L1an Pappe, the Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Dynasty: the Husaynis, I700-I948 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2010), 399 Pp., [8] P

68 Book Reviews / Bustan: ]he Middle East Book Review 3 (20n) 63-90

l1an Pappe, The Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Dynasty: The Husaynis, I700-I948 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2010), 399 pp., [8] p. of plates: ill., map. ISBN 978-0-520-26839-5

This book combines an interesting narrative on the rise of the Husayni family to local leadership in Jerusalem during the 18th and 19th centuries, together with sympathetic descriptions verging on apologetics, highly problematic omissions and outright distortions when discussing the family's political role in the 20th century. This mix is a direct result of the author's political agenda of unmit- igated identification with Palestinian nationalism and hostility to Zionism. While political sympathies may be inevitable in historical writings, they do not always have to come at the expense of serious and honest scholarship, as unfortunately occurs here. The book's first five chapters trace the rise of the family, originally named al- Ghudayda, to prominent leadership position in Jerusalem. The turning point was the appointment in 1704 of Muhibb aI-Din Effendi, who as the Naqib al-Ashraf (head of the families claiming descent £rom the Prophet Muham- mad) had hitherto served as Shaykh al-Haram (shaykh of the holy sanc- tuary al-Aqsa Mosque) of Jerusalem. When 'Abd aI-Latif al-Ghudayda was appointed Naqib in 1745, he appropriated the more illustrious name and lineage of the previous Naqib family, al-Husayni-Wafa'i, which henceforth became the family's name. In 1780 Hasan al-Husayni was appointed Mufti of Jerusalem, and £rom then on, the family held both positions, which were the most important ones held by local notables in Ottoman cities. Following a temporary decline during the high Tanzimant era (1839-1876), the Husay- nis regained their prominence under Sultan Abd al-Hamit II (1876-1908) and added the position of mayor in 1895. Overall, the historical narrative in this part is solid despite occasionally verging on idealization of local soci- ety. Pappe seeks to show benevolent Muslim attitudes toward Jews, but omits any reference to restrictions on Jewish worship or testimonies by foreigners of animosity and disdain towards Jews.! Ironically, when discussing the emer- gence of nationalism among Palestinians, Pappe unwittingly accepts the view of Israeli historians, whom he criticizes throughout the book, that the for- mation of distinct Palestinian nationalism was primarily a reaction to Zion- ism.

1) Moshe Maoz, "Nineteenth Century Jerusalem: Political and Social Developments," in Jerusalem in the Modern Period, ed. E. Shaltiel Oerusalem, 1981).

The book's second part focuses on the encounter of the Husaynis and the Palestinian national movement with Zionism. This section's major protagonist is Hajj Amin al-Husayni (1895-1974), who emerged as the leader of the Palestinian national movement thanks to his uncompromising opposition to Zionism as well as his appointment as Mufti of Jerusalem (and of Palestine) in 1921 and as head of the Supreme Muslim Council of Palestine in 1922. This section is highly problematic as Pappe's overt political agenda takes over to the detriment of solid history. Since listing all the section's faults, factual and analytical, will be too exhaustive, I will focus only on major examples. In the Forward, Pappe explains that he had sought to "humanize, not idealize" the Husaynis, but too often he veers towards apologetics to clear them of any wrong-doing. In particular, he presents Hajj Amin as an almost naive person, who is often taken advantage of by others or is maneuvered by others into awkward situations. One sometimes wonders how such a person survived in politics for so long. Moreover, Pappe seeks to portray Hajj Amin as a moderate who at times even sought contacts with the Zionists, but to little avail. At the same time, he justifies Hajj Amin's boycott of the 1936 Peel Commission and the 1947 UNSCOP by explaining that "the cessation of Uewish] immigration and land purchases were not subject for negotiations but preconditions for negotiations" (p. 276). If so, on what issues could the Zionist leaders, for whom the growing plight of European Jews during the 1930S and of the Holocaust survivors thereafter was their major concern, negotiate with him? In discussing Hajj Amin's appointment to the senior position of Mufti in 1921, Pappe dismisses as insignificant the arguments raised by his opponents that Hajj Amin lacked the formal religious education necessary for the post, arguing that his family had controlled this position for decades. Likewise, he rejects the charges raised by historians such as Elie Kedourie that Hajj Amin deceived the British in promising moderation, asserting that his family was powerful. Both responses may be true, but they do not invalidate the criticism. In 1928, Hajj Amin initiated the building of the Palace Hotel on the land of the historical Mamilla Cemetery in Jerusalem. Pappe dismisses contemporary complaints by Muslim scholars that the area contained tombs of Muslim warriors from the Crusades, with the false statement that no area of Jerusalem was free of tombs. One can only imagine his reaction had similar charges been waged against Jews building on Muslim cemeteries. In describing Hajj Amin's March 1933 meeting with Heinrich Wolff, the Nazi consul in Jerusalem, Pappe finds Israeli historians worthy of condemna- tion for portraying Hajj Amin as "one of the worst enemies not only of Zionism