Diamonds and War

David De Vries is an Associate Professor at the Department of Labor Studies at Tel Aviv University, Israel. He studied history at the LSE and Warwick University. A social historian, his primary research interests are modern labor and business history of Palestine and Israel. His publications include Idealism and Bureaucracy in 1920s Palestine: The Origins of ‘Red Haifa’ (1999, in Hebrew) and Dock Workers: International Explorations in Labor History, 1790–1970 (2000, co-edited). Currently he is writing on strikes in Israeli history and is involved in a project on new perspectives in the business history of the modern Middle East.

“well-written and meticulously researched and following several story lines.”  ·  International Review of Social History“This book, aimed at labour historians but also interesting to scholars engaged in Colonial Studies, provides a valuable account of how government and private capital became intertwined, thereby wresting the power over policy from the common people and handing it to those motivated mainly by their own profit, resulting in painful inequalities that reverberate in Israel to this very day.”  ·  European Review of History—Revue européenne d’histoire“This is an important and thorough study that will speak to students and scholars of economic thought,  labour history, colonialism, capitalism and British-ruled Palestine.”  ·  Social History“This meticulously researched and well-written book establishes the author as the ultimate authority on the diamond-cutting and –marketing business of Israel and as one of the leading writers… on the history of the world diamond industry. Even for those with a solid background in mining and business history, there is much to learn from this lengthy, complex, and intriguing study.”  ·  Business History Review“This well-written, highly detailed book is superbly researched: De Vries has made use of multiple archives, memoirs, and contemporary publications, including the diamond trade press. The book may not offer an easy read for undergraduate-level classes. It will be of interest to a cross-disciplinary range of business and economic historians, scholars of labor or empire, and historians of Mandatory Palestine and Zionism.”  ·  American Historical Review“The author’s meticulous research, uncovering and fruitfully utilizing a rich body of archival and published sources, has enabled him to unfold the fascinating story of the war-related emergence of diamond cutting and polishing in Palestine and place it within its appropriate domestic colonial, and international contexts…The detailed and insightful narrative it offers is a valuable contribution to our knowledge.”  ·  The Journal of Israeli History“The author has thoroughly researched the topic—indeed sixty-page pages are given to appendices and notes. The book will be useful for any collection devoted to industrial development, labor relations, and the social history of state-building in mandatory Palestine, and will be an essential reference book on how the Israeli diamond industry became established."  ·  Israel Studies Review

• List of Figures and TablesList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsMapIntroductionGlobal and National: War, Diamonds and the Colonial StateChapter 1. Palestine as an AlternativePreconditionsLocal InitiativesThe Pressure of the WarThe Logic of Limited ExpansionChapter 2. The Making of a MonopolyEffects of the OccupationOrganizing CapitalPower and ContestationChapter 3. Diamond Work and Zionist TimeThe Reign of the Small StoneGain and DisciplineFacing the 'Triangular Thread'Splintering Labor's VoiceZionist LegitimacyChapter 4. The Challenge and its ConstraintsIn Antwerp's AbsenceThe Politics of SupplyAdamant LondonAccountability and VindicationChapter 5. Labor UnrestActors and IssuesThe First General StrikeLabor-CapitalRapprochementPropensity to StrikeThe Long ShowdownChapter 6. Liberation and LiberalizationContrasts at War's EndIncipient De-ControlDeregulationChapter 7. Crisis and RestructuringReversal of FortunesNational InterventionLabor's MomentChapter 8. Reproducing the PactState of TransitionThe PactEpilogueAppendicesTable A.1 Explanation of Names of Diamond Factories in 1930-1950 PalestineTable A.2 Establishment of Diamond Factories in Palestine, 1937-1941Table A.3 Origins of Main Owners of Diamond Factories in Palestine, November 1941Table A.4 Diamond Factories (PDMA Membership), Palestine November 1944Table A.5 Diamond Factories (PDMA Membership), Palestine November 1946Table A.6 Diamond Cooperatives in Palestine/Israel, 1946-1949BibliographyIndex