Britain in Palestine 1917-1948

Summary

This film outlines Britain's complex history in Palestine from 1917 to 1948, detailing the strategic interests that led to British control, the contradictory promises made to Arabs and Zionists, and the resulting tensions. It explores the Balfour Declaration's impact, the rise of Zionism, and the eventual establishment of Israel amidst conflict and displacement, setting the stage for ongoing Israeli-Palestinian disputes.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ Britain's control over Palestine from 1917 to 1948 had significant impacts on the region's history, yet it's not widely known among the British public.
• 🌍 The strategic importance of the Middle East to the British Empire was due to oil and the Suez Canal's control over the sea route to India.
• 🕊️ The end of WWI saw Britain and France promise self-determination to the former Ottoman subjects, but this was overshadowed by secret agreements.
• 📜 The conflicting promises included Sir Henry McMahon's promise of an independent Arab state and the Sykes-Picot agreement dividing the region between Britain and France.
• 🏠 The Balfour Declaration in 1917 promised to establish a 'national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine, which was a controversial commitment.
• 🤝 The Balfour Declaration was influenced by both religious beliefs in restoring the Jewish homeland and strategic considerations during WWI.
• 👥 The British government did not consult the Arab majority in Palestine about creating a Jewish homeland, leading to a sense of betrayal and conflict.
• 🗳️ The mandate period saw the Jewish community gaining economic and political influence, while the Arab majority felt marginalized and politically left behind.
• 🛑 The 1936-1939 Arab revolt against British rule and Jewish immigration was brutally suppressed, further escalating tensions.
• 📋 The British White Paper of 1939 proposed an independent Palestine governed by Arabs and Jews within 10 years, which was rejected by both sides.
• 🏳️ The end of the British Mandate in 1948 led to the establishment of Israel and the displacement of a large portion of the Palestinian population, marking the beginning of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Q & A

Why was Palestine strategically important to the British Empire during World War I?

Palestine was strategically important due to its oil resources and its position in relation to the Suez Canal, which controlled the sea route to India.

Who was General Allenby and what was his role in the British campaign in Palestine?

General Allenby was the British military commander who led his troops across Southern Palestine, capturing Jerusalem in December 1917, and by the following year, had brought all of Palestine under British control.

What were the 'contradictory promises' made by the Allies during World War I regarding the Ottoman Empire's territories?

The 'contradictory promises' refer to the conflicting plans and agreements made by the Allies, including the promises made by Sir Henry McMahon to the Arabs for an independent Arab state, the Sykes-Picot agreement dividing the region between Britain and France, and the Balfour Declaration supporting a Jewish national home in Palestine.

What was the Balfour Declaration and why was it significant?

The Balfour Declaration was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, expressing support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. It was significant because it laid the groundwork for the Zionist movement and future conflicts over the region.

How did the British government's handling of the Palestine issue affect the Arab and Jewish communities in the 1920s and 1930s?

The British government's handling led to increasing tensions and violence between the Arab and Jewish communities. The Arabs felt deceived and economically left behind, while the Jews made significant progress under the British mandate, leading to Arab dispossession and rebellions.

What was the Peel Commission's proposal in 1937 to address the deadlock between Arabs and Jews in Palestine?

The Peel Commission proposed the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. However, this proposal was vehemently opposed by Arab leaders and was eventually abandoned.

What was the British White Paper of 1939 and how did it differ from previous policies?

The British White Paper of 1939 abandoned the idea of partition and proposed that Palestine would become an independent state governed by Arabs and Jews within 10 years. It also imposed restrictions on Jewish immigration and land purchases, marking a shift in favor of Arab opinion due to the prospect of war.

How did the Jewish community respond to the British White Paper of 1939?

The Jewish community condemned the White Paper as an act of betrayal and a retreat from the Balfour Declaration, expressing fury over the restrictions on Jewish immigration during a time of increased persecution in Europe.

What was the outcome of Britain's decision to terminate its mandate for Palestine in 1948?

The termination of the British mandate led to an undeclared war for domination between Jews and Arabs. On May 14, 1948, Israel declared itself a state, leading to what is known as the War of Independence to some and the Nakba or 'Catastrophe' to others, resulting in a large number of Palestinian refugees.

What is the significance of the term 'nakba' in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?

The term 'nakba', meaning 'catastrophe' in Arabic, refers to the displacement of around 60 percent of the Palestinian population who became refugees during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, marking the beginning of the ongoing conflict.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ British Control of Palestine: Origins and Strategic Interests

This paragraph outlines the historical context of British involvement in Palestine, beginning with the end of Ottoman rule during World War I. The British Empire's strategic interests in the Middle East, particularly the control of oil and the Suez Canal, led to the capture of Jerusalem by General Allenby in 1917 and the subsequent establishment of British control over Palestine. The narrative also touches on the promises made to the Arabs for self-determination and the 'contradictory promises' that would later cause conflict, including the secret Sykes-Picot agreement and the Balfour Declaration, which favored the establishment of a 'national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine.

05:02

📜 The Balfour Declaration and the Conflicting Promises

This section delves into the Balfour Declaration's impact and the ideological and strategic reasons behind it. The idea of restoring Jews to the Holy Land had been promoted by Christians and was embraced by the Zionist movement, which sought a homeland for Jews to escape persecution. The British government, influenced by Christian beliefs and strategic considerations, issued the Balfour Declaration without consulting the Arab majority in Palestine. The declaration set the stage for future conflicts by promising to protect the rights of the non-Jewish communities while favoring the establishment of a Jewish homeland.

10:05

🛡️ The Struggle for Self-Determination and the Rise of Violence

This paragraph discusses the aftermath of World War I, where the Western Powers, including Britain, made decisions about the Middle East without the consent of the local populations. The League of Nations granted Britain a mandate over Palestine, obliging it to support the creation of a Jewish National home while preparing the region for self-government. However, the Arab population, feeling deceived and left behind, began to resist, leading to outbreaks of violence. The British response was insufficient, and the Jewish community continued to grow and establish its institutions under the mandate, while the Arab majority felt increasingly dispossessed.

15:07

🌍 The Road to Israel's Declaration of Statehood and the Onset of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The final paragraph covers the escalation of the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine, the British attempts to manage the situation through inquiries and commissions, and the eventual proposal of partition, which was rejected by the Arabs. The British White Paper of 1939 sought to appease Arab concerns by limiting Jewish immigration and land purchases, angering the Jewish community. As World War II approached, Britain maintained these restrictions, leading to increased Jewish resistance and violence against British rule. The paragraph concludes with the termination of the British mandate in 1948, the declaration of Israel as a state, and the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which continues to this day.

Keywords

💡Palestine

Palestine refers to a geographic region in the Eastern Mediterranean, which was the focus of British control and the center of the complex historical narrative described in the video. It is integral to the video's theme as it was the area of contention between Arabs, Jews, and the British Empire. The script mentions that Britain controlled Palestine from 1917 to 1948, and the region's strategic importance due to oil and the Suez Canal is highlighted.

💡Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was a vast state that existed from the 14th to the early 20th century, ruling over much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. In the context of the video, the Ottoman Empire initially ruled the region of Palestine before World War I. The empire's alliance with Germany and the Central Powers made the Middle East, including Palestine, a strategic area for the British Empire to contest during the war.

💡General Allenby

General Edmund Allenby was a British military leader who played a significant role in the video's narrative by leading troops across Southern Palestine in 1917. His successful campaign resulted in the capture of Jerusalem in December of that year, marking a pivotal moment in the British control over Palestine and its subsequent impact on the region's history.

💡Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 was a statement issued by the British government expressing support for the establishment of a 'national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine. It is a key concept in the video as it set the stage for the Zionist movement and the future conflict between Arabs and Jews in the region. The declaration is mentioned as a contradictory promise made by Britain, alongside other promises to the Arabs.

💡Zionism

Zionism is a political movement that supports the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In the video, it is depicted as an ideology that gained traction among Jews in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in response to anti-Semitic persecution in Europe. The Balfour Declaration is directly linked to the Zionist cause, and the video discusses how British support for Zionism influenced the political landscape of Palestine.

💡Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia, or T.E. Lawrence, was a British archaeologist and military officer renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The video references his involvement in assisting the Arabs in their fight against the Turks, which was part of the broader conflict that led to the British control of Palestine.

💡League of Nations

The League of Nations was an international organization established after World War I to promote peace and cooperation. In the video, it is mentioned as the entity that granted Britain the mandate to govern Palestine, with the requirement to implement the Balfour Declaration and prepare the region for self-government. This mandate is central to the video's narrative as it outlines the responsibilities and challenges Britain faced in Palestine.

💡Mandate for Palestine

The Mandate for Palestine was a formal agreement between the League of Nations and Britain, giving Britain administrative control over Palestine while requiring it to establish a Jewish national home and prepare the territory for self-government. The mandate is a critical aspect of the video's theme, illustrating the legal and moral obligations Britain had in Palestine and the subsequent tensions that arose from its implementation.

💡Self-determination

Self-determination is the principle that nations or peoples have the right to freely determine their political status without external interference. The video discusses how Britain and France promised self-determination to the former subjects of the Ottoman Empire, yet this promise was not fully realized, particularly in Palestine, where the British mandate and the Balfour Declaration created a conflicting situation for the Arab and Jewish populations.

💡Partition

Partition refers to the division of a territory into separate parts, often as a means to resolve territorial disputes. In the video, the idea of partitioning Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states is proposed by the Peel Commission in 1937. However, this proposal was rejected by Arab leaders and led to further conflict, illustrating the complexity and difficulty of finding a peaceful resolution in Palestine.

💡Nakba

The term 'Nakba,' which means 'catastrophe' in Arabic, is used by Palestinians to describe the events leading to the displacement of a large portion of the Palestinian population during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The video mentions the Nakba in the context of the establishment of the state of Israel and the resulting refugee crisis, highlighting a significant and tragic aspect of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Highlights

Britain's historical control over Palestine from 1917 to 1948 had profound effects on Arabs and Jews, yet is little known among the British.

The strategic importance of Palestine for the British Empire was due to oil and control over the Suez Canal.

General Allenby's forces captured Jerusalem in December 1917, leading to British control over Palestine by 1918.

Post-WWI promises of self-determination for former Ottoman subjects were undermined by secret Allied plans for control.

Controversy over Sir Henry McMahon's promise to Sharif Hussein of Mecca regarding an independent Arab state excludes or includes Palestine.

The Sykes-Picot agreement and the Balfour Declaration contradicted promises to the Arabs and proposed international control over Palestine.

The Balfour Declaration in 1917 favored the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine, impacting civil and religious rights of non-Jews.

Zionism's rise was partly due to the need for a Jewish homeland to escape anti-Semitic persecution in Europe.

Britain's issuance of the Balfour Declaration was influenced by both religious beliefs and strategic wartime considerations.

The Balfour Declaration disregarded the wishes of the Arab inhabitants of Palestine, focusing on Zionist aspirations.

Post-WWI, Britain faced the consequences of conflicting promises, attempting to manage tensions between Arabs and Jews in Palestine.

The 1930s saw escalating violence and rebellion in Palestine, reflecting deepening tensions between Arabs and Jews.

Britain's 1939 White Paper proposed an independent, representatively governed Palestine within 10 years, restricting Jewish immigration.

The Jewish community's reaction to the 1939 White Paper was one of betrayal, viewing it as a retreat from the Balfour Declaration.

Britain's management of the Palestine mandate was marked by a series of inquiries and commissions, reflecting the complexity of the situation.

The 1947 decision to refer the Palestinian problem to the United Nations and the subsequent termination of the mandate in 1948 led to Israel's declaration of statehood.

The events of 1948, known as the War of Independence to some and the Nakba to others, marked the beginning of the modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Britain's role in shaping the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its implications for contemporary British society and foreign policy.

Transcripts

foreign

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1917 and 1948 Britain controlled the

area of the Middle East then known as

Palestine

this chapter of History was to have a

profound effect on both Arabs and Jews

yet most British people know little

about it

this film is a simple outline of a very

complex story

so what took Britain to Palestine in the

first place

for centuries the region had been ruled

by the ottoman Turks

but when the first world war broke out

in 1914

the Turks allied with Britain's enemies

Germany and the other Central Powers

Palestine and the Middle East were

regarded as highly strategic to the

British Empire because of oil

and also because the Suez Canal

controlled the sea route to India

the Middle East was now under the

control of Britain's enemies

so Britain considered it vital to defeat

the Turks and gain control for the

allies

in 1917 General Allenby and his troops

Advanced across Southern Palestine

and in December they captured Jerusalem

by the following year all of Palestine

had come under British control

her troops would remain there for the

next 30 Years

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as the first world war came to an end

Britain and France issued a proclamation

promising that former subjects of the

Ottoman Empire would be able to

determine their own futures

briefly Freedom was in the air

however a different reality lay behind

the words

long before the end of the war the

Allies had been planning who would

control the Ottoman Empire when the

Turks were defeated

these conflicting plans are often

referred to as the contradictory

promises

firstly in October 1915 Sir Henry

McMahon British High Commissioner in

Egypt

that promised the Arabs in the person of

Sharif Hussein of Mecca that they could

have an independent Arab state after the

war if they would rise up against their

overlords the Turks believing that they

were fighting for their freedom some

Arabs joined the Allied war effort

and assisted by Lawrence of Arabia

helped the Allies Drive the Turks from

their lands

however for the last hundred years there

has been controversy over how McMahon's

letter to Hussein should be interpreted

did he implicitly include Palestine in

the proposed independent Arab state or

did he not

many Arabs and Senior British figures

have consistently maintained that

Palestine was included

while British governments since 1920

have argued that it was excluded

but meanwhile Britain had become party

to two further wartime agreements both

of which seem to contradict the

undertaking to Hussein

in 1916 the secret Sykes Pico agreement

between Britain and France allocated

what is now Syria and Lebanon to France

and what is now Jordan and Iraq

to Britain whilst proposing to keep

Palestine under International control

then a year later Britain made yet

another undertaking concerning Palestine

in November 1917 the British foreign

secretary Arthur Balfour wrote to Lord

Rothschild a leader of the Jewish

community

his Majesty's government view with favor

The Establishment in Palestine of a

national home for the Jewish people

it being clearly understood that nothing

shall be done which made 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

This Promise became known as the Balfour

Declaration

the idea that the Jewish people should

be restored to the Holy Land so that

biblical prophecies could be fulfilled

had been promoted by some Christians

since the 1600s

then from the 1890s the idea of Zionism

began to take hold among some Jews as

Theodore herzl argued that the Jewish

people needed a political homeland of

their own if they were to escape the

horrific anti-semitic persecution that

was Rife particularly in Russia and

Central Europe

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by the early 1900s herzl's successor

Heim weitzmann saw Britain as the power

with the global influence to make the

Zionist go a reality

so he set out to convince leading

politicians that the Jewish people

needed a homeland in Palestine where

they had deep spiritual and historical

bonds

the Balfour Declaration was the result

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why did the war cabinet respond to

scionist pressure in this way

foreign secretary Balfour was one of the

highly placed Christians in British

Society who believed that the Jewish

people should be restored to the Holy

Land

prime minister Lloyd George who also

came from a restorationist background

s of putting Israel back on the map

yet at the same time there were

strategic calculations for issuing the

Balfour Declaration

at this desperate point in the European

conflict

the war cabinet hoped that the promise

of a Jewish homeland would win the

Allies the sympathies of Jews and their

supporters worldwide

however the British government did not

consult the people then living in

Palestine about its plans to create a

Jewish homeland there

ninety percent of the population of

Palestine were Arabs who lived together

with a small Jewish community

Palestine had been predominantly Arab in

culture and language for many centuries

yet in private Balfour wrote

in Palestine we do not propose even to

go to the form of Consulting the wishes

of the present inhabitants the major

Powers were now committed to Zionism

which he described as being of far

profounder import than the desires of

the Arab inhabitants

the Balfour Declaration simply stated

that the civil and religious rights of

the non-jewish population should not be

prejudiced

foreign so when the war came to an end

how would all these complex undertakings

work out in practice

as the Western Powers met in Paris to

negotiate the peace settlement Sharif

Hussein sent his son Faisal to make sure

Britain's promise of Independence for

the Arabs was not forgotten

but instead the newly formed League of

Nations handed control of Palestines

Britain

under the terms of the League of Nations

mandate for Palestine Britain was

required to implement the Balfour

Declaration by supporting the creation

of a Jewish National home and at the

same time to prepare the people of

Palestine for eventual self-government

the League of Nations stated that

mandatory powers held a sacred Trust

to ensure the well-being and development

of people in their care

what happened to the other areas that

sheriff Hussein anticipated would gain

independence

trans Jordan now Jordan was made an

autonomous Emirate under Hussein's son

Abdullah

in the same way the New Kingdom of Iraq

was given to his brother Faisal

these were the rewards Hussein received

for his loyalty to the British war

effort but they did not include Syria or

Palestine

angry Arab crowds soon massed in

Jerusalem denouncing the Balfour

Declaration and demanding the

self-determination that had been

promised by Britain and France in 1918.

[Applause]

having made conflicting promises

Britain now had to face up to their

consequences she had created a

contradiction

just how unworkable this situation was

it took her 30 years to accept

both communities Jews and Arabs believe

they had been promised that land

as the zionists swiftly began to

implement their objectives the Arabs

were the first to conclude they had been

deceived

riots broke out in 1920.

in 1921 there was even greater violence

as Arabs attacked Jews and the British

tried to regain order

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after a period of relative calm Mutual

suspicion between the Arab and Jewish

communities flared up again in 1929

and rapidly escalated into mob violence

with horrific consequences

133 Jews and 116 Arabs were killed

Britain's response was slow and

inadequate

calm was finally restored by a show of

British Force

meanwhile the Jewish Community was

forging ahead under the umbrella of the

British mandate

securing major economic concessions and

establishing its own elected assembly

and institutions of government

the Arab majority on the other hand felt

Left Behind economically and politically

to be granted Democratic representation

they were effectively required to accept

the Balfour Declaration

but the Arabs rejected this fearing that

a Jewish National home would lead to the

creation of a Jewish state in their land

for their part the British feared that

an elected Arab majority would oppose

Jewish demands for land and immigration

and so they held back the Democratic

progress they were supposed to Foster

under the mandate

Britain was upholding the first part of

the Declaration to establish a home for

the Jewish people

but the second undertaking in the

Declaration

to protect the rights of the Arab

population

proved to be Hollow

Arab belong grew still further in the

1930s when increasing numbers of Jews

sought sanctuary in Palestine as the

Specter of anti-Semitism grew in Nazi

Germany

as more and more land passed into Jewish

hands the sense of Arab dispossession

grew

by May 1936 Palestine was in open

Rebellion

and it was not just Jewish communities

who were being attacked it was the

British too

increasingly losing control

the British authorities resorted to

ruthless methods to put down the Revolt

including hangings

house demolitions

and the use of civilians as human

Shields

for a period British and Jewish men

fought the Arabs jointly in a

counter-insurgency force known as the

special night squads

by 1939

the rebellion was suppressed

leaving the Palestinian leadership

weakened for years to come

to try to address the underlying

deadlock between Arabs and Jews

London had responded with a succession

of inquiries and commissions through the

1930s

their dilemma was that any attempt

duplicate one Community would provoke

the anger of the other

at a loss for a solution

appeal Commission of 1937 proposed to

partition Jews and Arabs into two states

but Arab opinion led by the vehemently

anti-zionist Grand Mufti of Jerusalem I

mean al-husseini denounced any idea of

conceding territory to Jews as

unthinkable

however as Europe's LED towards War

the British government changed course

the government white paper of 1939

abandoned partition and proposed that in

10 years Palestine would become

independent

representatively governed by Arabs and

Jews

controls were now put in place over how

many Jews could immigrate to Palestine

and how much land could pass into Jewish

hands

for the first time

Arabs were to be given a say over Jewish

immigration

the reason Neville Chamberlain's

government swung in favor of Arab

opinion at this point was the prospect

of War

London feared that in a global conflict

the Arab world might turn against

Britain

whilst the support of Jews would be

guaranteed in view of their persecution

by the Nazis

Jewish opinion immediately condemned the

white paper as an act of British

betrayal and Retreat from the Balfour

Declaration

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[Applause]

there was Fury that Jewish people would

be restricted from finding Sanctuary at

their hour of greatest need

nevertheless Britain upheld the limits

on Jewish immigration into Palestine

right through the war

as refugees fleeing the Holocaust were

arrested trying to enter Palestine

or we even sent back to Germany as in

the case of the Exodus

the Jewish Community turned against

Britain and the mandate

sections of Jewish opinion became

increasingly militant and violent

and Britain suffered heavy losses from

terrorist atrocities

in February 1947 foreign secretary

Ernest Bevin stated that Britain was

referring responsibility for the

Palestinian problem to the United

Nations

by September as the situation continued

to worsen

Britain announced that she would

terminate her mandate for Palestine in

May 1948

the un's solution to the Palestine

problem was partition

but this was again rejected by the Arabs

as British forces beat an ungainly

Retreat and the Mandate came to an end

partition was abandoned leading Jews and

Arabs to an undeclared war for

Domination

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on the 14th of May 1948

Israel declared itself a state

and was immediately recognized by

America

the events of this time are known to

some as the war of independence

than to others as the nakba or the

catastrophe

when about 60 percent of the Palestinian

population became refugees as they fled

or were expelled

today's conflict between Israelis and

Palestinians had begun

foreign

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direct involvement in Palestine ended in

1948.

but how should British people today

respond to the story of Britain in

Palestine

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thank you

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