University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications, Department of History History, Department of Fall 2011 The Armenians of Palestine 1918-48 Bedross Der Matossian University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historyfacpub Part of the History Commons Der Matossian, Bedross, "The Armenians of Palestine 1918-48" (2011). Faculty Publications, Department of History. 121. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historyfacpub/121 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications, Department of History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. XLI, No. 1 (Autumn 2011), pp. 24–44; doi: jps.2011.XLI.1.24. Copyright © 2011 by the Institute for Palestine Studies. Published by the University of California Press. Used by permission. The ArmeniAns of PAlesTine 1918 – 48 Bedross der Matossian For the Armenians of Palestine, the three decades of the Mandate were probably the most momentous in their fifteen hundred-year presence in the country. The period witnessed the community’s pro- found transformation under the double impacts of Britain’s Palestine policy and waves of destitute Armenian refugees fleeing the massa- cres in Anatolia. The article presents, against the background of late Ottoman rule, a comprehensive overview of the community, includ- ing the complexities and role of the religious hierarchy, the initially difficult encounter between the indigenous Armenians and the new refugee majority, their politics and associations, and their remarkable economic recovery.