A gripping, deeply human, but fair account of how the Middle East conflict started, with lasting resonance and relevance for today.

In the spring of 1936, there was a rebellion in the Holy Land that targeted both the local Jewish community and the authorities of the British Mandate, who had fostered the Zionist project for two decades. The Great Arab Revolt would last three years, result in the deaths of thousands of Jews, British, and Arabs, and set the stage for the ongoing Middle East conflict. However, it is remarkable that there has never been a general-read history of this pivotal and influential first "Intifada."

Palestinian identity was formed during the 1936-1939 uprising, which brought together rival families, cities, countries, and rich and poor in a single struggle for independence. However, in the end, the rebellion would turn against itself, tearing apart the social fabric, marginalizing pragmatists in favor of extremists, and driving waves of refugees from their homes. The rest was dealt with by British forces' aggressive counterinsurgency, which ended the uprising on the eve of World War II. The Arabs themselves had been crushed by the revolt to end Zionism, leaving them powerless to face the Jewish drive for statehood a decade later.

The insurgency would leave a very different legacy for the Jews. When Zionist leaders realized that realizing their dream of sovereignty might require forever clinging to the sword, they began to let go of their preconceived notions about Arab acquiescence. Thousands of Jews were trained and armed by Britain, the world's supreme military power, during the revolt, which resulted in the seed of a formidable Jewish army being planted in their shabby guard units. In addition, it was at that time, when ominous terms like "partition" and "Jewish state" first appeared on the international diplomatic agenda, amidst the devastation in Palestine and the threat posed by Hitler in Europe.

This tells the story of two national movements and their first long-term conflict. Arabs led the rebellion, but the Zionist counterrebellion-the Jews' transformation in military, economic, and psychological ways-is an important but often overlooked aspect of how Palestine became Israel.

The revolt's legacy continues eight decades later. The name of the fighter-preacher whose death sparked the 1936 rebellion is displayed on Hamas's armed wing and rockets. Israel is emulating British-era laws and practices whenever it constructs security barriers, establishes checkpoints, or demolishes residences. And when Washington calls for a "two-state solution," it is referring to a plan that was developed during the same pivotal time.

Palestine 1936 is the origin story of the world's most intractable conflict, but it is also more than that. It is the result of extensive archival research conducted across three continents and in three languages. It reveals world-changing events through extraordinary individuals on all sides in Oren Kessler's engaging journalistic voice: their deepest hopes and deepest fears, as well as their loves and hatreds.