Published three months before the launch of last year’s Palestinian resistance operation Al-Aqsa Flood, The Revolution of 1936–1939 in Palestine: Background, Details, and Analysis by the late writer and political activist Ghassan Kanafani, and translated by Hazem Jamjoum is an engaging account of one of the most pivotal and yet underrepresented chapters in modern Palestinian history, which paved the way for the Nakba.
In this detailed analysis, Kanafani breaks down the complex interplay of forces during the Palestinian revolt against British colonial rule and Zionist settlement, bringing to life the socio-political dynamics of the time. This book is not just an exploration of history; it is a continuation of Kanafani’s lifelong commitment to examining the conditions of the Palestinian people, a theme that is central to much of his work.
Assassinated by the Israeli Mossad and known as “the commando who never fired a gun,” Kanafani was a staunch advocate for Palestinian liberation, and his empathy for the oppressed shines through in this book. His literary prowess, often celebrated in his novels and short stories, is similarly present here as he strives to make the historical events both accessible and deeply human. He writes not simply to inform but to evoke the lived experiences of those involved, forcing readers to engage with the “immense trauma and direct violence of colonial genocide.” This is evident in his portrayal of the Palestinian peasantry and working class, whose resilience and sacrifice lie at the heart of the revolutionary struggle.
Kanafani’s exploration of the Revolution of 1936–1939, which, as historian Maher Charif writes in the afterword was “the period in which the fate of Palestine was decided,” sets the stage with an assessment of the socio-economic backgrounds of various classes in Palestine—the workers, peasants, and intellectuals—each of which played a vital role in the uprising.
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In describing the workers, Kanafani portrays the harsh conditions they faced under British colonial rule and Zionist expansion, conditions that ultimately sparked a collective resistance:
“The surrounding Arab countries played two contradictory roles in this moment: at the same time that the movements of the Arab masses added strength to Palestinians’ mass revolutionary spirit… the regimes dominating these societies did all they could to put an end to the movement of the Palestinian masses.”
This duality—solidarity from the masses versus the betrayal of leadership—is a recurring theme in Kanafani’s work. The parallels with the contemporary situation are remarkable, particularly the “collaborationist regime” of Transjordan, or Jordan as it is known today. Today the Hashemite kingdom is one of the Arab states standing in the way of the region’s resistance against the occupation state.
The Revolution of 1936–1939 in Palestine has been shortlisted for this year’s Palestine Book Awards, please click here to read the full review on the PBA site.