Rural Reactions to Zionist Activity in Palestine before and after the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 as Reflected in Petitions to Istanbul

What is it about?

This study examines five petitions sent to Istanbul by the rural population of Palestine dealing directly or indirectly with the effects of Zionist colonization activity as of the early 1880s. Two of the petitions were sent prior to the revolution of 1908, whereas the other three were sent in the years following the revolution. Although the analysis of petitions as historical texts has several limitations, as will be discussed below, these documents nonetheless shed light on the changes in the discourse on Jewish activity among both the rural population which initiated the petitions and the urban milieu where the petitions were organized and written by professional petition writers. The petitions reveal the complexity and multi-dimensional facets of Zionist–Arab relationships and provide a perspective that goes beyond the traditional (hagiographic) characterization of the political conflict between the two populations that typically dominates research. As regards attitudes toward the Zionist activity, the watershed of the 1908 revolution is clearly reflected in the petitions, their content, tone and language. All in all, the five petitions provide a more nuanced perspective on the unfolding of Jewish–Arab relations.

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Why is it important?

In the hundreds, if not thousands of petitions from Palestine dating back to the last decades of the Ottoman period in the central Ottoman archives in Istanbul, Zionist activity occupies a fairly minor place and is mentioned as only tangentially impacting on other developments, processes and activities that preoccupied Palestine’s population at the time. This perhaps reflects the relatively limited scope of Jewish activity other than in several specific regions where the Jewish presence was concentrated. The small number of petitions on Jewish activity contrasts sharply with official Ottoman correspondence in which proto-Zionist activity received considerable attention due to the government’s overt opposition and its fear of the emergence of a new national problem in the empire. The petitions discussed, despite their limitations, provide a glimpse of the attitudes held by the rural population and allow a unique grassroots view of the Zionist–Arab encounters in Palestine at the end of the nineteenth century, which is sometimes described in the literature but rarely from first-hand accounts. Notwithstanding the intermediary of the petition writers, who voiced their complaints on paper and served as the spokesmen for the rural population, the documents still provide valuable information on the petitioners’ aspirations, perceptions, concerns and actions. Hence the petitions can fill in missing data and help shed light on historiographical problems such as the scarcity of primary sources, the focus on the urban elites, and the overemphasis on the period after 1908. The petitions highlight the conflicting perceptions of land ownership between the rural population and the Jewish colonists. The latter bought the land, received legal title deeds and wanted to fully exercise their ownership. The former, however, often acted on the basis of notions of traditional rights, norms and practices that had existed for generations. As far as they were concerned, occupying a place and cultivating or grazing there for generations granted them ownership rights to all intents and purposes, a point which demonstrates the cultural rift between the two sides. The five case studies discussed here suggest some overarching conclusions as regards the early Zionist–Arab encounters and the 1908 revolution as a watershed in the two people’s relationships. The innovations and changes brought about by the 1908 revolution are echoed in the petitions. This was seen in allusions to the new era as the shining of the sun over the people’s heads, the bashing of Abdulhamid II’s reign as a time of oppression and tyranny, the discourse on the new constitutional and legal rights, the strong warnings regarding Jewish activity and the accusations leveled against it which were unprecedented and encompassed wider circles than before and the way Jews were now termed Zionists. These are all indications of the change that took place after 1908.