Mandatory Subjects

The concepts of self-government and autonomy have been significant themes throughout Jewish history, assuming a particular shape in modern times. In British-ruled Palestine, these questions took on a new dimension. This was due not only to Britain’s obligation to promote the development of the Jewish National Home but also because the Mandate explicitly prescribed the establishment of self-governing institutions. Respective discussions on self-government were not informed only by the specific local circumstances. Rather, they were embedded in the larger British imperial setting: After World War I, Britain established legislatures with limited powers in many colonies, mostly to appease international opinion and assuage local opposition. India, Iraq, the British West Indies and Ireland thus served as a source of instructive knowledge for future constitutional developments in Palestine.

This doctoral project traces the transfer of constitutional law and administrative praxis from the British Empire to Palestine and delves into the imperial origins of the discussions on self-government in this region. Knowledge transfers are examined at the local level of government officials operating in Palestine and the imperial level of the Colonial Office in London. It also explores how concepts of Jewish autonomy in the Habsburg, Russian and Ottoman empires shaped Zionist responses to these British initiatives while also taking the local sensibilities of Palestinian Arabs into account. The discourse on self-government in Palestine is thus analyzed as a site of intersection of knowledge and experience from multiple empires. Situated at the crossroads of Jewish, imperial and legal histories, this project offers a new perspective on Palestine’s place in the British Empire, and allows for a peek into the political trajectories envisioned for it by both British and Jewish actors.