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This is Desert Revolt, a newsletter about T.E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" by email, chapter by chapter… Posts begin August 1st, 20
Subscribe to receive T.E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", chapter by chapter in your inbox daily. Read along with the good, bad, and cringe.
Posts begin August 1st, 2022 and will continue through the end of the year.
Follow along here too for photos, commentary, additional resources, and memes. I also intend to highlight as many Arab voices in the telling as I can find!
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The Big Damn List Of Stuff They Said You Didn't Know
Listen to this episode from Cocktails & Capitalism on Spotify. Continuing the story of Palestine, Leeh outlines the Great Arab Revolt and th
What will the maps of Palestine and Israel look like if Israel illegally annexes the Jordan Valley on July 1?
Five free eBooks on the colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine
Here we have collated our free ebooks, reading lists and ongoing publishing on the Verso Blog. These resources challenge much of the zionist
Pluto Books Free Palestine Reading List 30-50% off
LGBT Activist Scott Long's Google Drive of Palestine Freedom Struggle Resources
(includes some of the reading material recced below)
The Cambridge UCU and Pal Society Resources List
List of Academic and Literary Books Compiled by Dr. Kiran Grewal
Academic Books (many available in Goldsmiths library)
Rosemary Sayigh (2007) The Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries, Bloomsbury
Ilan Pappé (2002)(ed) The Israel/Palestine Question, Routledge
(2006) The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, OneWorld Publications
(2011) The Forgotten Palestinians: A History of the Palestinians in Israel, Yale University Press
(2015) The Idea of Israel: A History of Power and Knowledge, Verso Books
(2017) The Biggest Prison on earth: A history of the Occupied territories, OneWorld Publications
(2022) A History of Modern Palestine, Cambridge University Press
Rashid Khalidi (2020) The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017, MacMillan
Andrew Ross (2019) Stone Men: the Palestinians who Built Israel, Verso Books
Ariella Azoulay and Adi Ophir (2012) The One-State Condition: Occupation and Democracy in Israel/Palestine, Stanford University Press.
Ariella Azoulay (2011) From Palestine to Israel: A Photographic Record of Destruction and State Formation, 1947-1950, Pluto Press
Jeff Halper (2010) An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel, Pluto Press
(2015) War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians and Global Pacification
(2021) Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and the Case for One Democratic State, Pluto Press
Anthony Loewenstein (2023) The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel exports the Technology of Occupation around the World (CURRENTLY FREE TO DOWNLOAD ON VERSO)
Noura Erakat (2019) Justice for some: law and the question of Palestine, Stanford University Press
Neve Gordon (2008) Israel’s Occupation, University of California Press
Joseph Massad (2006) The persistence of the Palestinian question: essays on Zionism and the Palestinians, Routledge Edward Said (1979) The Question of Palestine, Random House
Memoirs, Novels & Poetry:
Voices from Gaza - Insaniyyat (The Society of Palestinian Anthropologists)
Letters From Gaza • Protean Magazine
Raja Shehadeh (2008) Palestinian Walks: forays into a Vanishing Landscape, Profile Books
Ghada Karmi (2009) In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story, Verso Books
Mourid Barghouti (2005) I saw Ramallah, Bloomsbury
Izzeldin Abuelaish (2011) I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, Bloomsbury
Cate Malek and Mateo Hoke (eds)(2015) Palestine Speaks: Narrative of Life under Occupation, Verso Books
The Works of Mahmoud Darwish
Human Rights Reports & Documents
Information on current International Court of Justice case on ‘Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem’
UN Commission of Inquiry Report 2022
UN Special Rapporteur Report on Apartheid 2022
Amnesty International Report on Apartheid 2022
Human Rights Watch Report on Apartheid 2021
Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict’ 2009 (‘The Goldstone Report’)
Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004
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What to do when cornered by a WWII buff: Brace yourself and take stock of your surroundings. Your first course of action should be to assess the sort of person you are speaking to. Notice any tattoos or personal decorations they might be displaying—hopefully you are already familiar with common Neo-Nazi symbols. If you see swastikas, the numbers 88, 14, or 18, or the letters SS shapes like lightning bolts, then run and/or fire at will. Be very wary of skulls, eagles, German words, and runes; they may be innocent tattoos, but they may also be red flags. Proceed with caution and listen to how they talk about Hitler. If you can determine that the buff is not an overtly far-right Nazi sympathizer, they may have a weird obsession with the idea of a Just and Noble War and have some fucked up ideas about what is good for humanity and/or the natural order. Make a quick escape if they start referring to Japanese people with a single syllable or talk about how Americans were “better” back then. If none of these, you can probably relax—you may be talking to someone whose family fled the Holocaust or were forced into Japanese internment camps and took an interest in the period out of necessity and frustration and the immediate relevance to their lives. Look for bags under their eyes or corny science joke T-shirts; you might be talking to a physicist interested in nuclear history. Maybe they’re fascinated by modern world politics or planes or weaponry.
What to do when cornered by a WWI buff:
Point over their shoulder and say, “Hey, look! A collection of depressing poetry by dead gay soldiers!” and run while they’re distracted. If this doesn’t work, brace yourself for a long, dreary explanation of the mechanics of trench warfare or early planes.
Excuse you this is blatant “OKAY BUT IT’S TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF THE DEATH TOLLS ON SUBSEQUENT SOCIETY, THE INTERTWINING OF THE GREAT INFLUENZA, AND THE COMPLEX NATION-BUILDING FROM PREVIOUSLY FRACTURED STATES THAT PRECEDED IT AND EVERYONE FORGETS ABOUT ABOUT!!” erasure.
I mean yes OBVIOUSLY also the trenches and the planes and the dead gay poets those are all PART OF THE ABOVE but - !
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Seated, left to right: Auda ibn Zaal, Mohammed abu Tayi, unnamed, Auda abu Tayi and Zaal ibn Motlog, possibly at Amman. Photo credited to TE Lawrence. (X)
The famous Bedouin chiefs that Feisal and Lawrence sought to negotiate with in preparation for the march on Aqaba in Chapter XXX of 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom'. They played important roles in the rest of the Revolt too.
Who's Who of Seven Pillars of Wisdom and the Arab Revolt
TE Lawrence - British archaeologist, later spy, soldier, and diplomat. Lawrence was the illegitimate son of an Anglo-Irish lord and a governess in his household. Lawrence completed a 1,000 mile walking tour of crusade castles in Syria for his Oxford history thesis and later did field work under the famous archaeologist David Hogarth. His fluency in Arabic, as well as knowledge of local history, customs, and geography, suited him to assignment to advise the Arab Revolt.
Lawrence argued vehemently for Britain and France to uphold their promise of a united, self-ruling, pan-Arabic state after the war, and against the Sykes-Picot Agreement that divided the region into European mandate states. How much Lawrence knew of the planned betrayal of the Arab allies during the Revolt is open to debate, but he continued to advocate for Arab voices and self-rule. At the Paris Peace Conference, Lawrence made a point to dress in Arab clothing, associate primarily with the Arab delegation, and demonstrate his support.
After the war, Lawrence suffered mentally and emotionally. In addition to the general horrors of war, he had possibly been captured, tortured, and sexually assaulted. (Historicity of this is debated.) His personal guarantees had been broken by his government.
He re-enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an aircraftman (the lowest rank), after having retired from the army as a colonel (a high ranking officer), under a fake name - John Hume Ross. When his true identity was discovered, he left, despite an offer to allow him to remain. He changed his name more officially to TE Shaw (from his friendship with playwright George Bernard Shaw), and enlisted in the Royal Tank Corps, again as a private, the lowest rank. Unhappy, he returned to the RAF again, under the name Shaw and fully above-board, where he remained for five years.
Lawrence finally left the RAF in 1935 and died in a motorcycle accident about two months later, swerving to avoid some bicyclists.
5'5" (166 cm) tall and wiry. Tiny!
Spoke Arabic, French, Greek, and Latin. Published his own translation of The Odyssey, his dissertation study of crusader castles, several memoirs, and many poems. Lots of poems.
Carried a copy of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur in his pocket everywhere during the war.
Likely homoromantic asexual. Did not like being touched by anyone. Showed no sexual or romantic desire toward women, but strong admiration for male bodies and intimacy. This is all further complicated by the possible sexual assault, his possible kinkiness, and the post-war whippings that he paid an army buddy to regularly administer. (Don't worry, we'll get into all this eventually.)
Really loved motorcycles and bicycles.
A real wells-for-boys kind of guy.
Sherif Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi - Sherif and Emir of Mecca, 37th generation direct descendent of Mohammed, credited with officially forming and declaring the Arab Revolt, later King of Hejaz (western Arabian Peninsula). His communication with Henry McMahon (below), the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, established the alliance between Britain and the Revolt. Sherif Ali attempted to establish a pan-Arabic state after the war. His three sons led the efforts of the revolt and the diplomatic endeavors. His descendants, the Hashemite family, rule Jordan to this day.
Prince Faisal (Feisal) bin Hussein- A guy to watch! Our man! Third son of Sherif Hussein, head of the main northern force of the Revolt, and later king of Syria and Iraq. Became a friend of Lawrence's and requested his permanent assignment with the Revolt. Critics of Lawrence say that some actions and ideas Lawrence took credit for may have been Faisal's instead. Leader of the Arab delegation to the Paris Peace Conference.
(Mod Whit note: A biography of Faisal recently came out by Ali Allawi, Iraq's current Deputy Prime Minister. Very excited to read and include points here!)
Prince Ali bin Hussein - First son of Sherif Hussein. Later King of Hejaz after his father.
Prince Abdullah bin Hussein - Second son of Sherif Hussein. Later King of Transjordan. Commanded the next-largest, eastern portion of the Arab army.
Prince Zeid bin Hussein - Fourth son of Sherif Hussein. Led the forces that cut off Ottoman reinforcements from Medina to Rabigh. Later, served in the government under his brother Faisal's rule in Iraq, until the overthrow of the royal family.
Henry McMahon - British High Commissioner in Egypt when the Arab Revolt started. His initial promise lie to Sherif Hussein of supporting an Arab state led to the cooperation.
SF Newcombe - The British officer originally assigned to be liaison with the Revolt. He was late arriving and Lawrence was sent to fill in. When Newcombe finally arrived, Faisal had become close to Lawrence and asked for Lawrence to remain in his position. Newcombe remained involved and a friend of Lawrence's for life.
Lord Kitchener - British High Commander during World War I. Famous for the 'stache. A full-on war criminal of the lowest order. Put Boer civilians in concentration camps during the Second Boer War in Africa years earlier, among other atrocities.
Mark Sykes - Co-authored the Sykes-Picot Agreement, a semi-secret arrangement between Britain and France to divide up the Middle East into colonial mandate states after the war. Lawrence thinks he's an ass-hat and takes the opportunity to call him incompetent and bad. (Very hard to overstate how bad this was. This agreement is a factor in virtually all of the conflicts and difficulties in the Middle East for the next 100 years and counting.)
Sherif Abd el Kerim - Lawrence's assigned guide for an early portion of his assignment.
Sherif Sharraf bin Rajeh - Emir of Taif, early Arab fighter against the Ottomans, commander under Faisal.
General Fakhri Pashi (Pasha) - Ottoman commander of the forces in Medina.
Colonel Bremond - Chief of the French Military Mission in Arabia.
Sheikh Auda Abu Tayi - Close companion of Lawrence's throughout the campaign, one of the main leaders of the Battle of Aqaba.
Auda ibn Zaal - Abu Tayi's cousin. A formidable fighter and raider in the Revolt.
Prince Sherif Jamil bin Nasir - Nephew of Sherif Hussein and another close companion of Lawrence's.
Emir Nuri Shaalan - Emir of the Ruwalla tribe of the Beduins. Lawrence calls him the fourth most import leader of peoples in the desert.
(FYI, Lawrence's name spellings are often his transliteration from Arabic, not the agreed English spelling. I will probably bounce back and forth, sorry. This post to be updated, added to, and reblogged as the book progresses. Subscribe here to follow along on the substack!)
FOLDED CORNER - ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin C. Fortna (Hurst, 341 pages, £25
This fellow is the focus of Chapter XXV of 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom', but doesn't appear at all in the rest of the text, as he is a POW for the rest of WWI. However, he is absolutely fascinating!
Called the "Ottoman Lawrence of Arabia" by some, he was an adventurer, soldier, spy, political agent, and more, with a long list of exploits his own.
The book referenced in this article about him only came out a few years ago and is very well-reviewed.
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