« The settler’s arrested development: Shuya Su, ‘Indigenous Girlhood, Radical Resurgence, and the Question of Settler Growth in Jen Ferguson’s The Summer of Bitter and Sweet’, Children’s Literature in Education, 2026
Settlers vs. Indigenes in Nigeria: Anthony Imeh Umoh, Victoria Edet Okon, ‘Dynamics of Indigene/ Settler Conflicts in the Northern Senatorial Zone of Plateau State, Nigeria (1994-2012)’, International Journal of Finance Management and Governance, 2, 1, 2026 »

Settler colonial ambivalences (but it is actually simpler: neither imperial, nor decolonial – settler colonial): Elizabeth E. Imber, Uncertain Empire: Jews, Nationalism, and the Fate of British Imperialism, Stanford University Press, 2025

20Mar26

Description: Following the British conquest of Ottoman Palestine, Jews across the British Empire—from Jerusalem to Johannesburg, London to Calcutta—found themselves at the heart of global Jewish political discourse. As these intellectuals, politicians, activists, and communal elites navigated shifting political landscapes, some envisioned Palestine as a British dominion, leveraging imperial power for Jewish state-building, while others fostered ties with anticolonial movements, contemplating independent national aspirations. Uncertain Empire considers this intricate interplay between British imperialism, Zionism, and anticolonial movements from the 1917 British conquest of Palestine to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Elizabeth Imber highlights diverse and sometimes conflicting visions of Jewish political futures, offering detailed case studies of key figures including Chaim Arlosoroff, Moshe Shertok, Helen Bentwich, Rachel Ezra, and Hermann Kallenbach. She explores a “politics of uncertainty” in which Jews engaged with both imperial stability and the rise of anticolonial mobilization, when many were likewise forced to reconsider Palestine as a viable refuge and political solution. Ultimately, this book provides a nuanced understanding of how the British Empire’s fate became central to Zionist and broader Jewish political thought, revealing the complex intersections of empire, state power, and Jewish politics during a time marked by profound urgency and exigency.


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