The Peacebuilding Endeavours of Daniel Oliver and the Palestine Watching Committee in Mandate Palestine, 1930-48

Abstract

This paper analyses the peacebuilding efforts of the official British Religious Society of Friends representative in Mandate Palestine, Daniel Oliver, and the Palestine Watching Committee (PWC). Previously unexamined documentation stored in the Friends House library and Haverford College archives details the extensive negotiations by Oliver and the PWC, which he co-founded, to influence British, Arab and Jewish senior political and royal officials. Combining individual and collective Quaker values concerning the Peace Testimony with a deep focus on British government colonial policies proved problematic. Internal fractions developed over the conduct of British forces in Palestine and the issue of Jewish immigration. Oliver defended the British government and continued to press for peace, demonstrating how patriotism significantly influenced his own spiritually guided message, while the PWC reduced its activities and became despondent over their lack of success and the decline of the Mandate.