Kindred Spirits in the Levant? German Jews and the British Mandate

In most of the research literature to date, German Jews immigrating to Mandate Palestine from Nazi Germany are described as living in a unique subculture of their own, with little contact with the residents of the absorbing society. However, from the moment they set foot on the shores of Palestine, the newcomers became a part of their new homeland. This article explores the relationship between German Jews and the British Mandate. In bringing together the concepts of Orientalism and gender, it argues that their admiration for the British expressed how German Jews in Palestine grappled with the nature of their new society and their place within it.