The Invention Of Palestinian Citizenship, 1918-1947
by Lauren Banko /
2016 / English / PDF
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In the two decades after the First World War, nationality and
citizenship in Palestine became less like abstract concepts for the
Arab population and more like meaningful statuses integrated into
political, social and civil life and as markers of civic identity
in a changing society. This book situates the evolution of
citizenship at the centre of state formation under the
quasi-colonial mandate administration in Palestine.
In the two decades after the First World War, nationality and
citizenship in Palestine became less like abstract concepts for the
Arab population and more like meaningful statuses integrated into
political, social and civil life and as markers of civic identity
in a changing society. This book situates the evolution of
citizenship at the centre of state formation under the
quasi-colonial mandate administration in Palestine.
It emphasises the ways in which British officials crafted
citizenship to be separate from nationality based on prior colonial
legislation elsewhere, a view of the territory as divided
communally, and the need to offer Jewish immigrants the easiest
path to acquisition of Palestinian citizenship in order to uphold
the mandate's policy. In parallel, the book examines the reactions
of the Arab population to their new status. It argues that the
Arabs relied heavily on their pre-war experience as nationals of
the Ottoman Empire to negotiate the definitions and meanings of
mandate citizenship.
It emphasises the ways in which British officials crafted
citizenship to be separate from nationality based on prior colonial
legislation elsewhere, a view of the territory as divided
communally, and the need to offer Jewish immigrants the easiest
path to acquisition of Palestinian citizenship in order to uphold
the mandate's policy. In parallel, the book examines the reactions
of the Arab population to their new status. It argues that the
Arabs relied heavily on their pre-war experience as nationals of
the Ottoman Empire to negotiate the definitions and meanings of
mandate citizenship.
