Continuity and change in communal autonomy: the Christian communal organizations in Jerusalem 1948–80

Abstract

The religious community, as the late Professor Gabriel Baer observed, formed, together with the extended family, the foundation of traditional society in the Middle East, being based on the tradition of communal autonomy whose origins went back to the pre-Islamic era. 1 The tolerance of Islam towards the monotheistic religions allowed them, while acknowledging their inferior position, to preserve their identity as well as to enjoy autonomy, over a vast range of'hatters, which found its profound expression in the Ottoman millet system. According to this system, the Christians and the Jews, 'the People of the Book', were allowed autonomy in law (which after 1856 was restricted to personal status only) and the administration of the affairs of the community, including the supervision of communal properties and educational-charitable institutions. The religious communities retained their social as well as political significance in the Middle East after the First World War, when Ottoman rule was replaced by British and French mandatory rule in parts of the defeated empire. The British mandate in Palestine provided for the continuance of the autonomous aspects of the millet system with the innovation that no religion was to be the official religion of the state. This was partly to observe existing differences between the Muslims, Christians and Jews and partly for political convenience, as well as because of international obligations the terms and the unique character of the Mandate for Palestine and the existence of the Holy Places sacred to the three religions. It should be noted that the British mandate did not show preference for the Christian communities as a distinct group. The British, unlike the French, refrained from promoting their position on the basis of the protection of their co-religionists and were pragmatic in their support of the different sections of the local population according to arising needs. The government's consideration of the Christians' status usually resulted from legislation concerning the larger and stronger communities, the Muslims and the Jews. The mandatory conception of equality for the three religions strengthened the liberal measures concerning Christian communal organization.2 Under British mandatory rule in Palestine, the Christians, being a minority religious group, developed as a distinct social unit no less than as a distinct religious group. Philanthropic associations, youth movements and women's organizations which emerged, were largely organized on a communal basis; the group life of the adults and youth was to a large extent kept within the framework of the religious community. After 30 years of British mandatory rule in Palestine, authority over the