Survey of Palestine Under the British Mandate, 1920-1948

This book is a historical study of the survey and mapping system of Palestine under the British Mandate. It traces the background and the reasoning behind the establishment of the survey programme, examines the foundations upon which the system was based, and strives to understand the motivation of those who implemented it. This study shows that the roots of the modern survey system of Palestine are to be sought in the Balfour Declaration and its implications regarding land in Palestine. The land issue was at the core of the mapping of Mandatory Palestine, and it remains as a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

'It is a tribute to Dr Gavish that he has so successfully incorporated and interwined the many threads relating to the survey, personalities involved and the effect of changing national and international politics. The result is an extremely fascinating, readable and learned account of the Survey of Palestine.' - IMCoS Journal'Dr Dov Gavish of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is to be congratulated for his masterly control of the fascinating subject of his book. The research undertaken has been based on extensive, and quoted, source material.' - IMCoS Journal, 'It is a tribute to Dr Gavish that he has so successfully incorporated and interwined the many threads relating to the survey, personalities involved and the effect of changing national and international politics. The result is an extremely fascinating, readable and learned account of the Survey of Palestine.' - IMCoS Journal'Dr Dov Gavish of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is to be congratulated for his masterly control of the fascinating subject of his book. The research undertaken has been based on extensive, and quoted, source material.' - IMCoS Journal'The appearance of this book is to be applauded: Gavish has succeeded... in resurrecting an otherwise forgotten yet nonetheless important cartographic episode.' - Matthew H. Edney, Imago Mundi, Volume 59 Issue 2, 2007

Dov Gavish is Director of the Ariel Photographs Archives, and also lectures in the Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His previous publications include 50 Years of Mapping Israel, 1948-1999, Salt of the Earth: From the Palestine Potash to the Dead Sea Works and Land and Map: The Survey of Palestine, 1920-1948.