Palestine: Economy


Figure 1.--Here we see Palestinian girls shopping in the market place near Manger Square in Bethlehem Notice the beautiful e,broidery on their clothing. The photograph was taken November 28, 1947 a few months before the First Arab-Israeli War. It could have, however, been traken centuries earlier. Palestine had been among the poorest provinces of the Ottoman Empire. With the onset of the British Mandate and the growing Jewish minority the economy began to expand. The British helped build the stronget public school system in the Arab world. Arab immigration from neigboring countries (Egypt, Jordan, and Syria) which the British did not regulate in cintrast to Jewish immigration. Large segments of the rural and village Palestinian population remained very traditional and did not participate in the economic expansion.

We do not have economic infomation on the economy of Palestine in ancient times. The Jew of course called it the 'land of milk and honey,' perhaps in comparison to the Sianai where they suposedly wondered for 40 years. Of course the area seems to havv ben somewhat better wattered than is the case today. The issue of economics in more modern tumes like virtually everything conncted with Palestine is a matter of considerable controversy. The Obama Administration like several administrations before it seems convinced that the Isreali-Arab conflict can be settled by economics. Improve the economic condition of the Palistinians so this argument goes and the violence can be difused. The only problem with this thinking is that since the onset of the Zionist Project, the economy of Palestine has improved. Palistine was among the poorest and most backward areas of the Ottoman Empire. Further economic progress was made during the British Mandate era (1918-48). And conditions on the West Bank and Gaza only began to deteriorate precipitously with the Interfada. Palistinian terror attcks forced the Isrealis to restrict Palistinians from working in Israel and to construct theSecurity Wall. This seems to suggest that there are issues ibvolved that are not going to be solved by economics. Palestinians in Isreal are the most affluent Arans in non-oil sttes. Yetthere is every indicatuion that given the chance that they would vote to undo the Jewish state.

Ancient Times


Medieval Times


Ottoman Era (1516-1918)

The question arises as to the economic status of Palesinians under Ottoman rule. We have noted references to the people being very poor. This seems to have been the general situation for Arabs living within the Ottoman Empire. This seems to be a fair statement. We do not have any detailed information such as actual income levels. This is of interest because the Israelis contend that Jewish immigration brought prosperity to Palestine while the Arabs complain that the Jews have exploited Palestinians. Not do we know how the Palesinians compared to other Arab populations inside and beyond the Ottoman Empire. One source suggests that Palestine was one of the poorest regions within the Ottoman Empire. We canot yet confirm that this was the case. We do note Palestine being described by travelers as an arid and largely uninhabited wasteland. One traveler describes Da, rather daming with fait praise, "Here were evidences of cultivation — a rare sight in this country — an acre or two of rich soil studded with last season’s dead corn-stalks of the thickness of your thumb and very wide apart. But in such a land it was a thrilling spectacle. Close to it was a stream, and on its banks a great herd of curious-looking Syrian goats and sheep were gratefully eating gravel. I do not state this as a petrified fact — I only suppose they were eating gravel, because there did not appear to be any thing else for them to eat." [Twain, Ch. 46.] Later he described Magdala near Tiberias with brutal clarity, "MAGDALA is not a beautiful place… The streets of Magdala are any where from three to six feet wide, and reeking with uncleanliness. The houses are from five to seven feet high, and all built upon one arbitrary plan — the ungraceful form of a dry-goods box. The sides are daubed with a smooth white plaster, and tastefully frescoed aloft and alow with disks of camel-dung placed there to dry. This gives the edifice the romantic appearance of having been riddled with cannon-balls, and imparts to it a very warlike aspect…. There are no windows to a Syrian hut, and no chimneys. When I used to read that they let a bed-ridden man down through the roof of a house in Capernaum to get him into the presence of the leader, I generally had a three-story brick in my mind, and marveled that they did not break his neck with the strange experiment. I perceive now, however, that they might have taken him by the heels and thrown him clear over the house without discommoding him very much. Palestine is not changed any since those days, in manners, customs, architecture, or people. As we rode into Magdala not a soul was visible. But the ring of the horses’ hoofs roused the stupid population, and they all came trooping out — old men and old women, boys and girls, the blind, the crazy, and the crippled, all in ragged, soiled and scanty raiment, and all abject beggars by nature, instinct and education. How the vermin-tortured vagabonds did swarm! How they showed their scars and sores, and piteously pointed to their maimed and crooked limbs, and begged with their pleading eyes for charity! We had invoked a spirit we could not lay. They hung to the horses’s tails, clung to their manes and the stirrups, closed in on every aide in scorn of dangerous hoofs — and out of their infidel throats, with one accord, burst an agonizing and most infernal chorus: “Howajji, bucksheesh! howajji, bucksheesh! howajji, bucksheesh! bucksheesh! bucksheesh!” I never was in a storm like that before…. …Squalor and poverty are the pride of Tiberias. The young women wear their dower strung upon a strong wire that curves downward from the top of the head to the jaw — Turkish silver coins which they have raked together or inherited. Most of these maidens were not wealthy, but some few had been very kindly dealt with by fortune. I saw heiresses there worth, in their own right — worth, well, I suppose I might venture to say, as much as nine dollars and a half. But such cases are rare. When you come across one of these, she naturally puts on airs. She will not ask for bucksheesh. She will not even permit of undue familiarity. She assumes a crushing dignity and goes on serenely practicing with her fine-tooth comb and quoting poetry just the same as if you were not present at all. Some people can not stand prosperity."

British Mandate (1918-48)

One poorly persued topic is the Palestinian economy and the impact of the influx of Jewish settlers to Palestine. Anti-Jewish sentiment among the Arabs existed before the Zionist settlement. There is not doubt that the influx gave rise to increased anti-Jewish sentiment. This is a normal reaction in any country, just as the Irish immigration in America gave rise to anti-Irish sentiment. Into this volitile mix the Grand-Mufti of Palestine promoted violence against the Jews. This dynamic has been fairly well documented. Less well addressed in the economic condition of the Palestinians and the impact of the Jewish Zionist immigration. Palestinans commonly complain that the Jews purchased land from poor Paestinians. The objection here is that the resulting land was lost to the Palestinian community. Palestinian poverty was of course something the Jews did not create or the West. It was a fact when the Britishtook Palestine (1918). It was the result of Ottomon and Arab backwardness and the failure to enter the modern world. We have seen reports that the economic impact of the Jewish immigration was to stimulate the Palestinian economy and the Palestinians thus benefitted economically from the growth in the econonmy. One authot maintains that not only did the Palestinian economy grow more rapidly than was the case during the Ottoman Era, but it grew more rapidly than was the case for neigboring Arab-populated areas like Lebanon, Syria, anJorsdan, and Egypt. Our information on this is still limited. We do know that the Arab population increased, one indicator of a thriving economy. We are not sure, however, of this was the result of a rising birthrate or immigration from neigboring Arab states. This is another topic we hope to persue.

Jordan


Israel (1948- )


Arab Occupied Areas (1948-67)


Isreali Occupation (1967- )


West Bank


Gaza


Isreali and Palestinian Economics

There has since the beginning of the Zionist emigration been a remarkable change in the economy of Palestine. The province changed from one of the poorest in the world to under the British mandate to one of the most affluent in the Arab world. Since independence, Israel has emerged as one of the most successful in the world. Non-oil Arab countries, however, measured by basic metrics of modern societies (infant mortality, longevity, nutrition, educational achievement, scientific discoveries, percapita income, books published, democratic government, individual rights, ect.) are largely failed states. Why is this. Are the Isrealis responsible or are the Arabs themselves responsible?. A Syrian observer writes, "Israel has, in less than 60 years, built an economy ten times that of Syria with one-fifth the population. How does one explain this fact? It is very simple: Israel is a vibrant democracy. For no fault of our own, Syria has suffered from one occupation after occupation, the latest being organically grown represented by the Assad family. One would think that a Syrian family occupying Syria is less harmful than the French occupying Syria. The truth is, it is much worse. The not-so-civilized Assad family uses much worse despotic techniques. The result is that not only Syrians suffer from lack of opportunities and stifling liberties but they also suffer from lack of hope, dignity, and pride as well; a good formula to create suicide bombers." And how does this affect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Another economic question is poverty as the root of the problem. Many Western observers believe that poverty is the reason the Isreali-Palestenian conflict has endured. Poverty is certainly a problem, but there is reason to believe that it is not the root of the problem.





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Created: 10:08 AM 2/18/2013
Last updated: 2:52 PM 11/4/2017