In Chapter 2, Khalidi examines the second declaration of war on Palestinians: the 1947-8 Nakba. Nakba means “catastrophe” in Arabic. This conflict resulted in the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians.

Several key events led up to this conflict. First, David Ben-Gurion, a dominant political figure in the Zionist movement (who would go on to help found the modern state of Israel and serve as the country’s first prime minister), called for turning the entire territory of Palestine into a Jewish nation-state. He made this proclamation in 1942 at a conference in New York City, which was then the city with the largest Jewish population. American politicians supported this proclamation, in part because of the destruction of the European Jewish population by Nazis during the Holocaust.

The formation of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry of 1946 represents the second event. British and US governments created this committee to examine the situation of Jewish survivors in Europe after the Holocaust and the challenges associated with their resettlement in Palestine. American and Zionist leaders wanted the Jewish people to emigrate immediately to Palestine. Palestinian leaders, including the historian Albert Hourani, argued that the creation of a Jewish state would commit an injustice against the Palestinians by removing them from their homeland and sow discontent throughout the Arab world.