Current Flow: The Electrification of Palestine PDF
Preview Current Flow: The Electrification of Palestine
Current Flow Current Flow The Electrification of Palestine Ronen Shamir Stanford University Press Stanford, California Stanford University Press Stanford, California © 2013 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shamir, Ronen, author. Current flow : the electrification of Palestine / Ronen Shamir. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8047-8706-2 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Electrification—Palestine—History—20th century. 2. Electrification— Social aspects—Palestine. 3. Jewish-Arab relations. 4. Palestine—Social conditions—20th century. I. Title. hd9685.p192s53 2013 333.793′2095694—dc23 2013026237 Typeset by Newgen in 11/13.5 Adobe Garamond For Leigh and Omer “The sun never sets on the British Empire,” says Miss Lumley, tapping the roll-down map with her long wooden pointer. In countries that are not the British Empire, they cut out children’s tongues, especially those of boys. Before the British Empire there were no railroads or postal services in India. And Africa was full of tribal warfare, with spears, and had no proper clothing. The Indians in Canada did not have the wheel or telephones, and ate the heart of their enemies in the heathenish belief that it would give them courage. The British Empire changed all that. It brought in electric lights. —Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye Contents Figures xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 1 The Jaffa Powerhouse 24 2 Let the Poles Act 47 3 Wired 78 4 From State to Market 104 5 Assembling a Jewish Economy 126 Conclusion 149 Notes 157 References 185 Index 195
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