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C H A P T E R 3 WE, THE COLLABORATORS 6 6 In 1923 the Bedouin sheikhs of the Beit She’an Valley, members of the Muslim National Associations, invited British high commissioner Herbert Samuel to visit their camps. In their letter they told Samuel a little bit about themselves: We don’t meddle in politics, don’t attend rallies, and don’t send delegations . We are simple people who live in tents and deal with our own affairs only. We agree with everything the government does. . . . We have seen no evil from the Jews. We have sold the American Jewish Agency some of our lands, and with the help of the money we received we are developing and cultivating the large tracts that still remain ours. We are pleased with these Jews, and we are convinced that we will work together to improve our region and to pursue our common interests.1 This is how ideal collaborators describe themselves. They agree with everything the government says; they sell land to Jews; they claim that Arabs also benefit from Jewish immigration; they are satisfied with things as they are. Zionists could endorse the letter, and it is indeed possible that Kalvarisky and his associates had a hand in drafting it. Nationalist Arabs would also happily agree with some details: these abettors of the Zionist project are naïve, don’t understand politics, and are easily seduced. That is how the nationalists explained why some Arabs became collaborators.2 But the sheikhs who signed the letter were not as naïve as all that, and so-called collaborators could be found at all levels: in villages, Bedouin tribes, and cities, among leaders and among the common people. The assumption that money was the only motive that drew all these collaborators into the Zionists’ arms is not accurate. It was undoubtedly important , but it was not the only reason. Why did Arabs choose (or agree) to cooperate with the Zionist movement even before it reached the peak of its power? One major reason was the way they saw the three-way relationship among the British, Arabs, and Zionists. Many Arabs perceived the Zionists as part of the British administration. Beyond the Balfour Declaration and the official British support for Zionism, Jews who arrived with the Mandate were mostly European foreigners. They had close relations with the British establishment and were relatively powerful both politically and economically. This is the only explanation for the many requests leading Arabs made to their Zionist acquaintances for intercession with the British regime. Leaders of the Muslim National Associations asked the Zionist Elected Assembly for jobs in the police force and judicial system; Musa Hadeib asked the Zionist Executive to help get his son a position as a police officer. Haidar Tuqan requested Zionist assistance in winning back the mayor’s chair in Nablus.3 All these men viewed the Zionists as an arm of the British regime . In exchange for assistance, they were prepared to assist. Beyond this elementary motive, however, Arabs who cooperated with the Zionists fell into four categories. The first were those who did so for personal gain, such as the samasirah and others who helped the Zionists in exchange for jobs or money. The second were those who acted in the name of communal interest, such as Bedouin tribal chiefs and village leaders. They saw their ties with the Jews as a way of helping not only themselves but also the group they identified with. The third category consisted of those who had (or claimed to have) nationalist motivations. They offered an alternative to the ideology and tactics of the Palestinian national movement on the grounds that in so doing they were acting in the interests of their nation. A fourth group was made up of collaborators whose motives were ethical and humanist. They had Jews as friends and neighbors and were disgusted by the violence of the Palestinian national movement. These categories are not exclusive; some people acted out of more than one motive. Tribal leaders sought what was best for their tribes but also wanted to maintain their own status and earn money. “Moral” collaborators at times asked for compensation in exchange for their services. Land agents sometimes justified their actions with nationalist terminology ; perhaps they even believed that they had chosen the right path. All in all, many did not act at this early stage with the intent to harm the W E , T H E C O...

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