Empire Podcast Episode 300: Gaza: The 1948 War (Part 10)

Date: October 20, 2025
Hosts: William Dalrymple & Anita Anand
Guest: Eugene Rogan (Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, Oxford)

Brief Overview

This gripping episode of "Empire" delves into the final years of the British Mandate in Palestine, the explosive forces at play in 1948, and the seismic fallout that created both the State of Israel and the Nakba (catastrophe) for Palestinians. With historian Eugene Rogan as guide, the discussion unpacks the tangled web of political divisions, paramilitary groups, failed policies, and existential anxieties that tore through the region—setting the stage for decades of conflict.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The End of the British Mandate and Rise of Conflict

• Transition from WWII: The Second World War leaves the global order in flux. The British Mandate in Palestine enters its “last and most fateful phase.” (01:22)
• Founding of Israel vs. The Nakba: The ending of the Mandate leads to the “great triumph” for Zionism and “the great catastrophe, the expulsion of most of the Palestinians” (Nakba). (01:40)

2. Factions in the Zionist Movement

• Mainstream vs. Revisionist Zionists:

  • Ben Gurion’s faction (mainstream) is cautious about violence.
  • Irgun and Stern Gang, inspired by Zev Jabotinsky's “iron wall” doctrine, embrace force, aiming to clear out Arabs for a Jewish state. (03:02–04:01)
  • Quote: "He believed the only way the Jews had realized their goal of statehood in Palestine was by erecting an iron wall of pure force in and driving all Arab Palestinians out of the territory." — Eugene Rogan (03:24)

• Origins of Key Groups:

  • Haganah: The official Jewish military force of the Yishuv, collaborating with British authorities.
  • Irgun & Stern Gang: Irgun, tied to Jabotinsky; Stern Gang, a radical breakaway led by Avraham Stern, adopts terrorist tactics inspired by the IRA. (04:43–09:13)
  • Quote: "Stern believed that you needed to treat the British like a colonial occupier... by assassinating key figures, you could change the formula." — Eugene Rogan (08:08)

3. British Policy and Mounting Violence

• Conflicted British Role: British authorities train and arm the Haganah, but crack down on Irgun and Stern Gang (illegal and proscribed). (05:18–11:41)
• Key Attacks by Jewish Militias:
  • Lord Moyne Assassination: Stern Gang kills the Minister of State in Cairo (Nov 1944), shocking even pro-Zionist figures like Churchill. (09:13–10:38)
    • Quote: "If our dreams of Zionism are to end in the smoke of assassins’ pistols ... many like myself will have to reconsider the position we've maintained so long in the past." — Churchill, as quoted by Anita Anand (10:06)
  • King David Hotel Bombing (22 July 1946): Irgun, led by Menachem Begin, bombs British HQ in Jerusalem, killing over 90, including Arabs, Jews, and British officials. (13:23–15:24)
    • Quote: "It was indiscriminate violence targeting primarily the British presence, but also ... trying to sap the morale of the British to continue to hold on to Palestine against such determined resistance." — Eugene Rogan (15:24)
    • First-hand account from journalist Barbara Board dramatizes the horror. (15:37–16:46)
  • Hanging of British Sergeants (July 1947): Irgun retaliates for executions by hanging two British soldiers, prompting outrage and anti-Jewish riots in Britain. (23:55–25:32)
    • Quote: "The picture of young servicemen being hanged ... generated tremendous anger against the Jewish community in Palestine. And, you know, it's shameful to recount, but this led to pogroms against Jewish shops and communities in Britain." — Eugene Rogan (24:29)

4. The Exhaustion of Empire and UN Involvement

• British Withdrawal: Military costs, post-war exhaustion, and international scorn drive Britain to relinquish control, referring the issue to the United Nations. (18:32–19:26, 23:21)
  • Troop numbers double to 100,000, and costs spiral; 1/10th of the British armed forces were in Palestine by 1947. (23:21)
• The Exodus: Ships filled with Holocaust survivors denied entry by British authorities, swinging world opinion against Britain and adding to the mounting sense of crisis. (20:52–23:21)
  • Quote: "They were known as the displaced persons...the real story was being carried in the 1940s in the newspapers and the villain was Britain." — Eugene Rogan (21:24)

5. The United Nations’ Partition Plan (Resolution 181)

• Partition Proposal: UN proposes dividing Palestine: 56% to a Jewish state, 42% to an Arab state, remaining 2% for Jerusalem under international administration. (33:27–34:34)
  • Dramatic imbalance fosters resentment among Arabs, who reject the plan as unfair; Ben Gurion accepts it. (34:34)
  • Quote: "The Arab state was to have...42% of Mandate territory, while the Jewish state has...56%...The Arabs reject this. They think it's unfair that so much of their ancestral land be given away to what they regarded as new immigrants from Europe. But Ben Gurion crucially accepts it. And in that division lies the seeds of much future conflict." — William Dalrymple (34:15)

6. Descent into Civil War (January–May 1948)

• Escalating Violence: Civil war erupts with tit-for-tat attacks—Semiramis Hotel bombing, post office attacks, barrel bombs on British police stations.
• Jewish Military Organization: Haganah, armed with Czech weapons, confronts poorly supplied Palestinian militias. (36:59–38:42)
• Failure of Arab Response: Neighboring Arab states are divided, newly-independent, suspicious of each other, and constrained by British control of arms supplies. (41:05–42:34)
  • Quote: "They did not have independent means to arm their armed forces." — Eugene Rogan (41:43)

7. Massacres and the Nakba Begins

• Deir Yassin (April 1948): Irgun and Stern Gang massacre over 100 villagers despite a non-hostility pact; creates widespread panic and triggers mass flight. (44:17–46:04)
  • Quote: "Survivors were rounded up and paraded through Jewish quarters...it just sowed terror in the hearts of Palestinian villagers who saw there was no armed force to protect them, but they had armed enemies who would massacre them and they ran from their homes...never to return." — Eugene Rogan (45:36)
• Aftermath and Domino Effect: News spreads; villagers flee. The population of Gaza swells massively with refugees. (48:06–49:49)

8. The Endgame: Creation of Israel and Palestinian Exodus

• British Departure: Alan Cunningham, the last British High Commissioner, leaves in defeat. (50:00)
• Israeli Declaration: Ben Gurion declares independence. The period is summarized as “the Jewish triumph, an Arab tragedy and a British failure.” (50:00–51:01)
  • Quote: "Thirty years, five months and four days after General Allenby had entered Jerusalem in triumph, British rule ended in total disgrace." — William Dalrymple (51:00)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "[The Nakba]...the expulsion of most of the Palestinians, known to them as the Nakba—meaning the catastrophe." — William Dalrymple (01:22)
• "The iron wall is his phrase, isn’t it?" — William Dalrymple (03:59)
• "Stern believed that you needed to treat the British like a colonial occupier...by assassinating key figures, you could change the formula." — Eugene Rogan (08:08)
• "[The King David Hotel attack] was indiscriminate violence...trying to sap the morale of the British to continue to hold on to Palestine." — Eugene Rogan (15:24)
• "[Deir Yassin] just sowed terror in the hearts of Palestinian villagers..." — Eugene Rogan (45:36)
• "It was, wrote one historian, the Jewish triumph, an Arab tragedy and a British failure." — William Dalrymple (50:46)

Memorable Moments & Structure

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:59–02:09: Framing the episode, introduction of Eugene Rogan.
• 03:02–05:18: Origins and philosophies of major Zionist factions.
• 09:13–10:38: Stern Gang’s high-profile assassinations and Churchill’s reaction.
• 13:23–16:46: King David Hotel bombing and first-person testimony.
• 20:52–23:21: The Exodus and Holocaust survivors challenging British policy.
• 23:55–25:32: Irgun’s hanging of British sergeants and British backlash.
• 33:27–34:34: UN Partition plan details and Arab response.
• 36:59–38:42: Civil war and barrel bomb tactics.
• 44:17–46:04: Deir Yassin massacre and its consequences.
• 48:06–49:49: Mass departure, swelling refugee populations in Gaza.
• 50:00–51:01: British withdrawal, proclamation of Israel.

Conclusion

This episode laboriously charts how the utopian and deeply tragic dreams of rival peoples collided, producing both the founding of Israel and the mass Palestinian exodus. Through lucid storytelling and contemporary quotes, Rogan, Dalrymple, and Anand provide a sober, nuanced tapestry of the turning points and fractures that still echo through the present. The episode ends with the British withdrawal, Israeli independence, and the foreshadowing of even greater tragedy and displacement to come—a critical setup for understanding the battles, borders, and losses that would shape the Middle East for generations.

Listen to the next episode for the continuation of the 1948 war and its full impact on Gaza and the peoples of the region.