Global histories a student journal Envisioning (In)dependent Filastin: Agrochemicals and the Synthetic Age in British-Ruled Palestine Omri Polatsek DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/GHSJ.2021.423 Source: Global Histories, Vol. 7, No. 1 (May 2021), pp. 78-110. ISSN: 2366-780X Copyright © 2021 Omri Polatsek License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Publisher information: ‘Global Histories: A Student Journal’ is an open-access bi-annual journal founded in 2015 by students of the M.A. program Global History at Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. ‘Global Histories’ is published by an editorial board of Global History students in association with the Freie Universität Berlin. Freie Universität Berlin Global Histories: A Student Journal Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut Koserstraße 20 14195 Berlin Contact information: For more information, please consult our website www.globalhistories.com or contact the editor at: [email protected]. Envisioning (In)dependent Filastin: Agrochemicals and the Synthetic Age in British-Ruled Palestine by OMRI POLATSEK 78 Global Histories: a student journal | VII - 1 - 2021 Omri Polatsek | Envisioning (In)dependent Filastin 79 VII - 1 - 2021 | material transformations. ABOUT THE AUTHOR . nahda Omri Polatsek is an MA student at the Middle Eastern and Omri Polatsek Global Histories: a student journal is a visiting student at the Global History Department at Freie Universität Berlin. Omri’s master thesis explores the history of master thesis explores Universität Berlin. Omri’s synthetic agrochemicals in British-ruled Palestine, focusing on synthetic agrochemicals in British-ruled Palestine, potential chemical substances) in shaping changing ideas and African History department at Tel Aviv University. Currently, he Currently, University. Aviv History department at Tel African the role of ‘chemical agents’ (companies, chemists, and double- the role of ‘chemical agents’ ). Reconstructing al-Miqdadi’s work al-Miqdadi’s ). Reconstructing المقدادي ABSTRACT By reconstructing the history of Imperial Chemical Industries writings (one Husni al-Miqdadi’s activities and examining Levant the crystallization of agents), this article explores of ICI Levant’s was As ICI Levant Age in British-ruled Palestine. the Synthetic it held the leading local importer of agrochemicals to Palestine, a significant position for Zionist-Jews and Arab-Palestinians, both seeking to transform the economic basis of the land in order to materialize a future national economy that would be describing the interdependence After based on agriculture. Age and British Imperialism in the first between the Synthetic local and regional section, the article depicts the company’s reaction to its expansion Arab-Palestinians activity and explores in the second and third sections. In the last section, it studies agents, the activities and writings of one of the company’s Husni al-Miqdadi ( local and regional activity reveals the material and vis-à-vis ICI’s social entanglements between the national-local and imperial- generated global, resulting from the new ‘chemical possibilities’ by British Imperialism. This article argues that al-Miqdadi's expert was a product of a expertise as a fertilizer specific substantial change that took place during the interwar period– Palestine and the the rising flow of synthetic agrochemicals to Age was set into motion by Middle East. As the Synthetic imperial infrastructure and colonial mindsets, its material and conceptual aspects shaped the interactions between local and al-Miqdadi to join in like imperial actors and enabled experts the discourse of Arab-Palestinian and expand n i t s INTRODUCTION Filastin, a Jaffa based Arab- a l i F Palestinian newspaper, that “the t n e On an early morning in agent of the department gave this d n e January 1946, eight armed men huge quantity [of sodium nitrate] to p e d and women broke into the offices this Jewish man, while [previously] he ) n I ( of Imperial Chemical Industries did not want to give the officials from g n i Levant at Salame Road, Tel Aviv. Hebron Municipality 150 kilograms n o i s The single guard was no match of sodium nitrate without a police i v 3 n for this trained group. As he was escort?” Typically, the transportation E | chloroformed and tied, other team of hazardous chemical substances in k e s t members spread pepper across the Palestine was accompanied by police a l o floor in order to prevent the police or army forces. The writer explained P i r dogs from tracing their scent. The that previously, when representatives m O group quickly left, carrying ten tons of Hebron municipality picked up of sodium nitrate in two unidentified sodium nitrate from the harbor, trucks.1 This meticulously planned they had to wait until the arrival robbery was not the only one taking of 11 armed soldiers to escort place after the Second World War them back to Hebron. The Filastin in British-ruled Palestine, however. correspondent was dumbfounded A more peculiar case happened a by the company’s naiveté and few months earlier at Haifa, when speculated whether there were any in November 1945, an unknown other motives beyond it.4 man arrived at the warehouses of This article will set out to Imperial Chemical Industries Levant explore Imperial Chemical Industries enquiring about goods he claimed Levant, the company that lost dozens he had to transport. After presenting of synthetic chemicals in 1946, and himself as a representative of Hebron one of its Arab-Palestinian agents.5 municipality and showing the guard During the interwar period, Imperial his certificates, the local official gave Chemical Industries was working on him five tons of sodium nitrate.2 a global scale, setting up branches “How is it possible?” all over the British empire and selling wondered a correspondent from its products worldwide.6 In the Middle East, the company’s main branches were in British-ruled Palestine. The 1 “Jews Raid Store,” The Scotsman, 16 January 1946; “Shod 10 ton natran hankati” [“Ten Tons of Sodium Nitrate 3 “Al-’irhabyun al-yahud yakhtalasun Stolen”] Ha’aretz, 16 January 1946. 5 atnan mutafajjirat” [“The Jewish 2 “5 ton homrey-nefets huts’au Terrorist Stole Five Tons of bemirma?” [“Five Tons of Explosives Explosives”] Filastin, 02 December Taken in Deceit?”] Ha’aretz, 03 1945. December 1945; “Mehapsim 5 ton 4 Filastin, 02 December 1945. homrey-nefets” [“Searching for Five 5 Hereafter: ICI Levant. Tons of Explosives”] LaHayal, 04 6 Hereafter: ICI (referring to the mother December 1945. company in London). 80 Global Histories: a student journal | VII - 1 - 2021 O m r company’s personnel, products, and local and imperial-global, which i P o ideas were prevalent in Palestine resulted from the new ‘chemical l a t s during a specific historical moment possibilities’ generated by British e k | when synthetic chemicals became imperialism between both world E n common both for domestic and wars. v i s i industrial usages. In the agricultural While in the case of these o n i realm, this moment during the two robberies, the synthetic fertilizers n g ( I interwar period marked a shift were most likely used by the Jewish n ) d towards a mounting application anti-imperial forces to blow up British e p e of synthetically made fertilizers, infrastructure, their original role was n d 7 e pesticides, and herbicides. to nourish various fields and orchards n t F As this article will seek to in Palestine. In 1946, at the time of i l a s demonstrate, Husni al-Miqdadi these robberies, synthetic fertilizers t i n who was working for the were often employed in intensive ,(المقدادي) company as a consultant and sales ‘modern’ agriculture schemes agent, was well-aware of the and used in various cultivation possibilities generated from ICI’s fields in British-ruled Palestine, chemical products. As a fertilizer the British empire, and around the specialist, he was informed of the world.8 While the consumption of potential for agrochemicals to synthetic agrochemicals outside enhance the economic value of Europe and North America was extracted from orange cultivation— gradually spreading through the Palestine’s most lucrative export crop. interwar period, the history of this From his ‘expert’ position, al-Miqdadi agricultural-industrial transformation sought to contribute to the prevalent remains unresearched. Historical national economic-awakening accounts on synthetic fertilizers discourse. By focusing on al- and pesticides are centered around Miqdadi’s work vis-à-vis the North America and Western Europe.9 company’s regional activity, this study will highlight the material and social entanglements between the national- 8 Corey Ross, Ecology and Power in the Age of Empire: Europe and the Transformation of the Tropical World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 7 Edward Melillo, “The First Green 2017). Revolution: Debt Peonage and the 9 Vaclav Smil, Enriching the Earth: Making of the Nitrogen Fertilizers Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Trade, 1840-1930,” The American Transformation of World Food Historical Review 117, no. 4 (2012): Production (Cambridge, MA: The MIT 1053-56, https://doi.org/10.1093/ Press, 2000); David Kinkela, DDT ahr/117.4.1028; Edmund Russell, War & The American Century: Global and Nature: Fighting Humans and Health, Environmental Politics and Insects with chemicals from World the Pesticide that Change the World War I to Silent Spring (Cambridge: (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Cambridge University Press, 2001), Carolina Press, 2011); Russell, War 53-73. and Nature. Historical scholarship on Global Histories: a student journal | VII - 1 - 2021 81 n i t s Likewise, conventional histories while the emerging ties between a l i F of chemical infrastructure were imperial states and chemical t n e written solemnly through nation- companies during the interwar d n e centered and comparative national period has been accounted for, the p e d history paradigms, dealing primarily consequences of this collaboration ) n I ( with industries located in the Euro- overseas has been completely g n 10 11 i American metropoles.