The Question of Palestine Before the International Community, 1924: A Methodological Inquiry into the Charge of "Bias"

This article offers a study of the Permanent Mandates Commission's first discussion of Palestine—at its fifth session in 1924. The PMC was charged by the League of Nations with the task of monitoring the progress of the post-war mandates. The article argues that, in contrast to the way in which these meetings have been portrayed in previous scholarship (namely, as either virulently anti-Zionist or staunchly anti-Arab), the members of the commission generally engaged in a reasoned discussion of the challenges of enforcing the multiple and competing terms of the Palestine Mandate, mindful of the defined limits of the commission's mission. The article pays close attention to the social and dialogical dynamics of the discussions and contends that sensitivity to these dynamics allows for a more compelling, nuanced understanding of the debate. It further suggests the need for careful consideration of the meaning of the charge of "bias" as an explanatory tool in historical analysis.