Elizabeth E. Imber, "Uncertain Empire: Jews, Nationalism, and the Fate of British Imperialism" (Stanford UP, 2025)

Sep 26, 2025

Historian Elizabeth Imber, author of *Uncertain Empire*, dives into the complex relationship between Jews and British imperial politics from 1917 to 1948. She explores how Jewish thinkers navigated their identity across the Empire, revealing differing paths towards nationalism and dominion status for Palestine. Imber discusses key figures like Chaim Arlosoroff and the Bentwiches, highlighting their diverse political aspirations and interactions with anticolonial movements. The podcast also examines the intricate Jewish-Indian connections and the shifting strategies borne out of imperial uncertainty.

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ANECDOTE

Archive Find Led To New Project

Imber discovered 1920s–30s Baghdadi Jewish documents while researching 19th-century Sassoon archives in Jerusalem.
These revealed contested political self-classification in Calcutta and surprising ties to Indian elite politics.

INSIGHT

Empire Became Central To Jewish Politics

After 1917 British control of Palestine placed the empire at the center of global Jewish political imagination.
Jews developed a 'politics of uncertainty' by weighing multiple possible imperial futures and their consequences.

INSIGHT

Contradictory Strategies Are Strategic

Jews across the empire entertained contradictory strategies to prepare for very different imperial outcomes.
These strategies linked Zionism, imperial models, and anti-colonial ties as pragmatic responses to uncertain futures.

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Following the British conquest of Ottoman Palestine, Jews across the British Empire—from Jerusalem to Johannesburg, London to Calcutta—found themselves at the heart of global Jewish political discourse. As these intellectuals, politicians, activists, and communal elites navigated shifting political landscapes, some envisioned Palestine as a British dominion, leveraging imperial power for Jewish state-building, while others fostered ties with anticolonial movements, contemplating independent national aspirations. Uncertain Empire: Jews, Nationalism, and the Fate of British Imperialism (Stanford University Press, 2025)
Context considers this intricate interplay between British imperialism, Zionism, and anticolonial movements from the 1917 British conquest of Palestine to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.

Elizabeth Imber highlights diverse and sometimes conflicting visions of Jewish political futures, offering detailed case studies of key figures including Chaim Arlosoroff, Moshe Shertok, Helen Bentwich, Rachel Ezra, and Hermann Kallenbach. She explores a "politics of uncertainty" in which Jews engaged with both imperial stability and the rise of anticolonial mobilization, when many were likewise forced to reconsider Palestine as a viable refuge and political solution. Ultimately, this book provides a nuanced understanding of how the British Empire's fate became central to Zionist and broader Jewish political thought, revealing the complex intersections of empire, state power, and Jewish politics during a time marked by profound urgency and exigency.

Roberto Mazza is currently a visiting scholar at the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University. He is the host of the Jerusalem Unplugged Podcast and to discuss and propose a book for interview can be reached at robbymazza@gmail.com. Blusky and IG: @robbyref

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