Ruth Kark

Changing patterns of landownership in nineteenth-century Palestine: the European influence

Abstract Long-term changes in landownership patterns and their implications for settlement have been neglected by geographers, both in theoretical and empirical studies. Studies in this field relating to the Middle East are of a very general nature, and are not based on detailed examination of regional trends, their components, and geographic variables. In Israel, most of the published literature on this issue has dealt with the process of land purchase by Jews and has focused mainly on the period of the British Mandate (1918–1948). Misleading statements abound and the roots of the processes which evolved in nineteenth-century Palestine are poorly understood. The middle of the nineteenth century in Palestine marked the end of a quarter of a millenium of neglect and decline. Around 1800 Palestine was a backward province of the Ottoman empire, largely rural and sparsely populated. Both rural and urban economies were traditional and poor. From about 1850, a process of change began which led to a resurgence and development of the country. An important determinant in this process was an increase of European influence within the Ottoman empire in general and Palestine in particular. This paper (part of a broader study on landownership), will discuss the background, characteristics and motivations of Europeans who purchased land in Palestine during the period, their financial sources, their locational preferences and opportunities. The diverse influences of these land transactions on urban and rural development are considered. These processes ar illustrated by two case studies.

Millenarism and agricultural settlement in the Holy Land in the nineteenth century

Abstract The pioneers of modern agricultural settlement in the Holy Land were Christians. Foremost among these were several Americans who came in the 1850s and 1860s to settle—ignoring warnings from local experts and from representatives of the United States government. The leaders of the settlers were inspired by millenarist ideas and by faith in the Return to Zion—rife among fundamental Protestant sects in the early nineteenth century. The personal accounts of these visionaries provide insights into what drove them to attempt to migrate to remote and backward Palestine and also throw light on the economic concepts and practical plans for implementing their schemes. Despite their failure, these attempts were very important in the history of agricultural settlement in nineteenth-century Palestine. The settlers maintained a wide range of international contacts through letters, pamphlets, sermons and publicity in the press in America, England, Germany and Palestine. In addition, many people who heard indirectly about these ventures, took an interest in their ideology and practice. Millenarist schemes influenced early preachers and founders of Jewish societies for agricultural settlement in Palestine. The Jewish forerunners of the Hovevi Zion and Zionist movements promoted remarkably similar ideas. Millenarist and Jewish visionaries alike spoke of the hour being propitious for the coming of the Messiah and favourable for settlement in the land of Israel. Both groups established schools to teach the lore of the land and to educate youth in agricultural pursuits. Many years after the disappearance of American settlers from Palestine, their story reverberated in Jewish polemic literature.

The cadastral mapping of Palestine, 1858-1928

The development of the cadastral system and land mapping of Palestine is a domestic issue of land administration whose early development took place primarily in Europe. Twentieth-century Palestine saw the transition from land registration, without proper reference of location, to statutory maps which became indispensable for land settlement and registration. This paper considers the introduction of cadastral mapping in Palestine in the years 1858-1928, and discusses the relative contribution of the Ottomans (1858-1914), the British Mandate authorities (1920-1928) and Christian and Jewish settlers (1869-1928), to the establishment of modern Land Books based on statutory maps. The British administration opened up a new era in which cadastral plans satisfied the demand for quality mapping and an advanced system of land registration. However, by 1948, the Mandatory Government of Palestine had completed the land settlement of only about five million metric dunams, which representjust 20 per cent of the 26 300 square kilometres of Palestines total land area. This settled area is almost identical to the boundaries of the northern part of the State of Israel recognized by the United Nations in 1947. The fact that land settlement was not completed under the cadastral project, has remained ever since the focus of disputes over land ownership in areas of conflict between the Israeli Government, Jewish settlers and Palestinian Arabs.

Empire, State and the Bedouin of the Middle East, Past and Present: A Comparative Study of Land and Settlement Policies

The Bedouin of the Middle East have been one of the regions most marginalized groups in modern times. This study assesses the interplay between state policies and the Bedouin in the last 150 years, from a comparative standpoint. We examine the development of land laws in the Middle East as they have affected the Bedouin, from the enactment of the Ottoman land laws of 1858 up to the present. Moreover we explore whether the land laws and the fate of the Bedouin are associated with the characteristics of the regime in each country. We find that the imposition of land laws and policies directed at nomadic and sedentarizing Bedouins has depended on disparate factors such as the origins of the leadership of countries (i.e. Bedouin or non-Bedouin) and the social and economic models embraced. Regimes with origins in the tribal-Bedouin fabric of the Middle East have pursued land policies that were favorable to the Bedouin, whereas regimes drawing their strength from urban elites and with socialist outlooks encouraged very different policies. We also consider whether the case of the Bedouin in Israel is unique or reflects a larger regional context.

The Impact of Early Missionary Enterprises on Landscape and Identity Formation in Palestine, 1820-1914

Most studies relating to missionary activity in various parts of the globe have dealt with missions both as agents of penetration of the colonial powers and as conveyers of Christian concepts of cultural and religious supremacy expressed as ‘redemption of the heathen world’. This paper argues that it is informative to emphasize a new dimension in the study of missions—that of the relationship between belief systems and place. It considers the modes of operation and the physical and ideological impact of British, American, German, Russian and French missionary societies on Palestine and its indigenous population (Muslim and Christian Arabs, and Jews) in the last century of Ottoman rule (1800–1918). The contribution of Western missionary activity to the colonized societies in which they operated has been depicted by recent revisionist historians to have been marginal and largely negative. However, studies of the missionary enterprise in recent years, including the work presented here, suggest that these presumptions are not well grounded.

The Negev: Land, Settlement, the Bedouin and Ottoman and British Policy 1871–1948

Focusing on the sub-district of Beersheba in British Mandatory Palestine, we examine issues of colonial administration, land use, relations between the government and indigenous nomads and extension of government control over marginal regions. Based on archival primary written sources and maps, we assess British Mandatory policy in the Negev, in the contexts of land ownership, settlement and the Bedouin population. The British Mandatory administration inherited a Southern Palestine Negev region that had been affected by a robust Ottoman policy of increasing administrative intervention, policing, land settlement and overall projection of government power. During 30 years of Mandatory rule, the policy was markedly different. The Beersheba sub-district, which incorporated almost half the area of Mandatory Palestine, was a unique administrative unit, populated almost entirely by nomadic Bedouins. Although the Mandatory authorities foresaw land settlement and sedenterisation as a goal in Palestine, they did not apply their administrative apparatus to fulfil this policy in the Negev, neglecting much of it.

The Anglican Church in Palestine and Israel: Colonialism, Arabization and Land Ownership

This study investigates the history and development of the Anglican Church under the Turkish, British, Jordanian and Israeli regimes. The paper recounts the development of various societies within the Anglican church and their politization, especially in the context of decolonization and the Arab-Israeli conflict over time. Our analysis is strengthened by an examination of the struggle over Church property between the local Arab clergy, the British Church leaders and the Israeli government. We conclude with a discussion of the scope and nature of the political and spatial/legal development of the Anglican Church in Palestine/Israel in the modern era. We stress the unique influence of spatial, political, economic, and political implications, at the local and international levels and situate the history within the general context of the Middle East, colonialism, Church history and local empowerment.

The Church and Landed Property: The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

This article investigates the factors that transformed the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem into the owner of a large-scale stock of real estate in the past and, as a result, it is one of the largest non-governmental landowners in the State of Israel today. Its ownership of this substantial amount of land has been one of the sources of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s economic and political strength. It brought about the phenomenon of Jewish and Arab politicians as well as Jewish, Palestinian, and Russian businessmen courting its clergymen. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s large reserve of land has also been one source of the bitter conflict between the clergy and local Arab Greek Orthodox community followers. 1 The ownership of these properties significantly affected the distribution of urban patterns of Jerusalem outside the Old City walls. Many modern Jewish neighbourhoods, such as the garden neighbourhood of Rehavia, were developed on lands purchased from the Patriarchate, as were some Arab neighbourhoods like the Greek Colony and part of Talbiah. 2 Since the 1970s the research literature has discussed and analysed the importance and contributions of the increased activities of different Christian groups to the numerous transformations that Palestine underwent during the late Ottoman period (1800–1917). Most of the books and articles focused upon the Christian groups’ religious and ideological backgrounds, missionary activities, the political and administrative conditions under the Ottoman regime, and their relations with the Great European Powers. Some researchers highlighted European Christian settlement activities and architecture in the Holy Land but few related to the significant issue of land and its acquisition and ownership by different churches and Christian sects in the Middle East and Palestine, particularly during the modern era. 3 Long-term studies of the various processes associated with landownership and their implications are the cornerstones for the understanding and discussion of all settlement processes. When conducting research dealing with landownership and real estate in Palestine, it is necessary to take into account the complexities and numerous implications of the changes in regimes – Ottoman (1517–1917), British Mandate (1918–48), Jordanian (1948–67 in the West Bank) and Israeli (1948–present and 1967–present in the West Bank). The implications include legal and statutory changes for real estate, beginning prior to the Ottoman Land Laws of 1858 and then following their ratification, and also from the perspective of the legal and civil status

The Jews in Eretz‐Israel/Palestine: From traditional peripherality to modern centrality

Israel Affairs 5/4 (Summer 1999): 73-107. See Also In: Israel: The First Hundred Years Vol 1, Israels Transition from Community to State. Ed. E. Karsh. London: Frank Cass Publishers, 1999. See Also: Ruth Kark, and Jospeh B. Glass, “Sephardi and Oriental Jews in Eretz-Israel (Palestine).” In: The History of the Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times. Eds. R.S. Simon, M.M. Laskier and S. Reuger. New York: Columbia University Press. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003, 335-346.

Colonialism and Religious Power Politics: The Question of New Regulations within the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem during the British Mandate

This article critically assesses the conflict within the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem between the Greek hierarchy and the Arab laity concerning the proposals of the Mandatory Government for a new regulatory framework for patriarchal operation. The British presented two draft reform ordinances, neither of which met Arab expectations. Instead of promoting the laitys emancipation from ‘foreign’ Greek administrative and financial control, the ordinances left little room for a true inversion of the power structure between the two opposing camps, retaining the status quo at the expense of the Arab Orthodox rights.