Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 25/09/2026If you're in Cambridge this term do come along to the Israel Studies Seminars on Wednesday evenings. We have a fantastic line up of speakers and such a diverse range of topics which will be discussed! 032 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 10/07/2026The (mostly bemused) Hebrew press has gone with 'רוזן פרצוף-פח' - 'Count Rubbish bin Face,' which is not so snappy. Not clear why they've opted for פרצוף (face) rather than using ראש (head). 000 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 06/05/2026If you're in Cambridge, join us tonight for a talk by Roni Cohen on Yiddish poetry, Zionism and language, and, erm, frogs... 🐸 An excellent and intriguing talk awaits at AMES tonight at 17:15! 010 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 17/04/2026If you're in Cambridge next term, come join us for several great talks in the Israel Studies Seminar Series at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies! 000 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 12/03/2026When work and hobbies collide! Stained glass Dome of the Rock panels made over the last few weeks in the studio. 000 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 04/03/2026It's important to put a stop to religious fundamentalism in the Middle East and the fanatical power hungry expansionist of brutal regimes which threaten their neighbours. Oh wait, who are we talking about again? jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/us-troops-...jonathanlarsen.substack.comU.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of JesusAdvocacy group reports commanders giving similar messages at more than 30 installations in every branch of the military 000 0
Reposted by Dr James A.S. SunderlandAyala Panievsky @panievsky.bsky.social · 24/02/2026Any Cambridge people interested in the New Censorship? Please join Prof Yaron Peleg & me to discuss Netanyahu's war on the media, Trump's copy-paste moves, & much more, tomorrow at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. Wed, 25 Feb, 5:15 PM shorturl.at/YTkzc 011 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 17/02/2026Join us tomorrow at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies in Cambridge at 17:15, Room 10, for a fascinating talk by @swsamols.bsky.social on Ruth Gruber, photography, and the legitimization of Israel via the medium of photo books! 010 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 08/02/2026My review of 'Uncertain Empire: Jews, Nationalism, and the Fate of British Imperialism' by Elizabeth E. Imber, now out in the Journal of Modern Jewish Studies:tandfonline.comUncertain empire: Jews, nationalism, and the fate of British imperialismPublished in Journal of Modern Jewish Studies (Ahead of Print, 2026) 000 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 30/01/2026Oh god, how embarrassing - I shall do some updating! 020 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 30/01/2026I took it from the University of Staffordshire's website! It seems they don't update the web pages very often in that case 😂 210 0
Reposted by Dr James A.S. SunderlandDr Sarah Irving @drtermagant.bsky.social · 30/01/2026In Cambridge next week to talk about the long history of canals that are proposed, but not built, across Palestine, from the mid-19th century to the present day, and how that history has made its way into the world of conspiracy theories: 072 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 28/01/2026An excellent start to the Israel Studies Seminar Series at Cambridge this evening. If you're around next Wed (4th feb.) do join us for a talk by @drtermagant.bsky.social about canals, colonialism, and conspiracy theories! 110 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 27/01/2026Meanwhile the Irgun did not engage in violence against the British until the latter stages of the Revolt in 1939, and this was fairly limited unlike it's suggested here. It would be 1944 before a concerted campaign of such violence began. 010 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 27/01/2026Similarly, we have known the extent of the colonial violence by British forces for some time - it's not a new or shocking revelation. Matthew Hughes has written extensively on this for well over a decade & it's been covered extensively in the wider literature (i.e Segev's 'One Palestine, Complete'). 110 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 27/01/2026Some good points here but the idea that the Arab Revolt is one of the 'least remembered events' in the conflict is exaggerated: copious volumes have been written on the Revolt for both academic & non-academic audiences. The Revolt arguably signifies a final separation between two nationalist camps. 121 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 07/01/2026We've got @swsamols.bsky.social on photobooks and legitimizing Israel, we've got anticolonial resistance and colonial policing, Hebrew poetry, and discussions of Israeli democracy's crisis - a real treat of a term! 030 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 07/01/2026If you're in Cambridge this term, come along to our Israel Studies Seminars at the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies every Wednesday! We have an exciting line up - from @drtermagant.bsky.social on waterways & conspiracies to Moshe Behar talking Mizrahi politics. Something for everyone! 152 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 22/12/2025At the NA researching Zionist terror group campaign to assassinate British MPs. Got 1/2 way through a file on letter bombs sent to the UK, a scientific report on how deadly they were, then pulled one of the letter bombs out & nearly sh*t myself. Luckily it was safe. Dined out on that story for ages. 1152 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 11/12/2025Given the president's close ties to a convicted sex offender, perhaps Gill Sans would be a more apposite font... 020 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 02/12/2025Open to all! @campolis.bsky.social @camhistory.bsky.social 000 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 02/12/2025If you're in Cambridge tomorrow do join us for the final Israel Studies Seminar in Cambridge this term at 17:15 at FAMES, to hear @stevenbwagner.bsky.social talk about Israel's intelligence failings prior to October 7th 2023. Promises to be a fascinating talk! 121 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 20/11/2025You may think you have a cool academic profile picture, but none of us can ever live up to this! 020 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 12/11/2025More bizarrely, there was a whole debacle over what to feed a Kosher premier. Messages flowed back and forth over this issue. The Gov. were keen to avoid repeating the faux pas of feeding the Israeli Economic Delegation the very un-kosher treat of... prawn cocktails. 010 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 12/11/2025There were huge security concerns as the FCO feared someone might try to attack Begin for his terrorist past. FCO officials and the PM's office received many angry letters about the visit. One letter required a special response, coming from the last High Commissioner of Palestine who condemned Begin 120 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 12/11/2025The visit of Menachem Begin to Britain in Dec.'77 is truly fascinating. Previously barred & then discouraged from visiting Britain, when Begin became Israeli PM, the Callaghan Gov. scrambled to decide how to deal with his visit. All sorts of madness in the files, not least this comedic 'transcript.' 121 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 10/11/2025The Association for Products of Eretz Israel ran many of these posters telling buyers to look for the symbol shown which indicated that the watermelon was grown on a 'Hebrew farm.' This was part of efforts to protect Jewish labour by Zionist groups, against cheaper Arab labour and foreign imports. 010 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 10/11/2025Just seen Palestine36 at the cinema & there's a momentary nod to current Palestinian symbols during a scene at a wealthy Arab dinner party where the camera lingers for a moment on a large chunk of watermelon. But fascinatingly, during the British Mandate the watermelon was often a Zionist symbol! 120 0
Reposted by Dr James A.S. SunderlandYair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 14/10/2025I'm speaking tomorrow in Cambridge. Come if you want to hear of Smotrich's Palestinian family www.ames.cam.ac.uk/settlers-mig...ames.cam.ac.ukSettlers, Migrants, Natives: the long Ashkenazi history in the Middle East and its contradictions | Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 0267 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 14/10/2025Civil Service-ese English = bureaucratic, opaque, often means the opposite of what it seems to say or requires careful reading between the lines to gain an understanding of its meaning. American Dunce-ese English (Trump variant) = bombastic, self-congratulatory, content bereft of much meaning. 010 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 14/10/2025When studying Palestine under the British I always say I can operate in three languages for my research: English, Hebrew, & Civil Service-ese English. I pity future historians looking at today who will need Hebrew, Arabic, & American Dunce-ese English to try and fathom the blundering of US in Pal. 140 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 13/10/2025contracts, often non-renewable or ballotable, and with gaps over summer so that you have to move out. It’s exhausting. I’ve lived in 16 different addresses since I moved to uni. That’s insane! And it’s not that (some of) these properties are not nice or in excellent locations: I've lived in […] 000 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 02/10/2025Two years ago this month I started stained glass as stress relief between thesis writing. My 1st piece was a mess. But this Mon. I completed the latter pieces which will be a surprise gift for two friends not on here. Sometimes progress is only visible in hindsight. 020 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 30/09/2025Life repeats first as tragedy, then as farce, then apparently as a bad rendition of the British Mandate (which, to be fair, combined tragedy and farce quite spectacularly). www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...theguardian.comPostwar Gaza authority potentially led by Tony Blair ‘would sideline Palestinians’Draft plan’s critics say it hands power to international figures and splits Gaza from Palestinian Authority in West Bank 010 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 22/09/2025Me for the Spectator on why recognition of Palestinian statehood is a step in the right direction, and how promises and symbolism alone are not enough. 020 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 18/09/2025I see we're back to Brits trying to force Palestinians to accept ways of running their country which are deeply unfair, probably won't work, and pay no attention to what they actually want. It's just like the 1930s and 40s all over again... 020 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 16/09/2025Today in reassuring library signs... 020 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 15/09/2025Of course, 'Jerusalem' stone often did not (and still doesn't) come from the city, but shipping stone from the UK is next-level stuff. 000 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 15/09/2025Deeply ironic because a) of how much effort the British put into espousing ideas about making use of local material to blend into the environment (supposedly), and b) the building meant to personify the past of the country has its story told through material from the colonial power. Lots to unpack. 100 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 15/09/2025Fascinated to find that, despite strict rules about building in Jerusalem, & attempts to inculcate certain ideas about 'local' materials, the carvings at the Rockefeller Museum, representing historical rule of Palestine by different civ.s, are made from Hopton Wood Stone from Derbyshire. 120 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 03/09/2025I tried (and failed) to design and paint this window of St Cecilia to look serene and have a soothing effect. Instead she judges me every time I'm in the office. I somehow made her the patron saint of resting bitch face... 010 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 01/09/2025Ohhanessian seems to have liked the design and concluded it was commercially viable. We can see copies of the casts of the Dome (near top right) awaiting painting alongside other designs in the background of a picture of a member of the studio working on painting a vase. 000 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 01/09/2025It appears the initial design came from a piece created by Ohannessian for the British town planner and Arts & Crafts enthusiast C.R. Ashbee and was designed as a gift for Queen Mary upon her wedding in 1922 from the Arab's of Palestine. 110 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 01/09/2025Going through archival photos I stumbled across this picture I took of a charming Dome of the Rock model produced in the 1920s in the workshop of Tavit (David) Ohannessian just off of the Via Dolorosa. These were commercial products, which could be bought from Ohannessian's workshop. 131 0
Dr James A.S. Sunderland @jamesassunderland.bsky.social · 28/08/2025As a history tutor at Christchurch in the 1920s, J.C. Masterman was told by a colleague that there were two principles to be observed at Oxford. Firstly, 'no gentleman works after dinner,' & secondly, 'no gentleman works after lunch.' I endeavour to bring these principles to my work in Cambridge. 110 0