land, law, & jewish-arab conflict
TRANSCRIPT
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Land, Law, and theJewish-Arab Conflict over
Eretz Israel/Palestine
Dr. Geremy Forman
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196719481917Late OttomanEmpire
BritishMandate
State of Israel(1948-67)
State of Israel(1967-2008)
State Land Law
The Jewish-Arab Conflict over Eretz Israel / Palestine
1. Legal geopolitical work by the two national movements.
2. Relationship between government and the national
groups.3. Prevalent conceptions of property rights.
4. Imperial/Colonial Rule vs. Local Administration.
5. Key role of violence.
6. Key role of regime changes.
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The Ottoman Land Regime
BeforeThe Ottoman Land Code
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The Classic Ottoman Land Regime
Evolved during the 15th and 16thcenturies along with the Empires
overall administrative structure.
2 main components:
* The timar system.
* The distinction between miri and
mulk.
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The Timar System
Tax collection rights distributed tosipahis (horsemen) in exchange for
military service, when needed.
Roots in pre-Ottoman Anatolia.
Feudal system?
The system enabled the central
Ottoman government to make use of
the populations tax potential.
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Distinction between miriand mulk
RaqabaNuda Proprietas,formal title.
Tasarruf Long term, strong rights
of possession and usufruct.
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MulkRaqabaand Tasarrufprivately
held.
Miri(in the broad sense of the term)Raqabaheld by the central
government and Tasarrufheld bycultivators.
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The legal rights of peasants(fellahin) to Miri
Government tenants with strong heritablerights, as long as they paid taxes andcultivated their land.
Right to grazing lands even stronger. Government policy was to prevent transfer of
village land to outsiders.
Ownership as a bundle of rights. Classic Ottoman land regime as a system
which provided people with easy access toland and which safeguarded the land rights of
easants and villa es.
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What do we mean when we say thatmiri land was owned by the state?
we should raise questions such as who, inpractice, has access to the land. Who had the rightto hold, sell, or pass it on by way of succession,and who, if anybody, could endow the land as
waqf? Whoever could fulfill these functions shouldin all probability be considered the practical ownerof the land. If there were no person who fit the bill,then we should conclude that the land trulybelonged to the state alone. If we apply these
general considerations to the classical land regimeof the Ottoman Empire, then for all practicalpurposes the peasants were in completepossession of the soil. I find it difficult to ascribeany importance to the fact that the ruler was the
titular owner of the land(Gerber, 15)
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Changing conditions, competition withEurope, and the decline of the timar.
Late 16th century End of Ottoman expansion.
17-19th century Increasing competition with Europeand fiscal crisis, weakening on geographical basis.
Results: a) Rise of the iltizam (tax farming) system.
b) Adoption of the tanzimatreforms.
Timar and iltizam systems coexisted until the 19
th
century.
Timar system abolished in 1831.
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Ottoman Land Code (OLC) of 1858
Part of the Tanzimat Reforms (1839-1878), whichwere aimed at creating strong centralized politicalinstitutions in order to foster economic growth andstrengthen the Empire politically and militarily.
Aims of the OLC:a) To institutionalize a direct relationship betweenthe treasury and cultivators for land taxation.
b) To improve land administration. The OLC remained the foundation of land law in
Israel until 1969. In the West Bank and the GazaStrip, it still does.
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Reading for Thursday
Gerber On some of the consequences ofthe O.L.C.
Oke On the Ottoman response to Zionistactivity in Palestine (sheds light on theimportance of the second component ofOttoman land law Imperial edicts).