Book Review: Palestinians in Jerusalem and Jaffa, 1948: A Tale of Two Cities

Abstract

Itamar Radai’s micro history of the experiences of the Palestinians in Jerusalem and Jaffa in the closing months of the British Palestine Mandate is a scholarly and informed comparative study. The focus is narrow but the book’s significance is broad, and it augments our understanding of how and why the al-Nakhba, ‘the catastrophe,’ unfolded for the Palestinians. The book is rich on detail on the Palestinian community, based on excellent use of Arabic sources. Radai avoids taking sides in the polarized literature on 1948, but his conclusions reflect poorly on the Palestinian middle class, who fled the shock of war. The book’s human and engaged text vividly brings to life the Palestinians’ lives and their struggle to remain in their homes as Palestine went to war from late 1947.