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August 21, 2025Open Access

Exit, my lord: High commissioners of Palestine's death coverage in local Hebraic newspapers

Key Points

Portrayals of High Commissioners varied widely based on their perceived stance towards the Jewish community and Zionism, showing a clear bias in coverage.
Sympathetic or neutral commissioners, such as Herbert Samuel, were honored positively, reflecting their alignment with Jewish aspirations.
Conversely, commissioners viewed as anti-Zionist, like Harold MacMichael, faced critical and dismissive portrayals in the press.
Analysis of 282 volumes from 12 Hebrew newspapers highlights the complex dynamics of media representation in Mandatory Palestine.

Abstract

This qualitative textual analysis explores the journalistic coverage of the deaths of eight British High Commissioners of Palestine between 1920 and 1948. The study draws on content from 282 volumes of 12 Jewish-Hebrew newspapers published in Mandatory Palestine during that period, including Haaretz, HaBoker, Doar Hayom, Davar, Hazit HaAm, Herut, Hayarden, LaMerhav, Maariv, Hamashkif, Al Hamishmar, Hatzofe, and Kol HaAm.The newspapers’ portrayals of the High Commissioners in the week following their deaths were shaped primarily by the commissioners’ perceived attitudes toward the Jewish community in Palestine and their positions on Zionism. Commissioners regarded as sympathetic or neutral toward the establishment of a Jewish national home—as articulated in the 1917 Balfour Declaration—such as Herbert Samuel, Herbert Plumer, John Vereker-Gort, and Arthur Wauchope, were commemorated with warmth and respect, with only minimal to moderate criticism. By contrast, those seen as anti-Zionist and/or aligned with Arab interests, most notably Harold MacMichael, were subject to markedly critical, hostile, and often dismissive coverage.

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