The great white umpire in Palestine: British economic polices and Arab grievances, 1920-1936

This thesis examines the consequences of British economic policies in Palestine from 1920-1936. The government of Palestine needed to accommodate the economic demands of the Zionists, the Arabs, the international community, and the British Empire, but with so many commitments, the British often ignored the needs of the Arabs in order to placate the other groups. Many economic policies had unintended consequences which greatly angered the Arabs, hurt their sector of the economy, or both. This thesis attempts to break away from the simple approach of viewing Palestine through the prism of the dual commitments to the Zionists and the Arabs by broadening the scope and looking at British obligations to the international community and the British Treasury. In addition, the present work examines British attitudes towards the Zionists and the Arabs in regard to developing the country. It also uses Arab complaints to paint a more complete picture of British economic policies.