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It is now more than seventy years since the creation of the state of Israel, yet its origins and the British Empire’s historic responsibility for Palestine remain little known. Confusion persists too as to the distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. In Legacy of Empire, Gardner Thompson offers a clear-eyed review of political Zionism and Britain’s role in shaping the history of Palestine and Israel.
Thompson explores why the British government adopted Zionism in the early twentieth century, issuing the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and then retaining it as the cornerstone of their rule in Palestine after the First World War. Despite evidence and warnings, over the next two decades Britain would facilitate the colonisation of Arab Palestine by Jewish immigrants, ultimately leading to a conflict which it could not contain. Britain’s response was to propose the partition of an ungovernable land: a ‘two-state solution’ which – though endorsed by the United Nations after the Second World War – has so far brought into being neither two states nor a solution.
A highly readable and compelling account of Britain’s rule in Palestine, Legacy of Empire is essential for those wishing to better understand the roots of this enduring conflict.
‘An illuminating account of both the emergence of Israel and of British policy during the three decades of the British Mandate in Palestine. It is a sobering and engrossing story of Britain’s betrayal of the Palestinians from the Balfour Declaration to the present day.’ --Avi Shlaim, author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World
'Thompson examines how the settler-colonial Zionist project in Palestine is intertwined with the designs of imperial Britain. That such an issue can still be disputed is testimony to the power of ideology: Legacy of Empire cuts through the noise to show what really happened.' --Gilbert Achcar, author of The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives
‘An excellent, well-researched and timely book.’ --Nur Masalha, author of Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History
‘Gardner Thompson throws a cool light on a very hot topic … This illuminating book is an essential primer on the historical roots of the Israel/Palestine conflict.’ --Nicholas Rankin, author of Churchill's Wizards: the British Genius for Deception
‘An eloquent account … Thompson has brought an unbiased historian’s eye to this inexplicable chapter of British and imperial history.’ --The Balfour Project
‘A persuasive, if provocative, analysis … a welcome addition to existing literature on this subject … full of useful analysis’ --Jewish Renaissance
'A meticulous account … there is much that readers can glean from Gardner Thompson's book.' --Middle East Monitor
‘Compelling … meticulously researched’ --The Tablet
‘Legacy of Empire should be required reading for all those who seek to pronounce on this problematic subject’ --Socialist History Society
Maps
Acknowledgements
Timeline
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Birth and Emergence of Zionism, 1897-1914
Chapter 2: Zionism In 1914
Chapter 3: The British Adoption of Zionism, 1914-1917
Chapter 4: The British Commitment To Zionism In Palestine, 1918-1922
Chapter 5: Palestine In 1922
Chapter 6: Zionism And Britain In Palestine, 1922-1937
Postscript 1937-1947
Conclusion