Empire Podcast – Episode 299: "Gaza: The Palestinian Revolt, The Black and Tans, & Bomber Harris (Part 9)"

Hosts: William Dalrymple, Anita Anand
Guest: Caroline Elkins, Pulitzer-winning Harvard historian
Date: October 15, 2025

Overview

This episode explores the roots, escalation, and repression of the Palestinian Revolt (1936–39), set against the backdrop of British colonial rule, rising Jewish immigration, Arab dispossession, and the development of brutal imperial counterinsurgency tactics. Joined by historian Caroline Elkins, Dalrymple and Anand dive into the complexities of land, identity, leadership, violence, and legacy, highlighting how British policies and personalities—from Taggart to "Bomber" Harris to Ord Wingate—helped shape an enduring legacy in Palestine and the wider world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Spark and Build-Up of the Palestinian Revolt

• Trigger Incident (00:36): The episode opens with the April 15, 1936 killing of Jewish passengers in the West Bank, marking a tipping point that rapidly escalates into a widespread uprising.
• Growth of Militant Nationalism (01:59):
  • The failure of prominent Arab families (the Al Husseinis, Nashashibis) to contain grassroots unrest leads to the formation of the Arab Higher Committee, declaring a general strike.
  • Two main issues fuel tension: rapid Jewish immigration (from 10% of the population in 1922 to nearly 30% by 1935) and land sales, especially as Jews flee European antisemitism.
  • British attempts to limit immigration (Passfield White Paper) are undermined by political lobbying in London.

"The rule of Balfour is going to remain in place, and immigration and land sales, despite the fact that the British government is beginning to recognize this as a problem, they're going to do nothing about it."
— Caroline Elkins (03:53)

• Double Bind (04:32):
  • Dalrymple reflects on the dilemma: Shelter for Jews fleeing Nazism vs. the dispossession of Palestinian Arabs.

"...the Palestinian revolt that we're going to see and discuss in this episode is the expression of that frustration and the political impasse that the British have created..."
— William Dalrymple (04:48)

• Communal Coexistence Shattered:
  • The period is remembered as when previously peaceful interfaith coexistence collapses due to escalating tension and fear (05:23).

2. Palestinian Society, Leadership Rivalries, and British Divide-and-Rule

• Leadership Parallel with India (06:42):
  • Anand draws parallels with India and other British colonies—establishment families vs. grassroots revolutionaries.

"...sort of the selecting, if you will, of respectable leaders that the British believe that they can rule through, who ultimately have a sort of a tenuous hold on the local populations until such time it becomes untenable."
— Caroline Elkins (07:18)

• Rise of Grassroots Movements:
  • The decline of elite leadership increases the influence of radical groups, leading to formation of boycott, self-help, and education committees (07:41).

3. Escalation and British Response

• Description of Revolt Tactics (08:27):
  • Crop burning, sabotage, armbands, bombs, and railway destruction characterize the uprising.
• British Panic and the "Thin White Line" (10:03):
  • Reports from colonial officials reveal anxiety and loss of control; the colonial admin is under-resourced.
  • Repeated recommendations for reform (immigration, land) are ignored.

"You are the problem, Britain. Get your house in order. Your job is to put this down and snuff it out."
— Caroline Elkins paraphrasing the League of Nations Commission (11:22)

• Transition to Repression:
  • After the 1937 murder of a district officer, a new hardline phase begins.

4. The British "Troubleshooters": Taggart, Repression, and Racism

• Charles Tegart (12:03):
  • A veteran colonial officer, famed in Bengal, becomes the administrator of counterinsurgency in Palestine.
• Violent Methods:
  • Tegart is notorious for torture, arbitrary detention, and brutality.

"Running over an Arab, says Tegart, is the same as a dog in England, except we do not report it."
— Quoted by Anita Anand (13:37)

• Extrajudicial Killings:
  • British paramilitary police shoot suspected Arabs on sight, circumventing courts (13:54).

5. "Bomber" Harris and Colonial Air Power

• Arthur "Bomber" Harris Arrives (14:28):
  • RAF air control and collective punishment (including bombing of villages) are imported from Mesopotamia to Palestine.
  • Use of frightful weaponry (incendiaries, delayed bombs) becomes standard.

"There are certain laws about what you could and could not bomb. ... These folks are bombing everything."
— Caroline Elkins (16:54)

• Culture of Extreme Violence:
  • Heavy drinking and violence against Arabs are normalized among British personnel (17:13).

"...the only thing the Arab understands is a heavy hand."
— Bomber Harris, quoted (17:59)

• Impact of Bombing (20:11):
  • Air attacks kill both rebels and civilians (e.g., a shepherd killed while tending his flock).

"So it's shepherds, it's people in olive groves, it's villages which have been declared under curfew. ... They bomb the villages, they use machine guns. And of course, there are massive civilian casualties in all these incidents."
— William Dalrymple (20:51)

6. Legal Innovations for Repression

• Martial Law vs. Emergency Regulations (21:42):
  • Statutory emergency frameworks empower unchecked violence; soldiers are shielded from prosecution.
• Mass Arrests and Decapitation of Leadership (22:37):
  • British respond to assassination of a commissioner (Sept 1937) by deporting 200 Palestinian leaders, outlawing the Arab Higher Command.
  • Result: Palestinians are leaderless at a key historical moment, while Jewish leaders can organize for the future.

7. Civil Strife, “Peace Gangs” and Concentration Camps

• Divide-and-Conquer (25:47):
  • British exploit familial rifts, favoring the Nashashibi family, who form “peace bands/gangs” brutally loyal to the colonial regime.
• Peace Band Violence:
  • These local militias are compared in brutality to the British, enforcing loyalty with torture and summary executions.

"...this is a classic story ... we see in so many of these empire wars where they are anti-colonial in one dimension but they're also civil wars that are fueled by the British policies..."
— Caroline Elkins (27:16)

• Concentration Camps Introduced (27:50):
  • Originally a British invention from the Boer War, camps reappear in Palestine: 10,000 held, widespread torture, summary execution, including of minors.

8. “Utter Decimation” – Counterinsurgency at its Most Ruthless

• Widespread Destruction (30:02):
  • British policy shifts to “utter decimation,” razing villages, destroying property, using Palestinians as human shields (31:08).

"...they would break hard at the end of a journey and then casually drive over the Arab ... If there was any landmines, it was them, the Arab prisoners, that hit them. Rather a dirty trick, but we enjoyed it, said another soldier."
— Caroline Elkins, quoting sources (31:08)

• Informers and Dual Threat:
  • Village informers had to choose between British torture or rebel reprisals (32:44).

9. The Shadow of Ord Wingate

• The Eccentric Architect of Brutality (32:54):
  • Wingate—eccentric, fervent Christian Zionist—trains “Special Night Squads,” fusing Jewish and British tactics.
  • Regarded as “father of the IDF,” his legacy becomes formative for Israeli security doctrines (35:47).

"...he brings in Jewish supernumerary forces into the Special Night squads. And that becomes a crucial moment as a training ground for the Jewish population... Everywhere from laying in wait and hit squads to torturing populations, to summary executions."
— Caroline Elkins (33:21)

10. Exhaustion, Capitulation, and Legacy

• Collapse of Revolt (40:29):
  • By 1939, attrition (economic and social), harsh repression, and internal division force a truce and shift to peaceful methods for many Palestinians.
• White Paper of 1939 (43:06):
  • On the eve of WWII, Britain caps Jewish immigration (“75,000 over five years, then subject to Arab approval”) to secure Arab support in the region.

"And they make no bones about it. With the coming of the war, they're going to support Britain and the Empire, but they are going to fight the white paper of 1939 with every ounce of their being."
— Caroline Elkins (45:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Double Standards in Policy:

  "If this hadn't been for the British mandate in Palestine, who knows what would have happened to those Jews fleeing Nazi Germany? ... On the other hand, what we're seeing in this episode is the Arabs being pushed to the wall."
  — William Dalrymple (04:32)

• On the Invention of Concentration Camps:

  "The British are synonymous with the introduction of concentration camps within sort of the western hemisphere."
  — Caroline Elkins (28:25)

• On Justifications for Violence:

  "The only thing the Arab understands is a heavy hand. ... Pour encourager les autres."
  — Bomber Harris, quoted (17:59, 18:32)

• On the Futility of Beheading Rebellion:

  "A classic British theory is that if you get rid of the so-called leadership, these revolts will descend into kind of terminal frenzy. They never do by the way... the second phase of the Arab revolt becomes much more organized on the Arab side."
  — Caroline Elkins (27:16)

• On Informers and Double Threat:

  "...those who signed it signed their death warrant, because at night, those who are fighting in the Arab revolt are going to come and enforce their own form of discipline. ... You're either with us or against us."
  — Caroline Elkins (31:54)

• On British Use of Brutality as "Civilizing" Force:

  "The only objective in this war was to decimate the Arab population full stop."
  — Caroline Elkins (30:02)

Important Timestamps

• 00:36 – The April 15, 1936 killings and immediate aftermath
• 01:59 – Growth of nationalism and formation of Arab Higher Committee
• 04:32 – Dalrymple outlines the double bind of British policy
• 08:27 – Outbreak of violence: tactics and scope
• 10:03 – Collapse of colonial control; British panic, Thinning of administration
• 12:03 – Charles Tegart's role and reputation
• 14:28 – "Bomber" Harris and the turn to aerial repression
• 17:13 – Normalization of violence in British ranks
• 22:37 – Murder of L.Y. Andrews and the “decapitation” of Palestinian leadership
• 27:50 – British use of concentration camps in Palestine
• 30:02 – Second phase of revolt; escalation and policy of decimation
• 32:54 – Profile on Ord Wingate and his influence on military tactics
• 40:29 – Diminishing momentum of the revolt; social fatigue
• 43:06 – The 1939 White Paper and diplomatic maneuvering ahead of WWII

Conclusion

The episode excavates one of the darkest periods of the British Empire in Palestine, revealing the confluence of imperial, communal, and ideological forces that irreversibly altered the region—legacies that shaped both Jewish and Palestinian futures. With detailed historical analysis and contemporary resonance, the hosts and guest illuminate the mechanics of empire, the cost of violence, and the persistent echoes of decisions made under colonial rule.

Next episode: "The Creation of Israel"
Bonus episode: The history of the Palestinian black and white scarf, the kefiyeh.