A Job Well Done

I heard today that the Palestine Police Old Comrade's Association has digitised 'A Job Well Done' by Edward Horne. This is  the authoritive history  on Palestine Policing from the end of WW1 until the end of the British Mandate in May 1948.  The paper edition is now out of print with second hand prices being advertised from £194.  The news has given me a great deal of pleasure since  I now don't have to keep on offering to  loan out my copy, which I bought over ten years ago for a much more modest sum.

 Unfortunately at present there seems to be  only one outlet at  https://go.epublish4me.com/a_job_well_done_-_edward_horne/10021694, which is a long typing job 

The history of the British Mandate for Palestine seems to be below the radar of most people I know. They are often surprised that Britain for well over 20 years administered Palestine, which included the present territories of Israel, the West Bank Gaza strip and, until 1926,  Transjordan. During this period they governed it very much like a colony. 

Instead of treating the history of the Palestine Police in a purely chronological order, Mr Horne divides his material into subject areas,  So, for instance, there are separate sections for 13 specialist units including the Band, Dogs and Traffic Police , while World War 2 And the Jewish Troubles 1943-1948, although overlapping, warrant separate chapters.

The title refers to King George VI congratulating the British Section of the Palestine Police on a Job well Done. The same compliment should be paid to Mr Horne for producing the book and to PPOCA for ensuring its survival.

Thieves in the Night

I have just finished reading Arthur Koestler’s novel ‘Thieves in the Night’ published in 1946 and set in the British Mandate of Palestine during the late 1930s.

The view point in this novel contrasts strongly with those of  Elias  S Srouji’s  in his memoir ‘Cyclamens of Galilee’  and with  flashbacks in  Michelle Cohen Corasanti’s  novel ‘The Almond Tree, ’ which I read earlier in the year.  

I hadn’t expected to enjoy this novel as much as I did.  The reason it appealed to me was that it put into words aspects of my own behaviour that have long troubled me, but I haven't been able to define properly.

The protagonist Joseph is a character who can’t settle for the axiom ‘moderation is best’.  In any strongly  emotional or dangerous situation he stands back from himself  and critiques his own or others’ corny cliché ridden words and exaggerated actions as if he were a member of an audience watching a tragedy that ought to be given more gravitas.  He can’t enjoy praise, without the embarrassed feeling that people wouldn’t feel the same about his accomplishments if they realised his true egotistical motivation.

Perhaps these character traits are more common in writers than in other people.  Any comments?

With regards to ultra-Zionism, an issue at the centre of the novel, the following conversation Joseph has with an Irgun member he admires, probably sums up the situation in 2013 as well as it did in 1938.

"I wish my Arabic was as good as yours," said Joseph. "What was the old Sheikh explaining so solemnly?"

"He explained that every nation has the right to live according to its own fashion, right or wrong, without outside interference. He explained that money corrupts, fertilizers stink and tractors make a noise, all of which he dislikes."

"And what did you answer?"

"Nothing."

"But you saw his point?"

"We cannot afford to see the other man's point."