved crucial in numerous
other fights against foreign invaders, including resistance to Napoleon
Bonaparte’s army in 1799.
Even
if some of Gaza’s current population is unaware of that history, they are a
direct product of it. From this perspective, neither Israeli political
dynamics, the change of the US administration, nor any other factor is
relevant.
This
is known as “long history” or longue durée. Far from being merely an academic
concept, the long legacy of resistance against injustice has shaped the
collective mindset of the Palestinian population in Gaza over the years. How
else can we explain how a small, isolated, and impoverished population, living
in such a tiny piece of land, managed to withstand firepower equivalent to many
nuclear bombs?
The
war ended because Gaza withstood it—not because of the kindness of an American
president. It is crucial that we emphasize this point repeatedly, rather than
seeking inconclusive and irrational answers.
It
matters little how we define victory and defeat for a nation still suffering
the consequences of a war of annihilation. However, it is important to
recognize that Palestinians in Gaza stood their ground, despite immense losses,
and prevailed. This can only be credited to them—a nation that has historically
proven unbreakable. This truth, rooted in “long history,” remains valid today.
Reza Behnam
The world has
focused its attention on the humanitarian pause and exchange of prisoners in
Gaza that began on 19 January.
Meanwhile, Israel has trained its immense military power and insanity on
the defenseless occupied West Bank.
Palestinians there are now facing some of the same cruelty that Israel
has been inflicting on their countrymen and women in the Strip for 15 horrific
months.
As Israel has
temporarily halted its bombing of Gaza and scaled up its ongoing violence and
annexation plans in the West Bank, the instructive lessons imparted in the
fable of “The Scorpion and the Frog,” popular in the Middle East, hold
relevance: “A scorpion pleasantly asks a
frog to carry him over a river. The frog is afraid of being stung, but the
scorpion argues that if it did so, both would sink and the scorpion would drown. The frog then
agrees, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog,
dooming them both. When asked why, the scorpion replies, it is simply in my
nature.”
Islamic
resistance groups, like Hamas, know not to expect Israel to be other than what
it is, that the Zionists in control are incapable of transformation and
trust. Confronted with Israel’s
overwhelming power to destroy, they know not to be persuaded by its
promises. In the end, a scorpion remains
a scorpion.
For Israel and
the United States, both equally untrustworthy, the allegory is particularly
poignant. Washington has fed Israel’s
addiction to power by never
demanding
anything from its proxy. It has never
asked it to renounce violence, to stop killing civilians, to end the
occupation, to demilitarize and to observe international and humanitarian laws. It has essentially helped create a deformed
body politic, whose future is uncertain.
Israel has for
decades ridden on the back of the United States to the misfortune of both
countries. Without Western affirmation
and financial sustenance—first British then American—there would be no country
called Israel.
Israel’s early
European founders envisioned the Jewish state as a rampart of the West against
Asia. They believed that the support of
a great power was essential to Zionism’s success. As Zionist founding father, Austro-Hungarian
Theodor Herzl, wrote in 1896, the “The State of the Jews” would serve as “an
outpost of civilization against barbarism” — a supremacist, racist attitude
that prevails in Israel to this day.
The alignment of
U.S.-Israeli interests began in the early 20th century when President Woodrow
Wilson (1913-1921) approved the Balfour Declaration, promising his support for
the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, before
it was publicly announced by the British government in 1917.
Chaim Weizmann,
Israel’s first president, was especially pivotal in securing President Harry S.
Truman’s early recognition of the newly established state of Israel on 14 May
1948, and in fundraising in the United States.
His lobbying
efforts included a partisan essay, “Zionism—Alive and Triumphant,” printed in
the 12 March 1924 edition of The Nation magazine. In it he wrote, “Political Zionism, in brief,
is the creation of circumstances favorable to Jewish settlement in Palestine….
The larger the Jewish settlement the greater the ease with which it can be
increased, the less the external opposition to its increase; the smaller the
Jewish settlement in Palestine the more difficult its increase, the more
obstinate the opposition.”
In addition,
letters between Weizmann and President Truman, as well as their 18 March 1948
meeting in the White House were important in securing the president’s support
for and validation of a Jewish state in Palestine, against the advice of his
own State Department.
In the words of
Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon: “From the moment President Truman became the
first world leader to recognize the Jewish state, Israel has had no better
friend than the United States of America, and the U.S. has had no more
steadfast ally than the state of Israel.”
The United
States persists in believing that it can dictate the fate of Palestinians and that Israel can continue its role as
colonizer of Palestine and as America’s bullyboy in the Middle East.
Clearly, there
are no guarantees of peace with justice in the current Gaza ceasefire
plan. Political Zionism was built on the
colonial idea that Jewish rights—their right to self-determination—outweighed
the rights of indigenous Palestinians.
Within days of
announcing the ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that it
was temporary and that Israel reserved the right to return to “war” on Gaza
should negotiations on the second phase of the agreement prove futile. Manufacturing “futility” should prove easy
for a regime well practiced in deception for over half a century. He also stated that he had received
assurances of U.S. support from outgoing President Joe Biden and President
Donald Trump.
In addition, two
days after the ceasefire was in place, Israel stepped up its brutal air and
ground assault on the occupied West Bank.
Since October
2023, across the West Bank, at least 870 Palestinians, including 177 children,
have been killed and more than 6,700 wounded in attacks by the Israeli army and
Israeli squatters (“settlers”). The
Jenin refugee camp is now nearly uninhabitable and an estimated 2,000 residents
have been forced from their homes in the Jenin area.
It must be
emphasized that Israel’s militarism in Gaza and the West Bank are illegal under
international law. We should also
remember that on 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice determined
that Israel’s occupation in the Palestinian territories since 1967 and
subsequent Israeli “settlements” and exploitation of natural resources are
unlawful and must end.
The essence of
the current ceasefire was rightly expressed by Agnes Callamard, Secretary
General of Amnesty International:
“Unless the root causes of this ‘conflict’ are addressed, Palestinians
and Israelis cannot even begin to hope for a brighter future built on rights,
equality and justice.”
International
law is on the side of the resistance. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 support
the right of self-determination for occupied people, including the right to
resist.
Dr. Basem Naim,
senior member of Hamas’s political bureau, laid out the group’s position to
hold up its end of the agreement, stating: “We are not looking for a fight. We
are looking [at] how to protect the future of our children.” He also noted that
a political solution would be preferable, but if not, “then all Palestinians
are still ready to continue their struggle,” adding, “We believe this is a just
cause, a just struggle and we have all the guaranteed right by international
law to resist the occupation by all means, including armed resistance.”
For the people
of Gaza, the six-week ceasefire has brought some hope mixed with
melancholy. Thousands have been
searching in the rubble to find and bury their loved ones. In the Muslim umma (community), burials are
customarily carried out within a day.
The daily fight for survival and with cemeteries pulverized by Israeli
bombs, Palestinians have been deprived of their right to bereavement, to
observe cultural rituals and religious burial rites.
Palestinian
life, since the arrival of European Zionists, has been replete with struggle,
resistance and grief. The resiliency to
free themselves from the yoke and sting of colonialism is, however, forever
etched in the rubble of Gaza.
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