Ch. 6 - The Palestinian revolt of 1936-1939 (Palestine, Israel, and the US Empire)

The aim of the Zionists to dispossess Palestinians of their land and rights was no mystery to the Palestinian population. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s there were numerous uprisings against British colonialism and Zionist settlements, the most famous and protracted of which was the 1936-1939 revolt. In 1936, Palestinians launched a general strike that lasted six months—the longest general strike in history. The strike was followed by a guerrilla war that lasted nearly three and a half years. It was mainly based in the countryside among poor peasants. The war tied down a large part of the British army. It was not until September 1939—the same month that World War II began in Europe—that the British finally succeeded in crushing the rebellion by brute force. Both the justice of the Palestinian resistance and colonial nature of Zionism had been admitted in the midst of the revolt by none other than the central Zionist leader, Ben-Gurion: "In our political argument abroad we minimize Arab opposition to us. But let us not ignore the truth among ourselves. … A people which fights against the usurpation of its land will not tire so easily." "Palestine, Israel, and the US Empire", written by Richard Becker E-book: www.amazon.com/dp/B094YL965G