Herzl's Political Approach

Moreover, In 1897 Theodore Herzl, the first Zionist Congress, gave the Jewish people the right to a national rebirth in their country. In document 1 it is stated, "...the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National home." For that reason, the Jewish people must have Israel back, and the Palestinians must give it

In 1917 the British government started to bring their own ideas on how history of Palestine should emerge. For gaining Jews support they issued “Balfour declaration”, which promised establishment of Jewish people in territory of Palestinians. Which meant developing state for Jews. Of course we can see that British government were over promising, because at that time results of First World War were unknown and unseen for participants. Palestine was still under the Ottoman Empire. British government was confident about wining in war, so they started to dream about what they will do after it and how they will divide territories. This emerged in there communication with France. A year before they issued “Balfour declaration” they already deviated

The United Kingdom expended great effort to give the appearance of neutrality and maintaining a balanced approach during their administration of the British Mandate of Palestine. Notwithstanding, an examination of British Policies during the period of 1917 to 1947 shows that they greatly contributed to the defeat of the Arabs and emergence of the Jewish homeland- the State of Israel, in 1948. The pre-Mandate actions of the British showed a clear preference for the Zionist agenda, and directly influenced the creation of the Mandate. During the mandate, the British claimed, “that Jews and Arabs would live in harmony together.” They openly resisted Jewish designs for the establishment of a home state, but their policy was inherently favourable

In the early stages of the Zionist movement, Theodore Herzl, the founder and “Father of Zionism”, negotiated with Britain, a major world power at the time, to give up five thousand square miles of Uganda. In 1903, this idea was brought to the Zionists, which offered geographical protection and isolation from Russia. These negotiations, however, came to a halt when Herzl died in 1904. Months later, however, the cause did find potential in the area of Palestine. Palestine was remote enough that Jews had geographical protection and had suitable weather for agricultural purposes. Similarly, Palestine was religiously significant because it contained the holy land of Jerusalem. As a result, in a span of twelve years (1902-1914), the Zionists move around 70,000 Jews within two migration periods known as the First and Second Aliyahs. These major movements gave the Jews the manpower they needed to make a serious threat to the Palestinian forces. Nevertheless, WWI put a halt in the Zionist efforts until the end of the war in 1917.

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.

However, when faced with the true reality of the situation, it seems simple to reach the conclusion that the British, and to some extent the United States, put aside the events of the Holocaust in favour of securing oil interests over an aggressive Soviet expansion, thus delaying the inevitable establishment of the Israeli state. Nevertheless, it is of great importance that the American and British political stances be analysed. Firstly it is essential to note the Jewish presence within the United States. Despite 1.5 million Jews being assimilated into society, anti-Semitism still existed with Jews being excluded from joining certain organisations and clubs and restrictive immigration laws operating under a quota system, thus limiting the number of Jews admitted. Despite this however, Zionist leaders saw it as essential that they enlist the American Jewish population in an attempt to get US government support for a Jewish state. In terms of the American view of Palestine, prior to the war the American government had regarded Palestine as a British responsibility. However, by March 1943, the US state department became concerned about

Through varied peulot, or recreational activities, our Madrichim, or leaders, were able to teach us about Zionism’s history, while successfully entertaining a large group of first through fifth grade children. Maccabi Tzair Miami’s initiatives are a prime example of Zionism’s longstanding presence around the world even after achieving Israeli independence. The experience came full circle when I, at fourteen years old, began educating the next cohort of Chanichim on

After World War I the Ottomans lost Palestine, so in 1920 Palestine it came under British Mandate. At the time both Jews and Arabs lived in Mandatory Palestine. Before the rise of the Nazi regime the Jewish Palestinian population totalled 238,000. The gaining number of Jews, and Jewish immigrants sparked Arab Revolts as they believed the Jewish were taking over their land. The revolt was soon suppressed however the British did restrict Jewish Immigration.

With the rise of anti-Semitism and the pogroms targeting European Jews in the late 1800s, there were many Jewish theorists and practitioners arose to find the ultimate solution for “the Jewish question”. In addition, the derived tension between the personal life of a Jew and the public life amongst secular society was the main challenge facing European Jewry. As a result of the long-term process through which Jews attempted to resolve the tension between their personal and public lives in a secular society wrought with anti-Semitism, the Zionist Movement emerged on the world scene lead by many intellectual and respected key figures. Among them, Theodore Herzl and Ahad Ha’Am were the two most prominent Zionist leaders. They both shared the same idea of nationalism where it was time for all European Jews to unite and be recognized as a nation. Although having a sense of national consciousness to unite the displaced Jews, their visions were completely opposite. The Zionist Idea, a text by Arthur Hertzberg, described their different visions in term of mass evacuation, statehood, religion, and culture.

The Balfour Declaration allowed for the establishment of a new Jewish national homeland called Israel and the striping of land from the native Palestinians. Ironically, this declaration came at a time when the idea of self-determination was beginning to be recognized (Hisham, 1990). During an address to the United States Senate in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson highlighted that:

The Balfour Declaration would have many positive impacts for the Jewish population. Not only did it give support for “a Jewish national home in Palestine,” but it saw Britain’s recognition of Jewish

er the war, as the years went on the Jewish population in Palestine grew tremendously. The growth created a lot of violence between Jews and Arabic’s. This violence ultimately led to Britain to make a big decision on the future of Palestine. This with the fueling of World War II and the Holocaust caused international support for Zionism. So, in 1948 they established official declaration of the State of Israel (Cohen, 2003; Levin, 1974.)

The fate of the Palestine in 1922, when the British Mandate was fully implemented with League of Nations approval was largely unknown. With

In the years just after World War II, Zionism (the desire to rebuild a Jewish national presence in the Promised Land) became a popular Jewish cause all around the world. Many Jews who were not practicing Judaism at all with religion became involved with the establishment of the State of Israel. Even today, many years after the successful founding of the State of Israel, there are Jews whose only real tie to Judaism is their belief in Zionism and their support for the State of Israel. They are joined by many Jews who are members of synagogues and support a modern Jewish religious movement, but who also find their prime identity as Jews in the Zionist cause.

The outbreak of World War I, created new opportunities to reshape the Middle East. That being said, it also lead to the Zionist movement goal was to create a Jewish state in Palestine. Since 1948, Israel's occupation has been ethnically cleansing Palestine by building illegal settlements on Palestinian land, enforcing discriminatory restrictions on Palestinians’ human rights, and by controlling almost all aspects of Palestinians.