Painting Over Palestine: American Journalism Nourishing Zionism Portrayals of the Palestinian Arab Riots of 1929

Author: Meghan Rebekka Hagberg

"The Zionist movement attempted to solve the 'Jewish problem,' the problem of a permanent minority, a people exposed to repeated attacks, a community deemed foreign wherever they resided. This was a European solution to a European problem. Yet the region was already home to another people, Palestinian Arabs, who were embarking on a national movement of their own... While Americans were largely oblivious to the growing tension, moments of crisis did pique public interest. In this paper I will examine one such moment, the Arab riots of 1929. This specific episode was decisive in shaping and solidifying American opinion on Zionism and the Palestinians. As my research will demonstrate, copious amounts of journalism and political rhetoric emerged in the wake of the riots."