Unveiling the British betrayal: A Conversation with Blake Alcott

Join us as we explore why Britain repeatedly deceived the Palestinian leadership and assess Britain’s direct role in displacing Palestinians ahead of the creation of the occupation state of Israel. Was there ever a real chance that London might have abandoned the Balfour Declaration? Or was the Palestinian resistance doomed from the outset?

During this week's MEMO in Conversation we are joined by historian and researcher Blake Alcott, author of the monumental 1,500-page book 'The Rape of Palestine: A Mandate Chronology'. This meticulously compiled work traces, through original documents, the calculated betrayal of Palestine by the British colonial administration from 1917 to 1948. With nearly 500 letters, reports and official records, Alcott lays bare how Britain systematically enabled Zionist colonisation while suppressing Palestinian resistance. This conversation is not just of important historical value, it’s an urgent exploration of how the roots of today’s crisis can be found in the Mandate-era decisions that reshaped the Middle East. 

Alcott takes us through some of the book’s most explosive revelations, including early Palestinian warnings that were ignored, the King-Crane Commission’s damning but buried report, and the desperate lobbying efforts that ensured Britain remained firmly in support of Zionist settlement. We explore why Britain repeatedly deceived the Palestinian leadership, shutting them out of decision-making while empowering Zionist institutions like the Jewish Agency. As we discuss Britain’s direct role in displacing Palestinians, Alcott examines whether there was ever a real chance that London might have abandoned the Balfour Declaration — or if Palestinian resistance was doomed from the outset. 

Blake Alcott was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1945, received a BA in philosophy in 1968 from Wesleyan U. in Connecticut, moved to Zurich and became a Swiss citizen, was a self-employed cabinetmaker until 2000. He obtained an MPhil in environmental policy in 2006 from University of Cambridge and a PhD in sustainability strategies in 2013 from the University of East Anglia. He went on to live in Turkiye and returned to Zurich, where he now lives, writes and plays tennis.