The 1915-16 Ottoman Famine in Palestine: A Man-Made Catastrophe

In 1915, as World War I raged, Palestine was struck by a famine that killed an estimated 200,000 people — roughly a third of its population. But this wasn't just a natural disaster. Lucas and Luna explore how Ottoman military policies, a locust plague, and the Allied naval blockade combined into a catastrophe. They focus on the role of Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman commander who requisitioned grain and forced peasants into labor, and the desperate measures people took to survive, including eating grass and animal feed. The episode also examines the famine's long-term effects: it devastated the fellahin (peasant) class, emptied villages, and left a scar on Palestinian memory that shaped later political movements. Using firsthand accounts from diaries and Red Cross reports, this conversation brings to light a often overlooked chapter of Palestine's history — one that reveals how war can weaponize hunger.

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