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April marks the start of what is known as the 1936 Great Revolt in Palestine, a national uprising led by Palestinians against the colonial admin of the British Mandate + the expansion of the Zionist colonial project in Palestine
April marks the start of what is known as the 1936 Great Revolt in Palestine, a national uprising led by Palestinians against the colonial admin of the British Mandate + the expansion of the Zionist colonial project in Palestine
For three years, Palestinians struggled against this using various forms of resistance.
What started off as a general strike on April 19, quickly spread to all major Palestinian cities, affecting all business, communications, and government services.
What started off as a general strike on April 19, quickly spread to all major Palestinian cities, affecting all business, communications, and government services.
National committees (incl Arab Higher Committe) emerged to lead resistance resulting in:
• Jaffa port workers shutting down Jaffa harbor
• Haifa port workers following suit
• Palestinian Railway + The Drivers & Owners Association workers going on strike, halting all transp.
• Jaffa port workers shutting down Jaffa harbor
• Haifa port workers following suit
• Palestinian Railway + The Drivers & Owners Association workers going on strike, halting all transp.
The general strike was sustained for 6 months w most of Palestine’s urban population, including workers & peasants who played key roles, participating in action. The popular uprising took up various forms of resistance including armed struggle, sustaining the revolt until 1939
Palestinian women played a crucial role in sustaining the Great Revolt. Peasant women in the villages would send food & water to revolutionaries in the mountains, as well as military equipment smuggled amongst the firewood.
The Jerusalem women’s committee released a statement that Summer addressing the resilience of Palestinians and their struggle, while also saluting those who were exiled or imprisoned.
After three years of resistance, the revolt dissolved in 1939—attributed to the outbreak of the Second World War, the state of exile of most Palestinian leaders, and the fall of the Revolt’s leadership in armed struggle.
Ghassan Kanafani also highlights his own critique of the internal political dynamics at the time in his essay, “The 1936-39 Revolt in Palestine.” All of these developments resulted in the end and of the revolt, finally ending with the battle of Tarshiha.
84 years later, the popular struggle against colonialism lives on and serves as a historical reminder to continue to fight for liberation.
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