Arab Christians in British Mandate Palestine: Communalism and Nationalism, 1917-1948

Shows how Arab Christians struggled to balance religious and nationalist identities in Palestine between 1917 and 1948. Noah Haiduc-Dale focuses on the relationship between Arab Christians and the nationalist movement in Palestine as the British Mandate unfolded throughout the first half of the 20th century. Evidence of individual behaviours and beliefs, as well as those of Christian organizations (both religious and social in nature), challenges the prevailing assumption that Arab Christians were prone to communalism. Instead, they were as likely as their Muslim compatriots to support nationalism. When social pressure led Christians to identify along communal lines, they did so in conjunction with a stronger dedication to nationalism.