The 1914 Jaffa Silk Factory: Industry and Uprising

In 1914, as the Ottoman Empire entered the Great War, a new silk factory in Jaffa became a flashpoint for Palestinian labor and nationalism. This episode unpacks the little-known story of the Jaffa Silk Factory, its Jewish and Arab workers, and the strikes that erupted just months before the war. Through the eyes of workers like Ahmad al-Khalidi and manager Moshe Shapira, we explore how industrial capitalism collided with colonial land politics, and how the silk trade wove into the fabric of Palestinian identity. With the backdrop of the 1913-14 Arab Revolt and the rise of the Committee of Union and Progress, the factory became a microcosm of the tensions that would explode in the Arab Revolt of 1936. Lucas and Luna also reflect on how this early industrial experiment foreshadowed the economic and national divisions that shaped the region. Drawing on archival records and oral histories, this episode recovers a forgotten chapter in Palestine's labor history.

#History #FexingoHistory #Palestine #OttomanEmpire #Jaffa #SilkFactory #LaborHistory #WWI #ArabNationalism #Zionism #1914 #CommitteeOfUnionAndProgress #al-Khalidi #Shapira #Strike #MiddleEast #IndustrialRevolution #Colonialism

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