Responses to the abolitions of the Ottoman Sultanate and Caliphate in the Arabic and Hebrew press of Palestine, 1922-1924

• Published in: Middle Eastern studies Vol. 56; no. 6; pp. 795 - 810
• Main Author: Tezcan, Selim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Routledge 01-11-2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Arabic press; Hebrew press; Mandatory Palestine; Modernization; Ottoman Caliphate; Ottoman Sultanate; Palestinian people; Turkish Republic; Turkey
• ISSN: 0026-3206; 1743-7881
• DOI: 10.1080/00263206.2020.1750007

This is a study of the responses of the Arabic and Hebrew press of Palestine to the abolitions of the Ottoman Sultanate and Caliphate. It is based on a comparative examination of the contemporary coverage of the events by the Arabic newspapers al-Karmil and Filastin and by the Hebrew newspapers Doar ha-Yom and Haaretz. The analysis yields valuable insights about how the Yishuv and the Palestinians viewed the abolitions of the Sultanate and Caliphate, the contemporary significance of these institutions, Kemalist Turkey, the rival population in Palestine, and Sharif Husayn. Mainly, it shows that the Hebrew press hailed the abolitions as revolutionary developments that would pave the road before the modernization of not only Turkey but the whole of Asia, while the Arabic press considered this too momentous a matter to be decided by Turkey alone and predicted adverse consequences for both that country and the East.