UME6-4

When The Jewish State was published, Palestine was still an Ottoman territory. Herzl proposed petitioning the sultan for “the ever memorable historical home” of the Jews. In return, the Jews could use their collective expertise to “regulate the entire finances of Turkey.”

Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Switzerland in 1897. The momentum for a concerted, organized drive toward Jewish statehood was growing. By World War I, more than 3,000 European Jews were immigrating to Palestine each year.

Nevertheless, Zionism had detractors within the Jewish community. Several Jewish commentators foresaw the inevitable conflict between Zionists and Palestinian Arabs. They pointed out that contrary to the suggestions of the Zionists, Palestine was not vacant land available for the taking. The land already had a substantial population; and this population would eventually oppose Zionist ambitions with force.

Moreover, many religious Jews were repelled by the secular, socialist tone of the Zionist movement. From the beginning, socialists were very influential in European Zionism. Socialists dominated the Second Aliya (1904 -1914) and the Third Aliyah (1919-1923). (The influence of socialist politicians continued well into the era of formal Israeli statehood.)

Conservative, religious Jews envisioned the return to the Promised Land as a triumphal event that would take place under the leadership of the Messiah. The collective farms and leftwing, secular politics of the Zionists left many of these conservative Jews uninspired.

During World War I, the British actively courted both Jews and Arabs in order to gain the support of both groups against the Ottomans. Jewish partisans actively assisted the British war effort. In 1917, Chaim Weizman, a Russian Jewish immigrant to Great Britain, influenced the British government to provide the Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Declaration expressed support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Weizman was chairman of the World Zionist Organization, which had grown out of Herzl’s efforts to formally organize the Zionist movement.

The Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration was an official letter from the British Foreign Office (headed by Arthur Balfour) addressed to Lord Rothschild. The wealthy and influential Lord Rothschild was himself a Zionist, and was widely regarded as a representative of the Jewish community in Great Britain.

“Dear Lord Rothschild,

His Majesty's Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours,

Arthur James Balfour”

Simultaneously, the British made promises to local Muslims about the future of Palestine. Sherif Hussein Ibn Ali--the emir of Mecca----wanted to establish an Arab kingdom after the war on a vast stretch of land that included Palestine. While the bullets of World War I were flying, the British gave the emir a nod and vague promises. Then after the war (in 1922), Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill issued a more precise statement of British policy. The so-called Churchill Memorandum indicated that the British expression of support for the emir’s plans had excluded land west of the Jordan River---the present-day territories of Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

After World War I, the League of Nations granted Great Britain administrative rights over Palestine under the British Mandate. Now firmly in control of the land, the British formally acknowledged the historically rooted Jewish connection to Palestine. In 1929 the British government gave the World Zionist Organization an official role in Palestine in the form of the Jewish Agency. The Jewish Agency assisted newly arrived Jewish immigrants, and promoted Jewish immigration from its offices throughout Europe.




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	UNDERSTANDING THE MIDDLE EAST: History, Religion, and the Clash of Cultures 400 pages Copyright © 2007 by Beechmont Crest Publishing First edition, 2007 0-9748330-6-1 Buy it at Amazon.com Table of Contents C H A P T E R 6: Zionism and the Modern State of Israel The birth of the Zionist movement When The Jewish State was published, Palestine was still an Ottoman territory. Herzl proposed petitioning the sultan for “the ever memorable historical home” of the Jews. In return, the Jews could use their collective expertise to “regulate the entire finances of Turkey.” Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Switzerland in 1897. The momentum for a concerted, organized drive toward Jewish statehood was growing. By World War I, more than 3,000 European Jews were immigrating to Palestine each year. Nevertheless, Zionism had detractors within the Jewish community. Several Jewish commentators foresaw the inevitable conflict between Zionists and Palestinian Arabs. They pointed out that contrary to the suggestions of the Zionists, Palestine was not vacant land available for the taking. The land already had a substantial population; and this population would eventually oppose Zionist ambitions with force. Moreover, many religious Jews were repelled by the secular, socialist tone of the Zionist movement. From the beginning, socialists were very influential in European Zionism. Socialists dominated the Second Aliya (1904 -1914) and the Third Aliyah (1919-1923). (The influence of socialist politicians continued well into the era of formal Israeli statehood.) Conservative, religious Jews envisioned the return to the Promised Land as a triumphal event that would take place under the leadership of the Messiah. The collective farms and leftwing, secular politics of the Zionists left many of these conservative Jews uninspired. During World War I, the British actively courted both Jews and Arabs in order to gain the support of both groups against the Ottomans. Jewish partisans actively assisted the British war effort. In 1917, Chaim Weizman, a Russian Jewish immigrant to Great Britain, influenced the British government to provide the Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Declaration expressed support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Weizman was chairman of the World Zionist Organization, which had grown out of Herzl’s efforts to formally organize the Zionist movement. The Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was an official letter from the British Foreign Office (headed by Arthur Balfour) addressed to Lord Rothschild. The wealthy and influential Lord Rothschild was himself a Zionist, and was widely regarded as a representative of the Jewish community in Great Britain. “Dear Lord Rothschild, His Majesty's Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country. I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation. Yours, Arthur James Balfour” Simultaneously, the British made promises to local Muslims about the future of Palestine. Sherif Hussein Ibn Ali--the emir of Mecca----wanted to establish an Arab kingdom after the war on a vast stretch of land that included Palestine. While the bullets of World War I were flying, the British gave the emir a nod and vague promises. Then after the war (in 1922), Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill issued a more precise statement of British policy. The so-called Churchill Memorandum indicated that the British expression of support for the emir’s plans had excluded land west of the Jordan River---the present-day territories of Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. After World War I, the League of Nations granted Great Britain administrative rights over Palestine under the British Mandate. Now firmly in control of the land, the British formally acknowledged the historically rooted Jewish connection to Palestine. In 1929 the British government gave the World Zionist Organization an official role in Palestine in the form of the Jewish Agency. The Jewish Agency assisted newly arrived Jewish immigrants, and promoted Jewish immigration from its offices throughout Europe. Continue reading... Copyright 2005 Beechmont Crest Publishing