This Is Jerusalem Calling

Modeled after the BBC, the Palestine Broadcasting Service was launched in 1936 to serve as the national radio station of Mandate Palestine, playing a pivotal role in shaping the culture of the emerging middle class in the region. Despite its significance, the PBS has become nearly forgotten by scholars of twentieth-century Middle Eastern studies. Drawn extensively from British and Israeli archival sources, “This Is Jerusalem Calling” traces the compelling history of the PBS’s twelve years of operation, illuminating crucial aspects of a period when Jewish and Arab national movements simultaneously took form. Andrea L. Stanton describes the ways in which the mandate government used broadcasting to cater to varied audiences, including rural Arab listeners, in an attempt to promote a “modern” vision of Arab Palestine as an urbane, politically sophisticated region. In addition to programming designed for the education of the peasantry, religious broadcasting was created to appeal to all three main faith communities in Palestine, which ultimately may have had a disintegrating, separatist effect. Stanton’s research brings to light the manifestation of Britain’s attempts to prepare its mandate state for self-governance while supporting the aims of Zionists. While the PBS did not create the conflict between Arab Palestinians and Zionists, the service reflected, articulated, and magnified such tensions during an era when radio broadcasting was becoming a key communication tool for emerging national identities around the globe.

“Stanton’s analysis of radio as a new tool of the colonial state contributes a great deal to studies of Mandate Palestine and imperialism.” –Journal of Palestinian Studies Modeled after the BBC, the Palestine Broadcasting Service was launched in 1936 to serve as the national radio station of Mandate Palestine, playing a pivotal role in shaping the culture of the emerging middle class in the region. Despite its significance, the PBS has become nearly forgotten by scholars of twentieth-century Middle Eastern studies. Drawn extensively from British and Israeli archival sources, “This Is Jerusalem Calling” traces the compelling history of the PBS’s twelve years of operation, illuminating crucial aspects of a period when Jewish and Arab national movements simultaneously took form. Andrea L. Stanton describes the ways in which the mandate government used broadcasting to cater to varied audiences, including rural Arab listeners, in an attempt to promote a “modern” vision of Arab Palestine as an urbane, politically sophisticated region. In addition to programming designed for the education of the peasantry, religious broadcasting was created to appeal to all three main faith communities in Palestine, which ultimately may have had a disintegrating, separatist effect. Stanton’s research brings to light the manifestation of Britain’s attempts to prepare its mandate state for self-governance while supporting the aims of Zionists. While the PBS did not create the conflict between Arab Palestinians and Zionists, the service reflected, articulated, and magnified such tensions during an era when radio broadcasting was becoming a key communication tool for emerging national identities around the globe.

Schalit critically interrogates everything from Middle Eastern politics to the New Economy, from debates in the independent music scene about “selling out” to the current cultural interventions of Jerry Falwell and his followers. —Selected for Publishers Weekly‘s Best Books of 2002 list “This remarkable collection of essays by an astute young writer covers a wide range of topics . . . [and] provides an overview of contemporary critical, radical thinking . . . This is the debut of a new and original thinker.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review “Joel Schalit is part of a new generation of secular Jewish leftists who issue a challenge to state-authorized religion in Israel and throughout the world. With his political autobiography, Schalit reveals the reactionary ideas that drive today’s liberal rhetoric. He also makes a passionate case for ending military violence, which rips apart countries and families alike.” —Annalee Newitz, San Francisco Bay Guardian Jerusalem Calling signals the emergence of a new breed of public intellectual. American by birth, Israeli by association, and homeless by conscience, former Punk Planet and Bad Subjects editor Joel Schalit is uniquely qualified to dissect the New World Order and the rise of religious fundamentalism across the globe. Moving effortlessly from philosophical complexity to outrageous humor, Schalit critically interrogates everything from Middle Eastern politics to the New Economy, from debates in the independent music scene about “selling out” to the current cultural interventions of Jerry Falwell and his followers. Throughout his impassioned analyses, Schalit highlights opportunities for the political left to make itself popular once again. Even while discussing the bleakest of topics, such as the civil wars in the former Yugoslavia, he never succumbs to the cynicism that plagues so many progressive commentators. Raised in a secular Zionist household by one of modern Israel’s founding families, Schalit has found a way to transcend nationalism of all stripes. Remarkably, he generates sympathy for Christian, Muslim, and Jew alike, even as he reveals the prevalent dangers in all forms of religious fundamentalism.

This book is the first to present the unique story of the city of Jerusalem during the events of the Second World War and how it played a unique role in both the military and civilian aspects of the war. Whilst Jerusalem is usually known for topics such as religion, archaeology, or the politics of the Israeli–Arab conflict, this volume provides an in-depth analysis of this exceptional and temporary situation in Jerusalem, offering a perspective that is different from the usual political-strategic-military analysis. Although battles were raging in the nearby countries of Syria and Lebanon, and the war in Egypt and the Western Desert, the people who came to Jerusalem, as well as those who lived there, had different agendas and perspectives. Some were spies and intelligence officers, other were exiles or refugee immigrants from Europe who managed at the last moment to escape Nazi persecution. Journalists and writers described life in the city at this time. All were probably conscious of the fact that when the war came to an end, local rivalry and mounting conflict would take the centre stage again. This was a time of a special, magical drawn-out moment that may shed light on an alternative, more peaceful, kind of Jerusalem that unfortunately was not to be. This volume seeks to find an alternative approach and to contribute to the development of insightful research into life in an unordinary city in an unordinary situation. It will be of value to those interested in military history and the history of the Middle East.

This study examines the policies of twentieth-century US presidents regarding the status of Jerusalem. It investigates the influence of presidential advisors and lobbyists, tracks the conflicting historical narratives presented by various states in the region, and analyzes the contemporary political situation.

From one of the world's most revered historians, the first major history of contemporary Jerusalem "Gilbert is a first-rate storyteller." —The Wall Street Journal "Fascinating and admirably readable . . . unmatched for sheer breadth of acutely observed historical detail." —Christopher Walker, The Times (London) "Most noteworthy for its richness of letters, journals and anecdotes . . . the major events of this century come alive in eyewitness accounts." —The New York Times Book Review "Extraordinarily vivid glimpses of Jerusalem life." —Atlanta Journal Constitution

The history of colonial copyright is most often told from the perspective of the colonizers. Reversing the trend, this study of the early roots of copyright in the British Empire provides a sophisticated theoretical framework, contextualizing early copyright law as a form of globalization and examining its impact on colonial affairs and modern law.