Balfour Declaration

A year before the Balfour Declaration, the British had secretly promised the French that they would divide up the Arab territories and the Brits would keep Palestine. Furthermore, in 1915, other British officials had promised the ruler of Mecca, Sharif Hussein, that he would rule over an Arab state including

Britain began to support Jewish immigration to the area because of a few key reasons. Foremost was the destruction of enemies and gaining of allies. Britain looked to help the Arabs establish independent states as a way to gain support against the Ottomans (Immell 16). Britain also wanted to assist the Jews in their transition to Palestine because it felt Russia would be grateful for such a maneuver with its own population (17). Of course, Britain didn’t want to make new enemies in this process. They decided to stay as neutral as possible, doing so through the Balfour Declaration, issued in 1917. This document encouraged a Jewish homeland in Palestine without being a detriment to the rights of Arabs in the region – a clever but difficult balance between both sides (Immell 17). As many politicians discover, it was because of Britain’s awkward, double-edged stance that it found it to be a struggle to support both sides. Instead of focusing on both at the same time, Britain bounced from interest to interest, shifting its focus by favoring both sides at different times (Immell 19). Thus Great Britain’s investment in the affairs of Palestine declined.

When Harry Truman became President, the last thing on his mind was creating a viable solution to the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. WW II had not ended in Europe, the world's first nuclear weapon was being created, and tensions were rising with the Cold War. In addition

While the Bedouin communities did not particularly agree with the Turks, they did opt to fight against the British. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the former territory was divided up among British and French to establish mandates. While the British government had made several promises to both Arabs and Zionists, it became clear that the favored result was the creation of the Jewish state in Palestine. Britain was placed in charge of the Palestine and the Negev through the Balfour Declaration, which was an agreement that Britain would remain in control of Palestine until it could be declared as a Jewish state. Arab groups including Bedouin, were not pleased with the traditional lands being divided up between them and the new Jewish population. Plans were organized by the UN that called for land to be divided between the two groups, however neither side fully agreed on the terms of the proposal. While disagreements began about the idea of a Jewish state, the Bedouin found themselves in yet another position that involved the dispersal of their traditional

This was a result of the Balfour declaration, which promised a homeland to the Jews and vowed to protect the rights of non-Jewish people in Palestine. While Britain kept control over Palestine, remaining states such as Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria gained independence. The Balfour declaration essentially triggered a Zionist movement and encouraged Jews to migrate to Israel – altering the demographics of Palestine, as Arabs had previously been the majority population. As conflict between the Arab and Jewish population started emerging, the “Irgun” emerged as a Jewish guerrilla force. Eventually the British withdrew after World War 2 in 1948 and left Israel more land than agreed on under the UN plan and this enforced the repositioning of thousands of Palestinians. In response, the Arab nations rejected the state of Israel and its claims over Palestine and conflict was physically ignited in the 1956 Israel invasion of Sinai. This demonstrates how the violent conflict between the Arab and Jewish communities is largely caused by the political and social contentions of the

The first reading was about the origins of Zionism, and it was a portion of Theodor Herzl’s pamphlet discussing the importance of and the benefits of establishing a Jewish state. Written in the late 19th century, it was clear from the pamphlet that anti-Semitism had been a problem in Europe for centuries, and this was Herzl’s solution to that problem. This is significant because it displayed the reasons behind Zionism and the Jewish population’s feelings about constantly facing discrimination in Europe.

In many ways Britain was not the right country to be given responsibility for overseeing Palestine and bringing it to self-governance. Britain’s primary interest in the region was not fulfilling the wishes of the local people, but safeguarding the Suez Canal and the rout to India. Furthermore by her deeds and actions during the war, Britain had lost the trust of both the Arab and Jewish communities. Arab hopes had been raised by McMahons declaration of support for Arab independence, then dashed by his government’s failure to follow this up. The Arabs had been further annoyed by the Balfour Declaration and the apparent support for the Jewish cause among leading British politicians. The Jews too also had reason to mistrust the British. The Balfour Declaration, which directly contradicted the Sykes-picot agreement, seemed to them as a cynical bid for support at a time when British fortune was at a low. In the period of 1920-48 the fears of both Arab and Jews were fuelled by Britain’s indecisive and wavering attitude. Sometimes, as when they set limits on Jewish immigration, they appeared to support the Arabs. More often, particularly in their treatment of Arab resistance, it looked as if they were backing the Jews.

During the period of 1915-1948 the British Policy toward Palestine and the creation of Israel changed frequently in the period of 1915-1948. This can be seen in many documents and reports of the British Government and their correspondences with the Jewish, Arabs and German in their quest to gain allies

Disputes between the Arabs and Jews date back to the 1800s, when Zionism was first introduced. Zionists bought land off oblivious Palestinian landowners which lead to the eviction of the arabs who worked on the land. As Jewish migration increased, the Arabs became aware of Jewish intention to take over their land. Not only did this result in unease between them but it spread fear within the Arab community forming a need for nationalism. Good afternoon year 11, This speech will highlight how bad British decisions and conflicting promises eventual escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. As well as British promises, I will also be speaking about other factors that contributed to the conflict.

Kenny: The creation process and existence of the Balfour Declaration show that the political approach was the most important and effective strategy for achieving Zionist goals

Zionism can Each emerges out of encounters with colonial understandings of the other, in which Palestinians and Jews being defined as others, the judge of the other, being the ‘enlightened’ European. Furthermore, the events and encounters that shape Zionism and Palestinian nationalism can be understood at various moments as the ‘same’ events. Neither Zionism nor Palestinian nationalism is destroyed by the sharing of these events in the name of nationalism as “political ideologies do not recognize nor reconcile with each other, nor do they determine who recognizes whom and who reconcile with whom.” Put another way, political ideologies, here nationalism, are capable of fully existing without the acknowledgement of the other, nor the ability to compromise with the other. Instead, both Zionism and Palestinian nationalism continue to claim legitimacy in the face of opposition and strive to be understood as legitimate heirs to the land called Israel, called Palestine.

In origin, Zionism is the movement against anti-Semitism and is a national liberation movement founded by Theodor Herzl in 1896 (Habib, 2004). Herzl’s main goal was to return the Jews to Jerusalem and to the Holy Land of Israel. Another important proposal he offered through Zionism until 1948, was to re-establish Jewish sovereignty in Israel. Zionism promised the Jewish people freedom, revolution, liberation and normalisation and gave them something to put hope in to (Laqueur,

Since the end of the Holocaust in the mid 1940’s, the Jewish population has been seeking a means of escape from the sadly ever present anti-semitic world. When Zionism emerged as a new sect of Judaism, one that promised a communal effort to return to Jerusalem and the promised land of Abraham’s covenant, the Jewish world became ecstatic with the hope of ending their constant displacement. However, as the land of Israel was settled and its expansion prospered, the greed and lust of the Israeli politicians pushed the borders of Israel into the already diminishing territory of Palestine. As time passes it becomes more and more clear that the Israeli expansion into Palestine is unjust, and lacks a coherent justification for their occupation.

A similar act of contradiction such as the Sykes-Picot, was the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British foreign secretary, Arthur James Balfour sent a letter to Lord Rothschild a leader of the British Jewish community, which was then forwarded to the Zionist federation of Great Britain and Ireland. Palestine had a religious significance to the Jews and they had sought it as a viable place to establish a homeland. The

According to Jeanne Kuebler, a journalist for CQ Researcher states, “The first World Zionist Congress, … spurred the Return movement; the aim of the congress … was to create a national home in Palestine for the Jewish people”(Kuebler). Prior to the Congress, Jewish people fled their former homeland of Palestine for various reasons. Following the Return movement and World War II, support for this resurgence would be recognized by various countries. Great Britain colonized Palestine, to push forth the plans of the Balfour Treaty, which insisted that Palestine would be a nation for Jewish people. Since the declaration was made, a mass emigration to Palestine was immediate. Although there was a cap of 75,000 Jewish immigrants, others found ways around the system finding ways to Palestine leading to a higher number of immigrants in Palestine than the maximum allowed by Great Britain. As Palestinians demanded their own dependence from the Jewish nation, Great Britain was unable to create this which led to a series of terrorist attack against the Jewish residents. Great Britain sought the help of the Leagues of Nations, which suggested a split into two nations (Brewer).