Britain and the Creation of Israel - Research Paper Example

Britain and the Creation of Israel Introduction On 2nd day of November 1917, Baron Rothschild who was the leader of the British Jewish community for the transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain received a very important letter from Arthur James Balfour who at the time was the acting Foreign Secretary to the United Kingdom. This was what was referred to as the Balfour Declaration of 1917. This paper will look at the part played by the Balfour declaration in determining and securing the future of Israel as a country. The letter had this information quoted since it cannot be altered;- ‘Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in conveying to you on behalf of His Majesty’s Government the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist Aspirations, which have been submitted to and approved by the cabinet: His Majesty’s Government view with favor the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the success 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 shall be grateful if you bring this declaration to the Knowledge of the Zionist Federation’ (Yapp p. 290). This declaration was calling for the birth of the Israel state which came after the World War I. There had been fights in Palestine and at this time the only prudent solution seemed to be the birth of a Jewish state that would accommodate the Jews in Palestine and thereby curb the existing situation where fights were marring the region. The issue about the Jewish State had been facilitated or initiated in 1896 by a Hungary based Jewish Journalist named Theodor Herzl. He had categorically asserted that the only solution to the growing resistance of the Semite speakers which included the Jews was through the establishment of a new sate or what was called the Jewish state. The Jewish people in Palestine were not settled due to the growing anti-Semitism in the Middle East and they felt that they needed a home of their own where they could live peacefully without being influenced and affected by the forces from the other countries. This led to the establishment of the Zionist Organization in 1897 which pressed for the formation or the establishment of a Home for the Jews in Palestine. The steps to attain the Israel State were crippled by the death of Theodor Herzl in 1904 but the people who were left to lead the organization pushed further and there seemed to be hope at the end. In the first meeting between Weizmann and Balfour in 1906, Balfour proposed that the Jews were to be given the British Protectorate of Uganda as at that time it was under British Rule. He did not advocate for the Jews to be settled in Israel. The Role of World War One in the Signing of the Balfour Declaration World War I started in 1914 with one side having Britain, France and the Russian empire and the other side having Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire which joined the war in its latter stages. By mid 1917 however the war was in a statement and none of the countries was ready to accept defeat despite the fact that they had lost amicably in terms of economy and lives. The death toll was rising with each new day and the most affected countries included Russia and Germany which had locked horns with massive death tolls being reported. On the same year Britain had failed to defeat Turkey in the war at the Gallipoli Peninsula and this had reduced its prospects in the World War I. At the same time things were really bad in Russia which was one of the British allies in the war. On March that year the government of Czar Nicholas II had been overthrown by anti government movements as they were opposed to his expenditure on the war and its benefits. People in Russia were suffering and they had opted to topple Nicholas II and salvage the state of things before a crisis point was reached. At the same time America had decided to support the allied side and with their troops being scheduled to arrive on January 1918, there seemed to be a looming disaster. This being the most tough situation, the newly elected government of David Lloyd George decided to support the Zionist Federation which was calling for the formation of the Jewish nation which would act as the home for the Jews who were scattered all over Palestine. The Zionist Federation was being led by Weizmann Chaim who was a Manchester based Russian Jewish chemist who took over the leadership after the death of Theodor who was a journalist (Pahumi 2013). The signing of the Balfour declaration and the establishment of the Jewish state was a move by the British government to gain allies from the neutral states which were in support of peace in the Jewish-Islam locked Palestinian state. The anti-Zionists were worried on the fate of the Jewish in other countries as they thought by the assent of the Balfour Declaration then they were to be deported back to their homeland and therefore impacting negatively on their lives and existence. However after intensive talks the British government announced that the lives of the Jews in the other countries would not be affected and they were not to be deported back home. The aims of the act of giving the Jews a state had been to get allies and hence be on the better side of winning the battle against the German Troops which were well armed and better trained. However, disaster struck after the February Revolution in Russia where Czar Nicholas II was ousted from Power and Vladimir Lenin became the head. Vladimir Lenin had no intentions of continuing the fight that Czar Nicholas II had been fighting and this acted as a backfired plan on the side of the British Government. The effects of the Balfour declaration were felt immediately with the onset of peace talks between the Islam Rich Palestine and the Jews who were to be settled on their own country i.e. Israel. After the signing of the declaration, Britain was given the responsibility and mandate of administering temporarily in Palestine. Britain was supposed to act non-partisan while administering over the Arab-Islam Palestine and the Jewish Israel. At this time Arab-Jewish conflicts were starting to rise again mainly because of the rising numbers of the Jews which was seen by the Arabs as a slow way of later dominating over them. The State of Israel was officially declared in 1948 due to the massive support for Zionism from countries around the world. This was after the World War II and the effects of the Holocaust had led to many countries embracing the logic of the Jews having their own country. The Effects of the Balfour Declaration The Balfour declaration was incorporated in the 1922 Palestine mandate. The role of the British government after the Balfour declaration was to prepare the Jewish population for the country that was to come after the successful support of their plea to have their own country. The Palestinians were also to be prepared for the coming of the new Israel state that had sprouted due to the Balfour declaration. The negative effects of the Balfour declaration came in the early 1930s when the British encountered the first Arab revolt that was against the Jews getting their own country. This was however curbed by the ready British Government and the people against the idea were made to understand that the plan was to be followed no matter what resistance would be encountered. In 1945, the British experienced the second revolt but this time it was from the Jews. They were revolting for the delayed process of giving them their own sate as they viewed the British as the people who had abducted the whole idea and were slowing down the process to make the Jews independent (Khater p. 69-73). The Holocaust came to cement the fears of anti-Zionists on the fate of the Jews who were living outside Palestine and whether they were supposed to be taken back to their country. The Holocaust is the term used to refer to the killing of the Jews in Europe where about two thirds of the total number of Jews in Europe were killed. During this time more than seven million Jews were killed during the World War II. They were buried in mass graves with many of them being buried alive. Adolf Hitler was the man behind the program me to kill the Jews by the Nazi movement. This was an aftermath of the First World War where the Germans and the British had been on opposite side. Due to the British steps in allowing the Jews to have their own country, the Germans were against the Jews and so Adolf Hitler decided to finish off all the Jews in Europe. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict The birth of Israel in 1948 was an en d to a process that was started in the final years of the 19th century. The signing of the Balfour declaration in 1917 cemented the idea of having Israel as an independent state and this was important in ensuring that the Jews were safe and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was brought to an end. After the Balfour Declaration was made, Palestine was under British rule for 30 years which lasted up to 1948. This is the time after World War II and the situation was still vulnerable. World War II had seen the massive killing of the Jews in the Holocaust where the Nazi Rule in Germany had planned the killing of all the Jews in Europe. The Nazi rule was led by Adolf Hitler and he was concerned about the increasing population of the Jews in Europe. Since he wanted to gain dominance after the two world wars he saw the rise of the Jews who were allied to the British as a threat and so there was a need to curb their multiplication. The Holocaust saw the worst experiences to the Jews with majority of them being concentrated in Ghettos from where they were transported for execution using trains. They were mainly directed in doffing their own graves and then they were executed by bullets. These made a great impact to the whole world and after the fall of Adolf Hitler it became evident that the Jews plight needed to be addressed faster than it had been anticipated earlier. In 1948, the state of Israeli came into existence and the British left for their country after thirty years in charge of the Palestinian state. The new state was supposed to bring peace in the region and end the long lasting conflict between the two countries which have diverse religious beliefs which is the main cause for their conflict. The Period after Palestinian Independence The period after the Palestine’s achieved independence were marred by strong conflicts with the Israeli state. Between 1948 and 1957 which is the first ten years after independence many activities were going on throughout the world. First there was the unending conflict in the middle East where the new Israeli state was greatly involved. On top of this the cold war between the United States and the USSR was peaking. The situation in the Middle East was no better. There was the growing tension between the Israeli-Jordan and the Palestine’s and the relationship between the British and Egypt was withering. The activities of the British in this region were mainly centered at the Suez Canal which was the source of its conflict with Egypt. Egypt was an independent country at this time and they had control over their country. The only serious problem was the control of the Suez Canal which was still under the British (William & Martin p. 106). The 200 square kilometer around the Canal was well guarded by the British and they were not ready to leave. In 1954, Egyptian president Colonel Abdel Nasser obtained a British agreement to take full control of the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal was an important route and it was associated with business and so controlling it was seen as a privilege to the Egyptians. On top of that the British presence in the Middle East was not perceived well and with the Egyptians supporting the Palestinians against the Israeli then the British qualified to be enemies without much consideration. The border tensions therefore rose among Israeli and its immediate neighbors who include Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. There seemed to be looming war and the state of the new state looked bleak. The United Nations chipped in and tried to solve the issues among the countries and avert a possible war that was already looming. Israeli however remained stout and it rejected many of the requests by the UN to accept mediation and end disputes (John n.d). Israeli-Palestinian Conflict The early years after independence were characterized by intense conflict after Israeli rejected offers for mediation from the UN. The Israeli Jordan Frontier was the main center of interest after Palestinians were evicted from it. The Palestinians had been displaced and settled on the West Bank of River Jordan but they were not ready to embrace the new set up and they vowed to resist aptly. The Palestinians were decided to ensure that the Israeli people did not settle down and so they embarked at stealing their crops and livestock and injuring people. Since the Israeli people could not just sit and watch, a fierce battle ensued between the Israeli and the Palestinians. The Israeli used massive military power to counter these attacks and this led to the requests for diplomacy to stop further Casualties. The most famous retaliatory attacks was done on the Jordanian Village of Qibya in the year 1953. At this time the Israeli army was led by colonel Ariel Sharon (Margalit 2013). The European countries and America sought to stop this fight by preventing any shipping of arms to the region in the Middle East as peace talks were being held to end the serious conflict between the two countries. However as much as the peace talks were advocated for, Israel was not ready to stop its attacks and in 1955 it made its first attack on Egyptian posts in Gaza. During this time the Egyptian blocked Israeli shipping on the Suez Canal an act that helped in adding to the tension already being experienced in the region. The period from 1957-1967 was identified by peace between the two groups. The UN had stationed their military at strategic positions on the Sinai Peninsula where they were able to monitor the movements of any advancing army to attack the other f\group. This initiative by the UN worked to promote peace in the region and hence set a time for increased growth (Smith p. 51). Civil War in Jordan After the period of continued peace between the two countries the period that followed in the early 1970s was characterized by suspense and state of unstableness in the region. Jordan was the headquarters of the Palestinian resistance group and the rival groups called for the overthrowing of King Husyan who was the Jordan King at that time. The Palestinians organized a raid against the Israeli which started from Jordan and proceeded towards the Israeli side. Israeli reacted with fierce retaliatory measures that left many dead and injured. During all this time the main conflict between the two countries was centered at the Gaza strip and the West Bank which are known for being productive. The days that followed involved serious conflict including the incidence in 1976 when Israeli Commandos rescued one hundred and two hostages who had been held at the Entebbe Airport by Palestinian Guerillas in an after math of the War in the Middle East (Margalit 2013). Menachem’s party took leadership of Israel in 1977’s elections and he is the one who initiated peace talks with Egypt to end the conflict that had been lagging for so long. Anwar El Sadat, the Egyptian president at that time visited Israel and became the first Arab Leader to recognize Israeli as an independent state almost 30 years since its formation in 1948.These peace talks led to the signing of the Camp David Accords of 1978 which was followed by the first Israeli-Egypt treaty which was signed in 1979 between the two head of states. After the treaty, Israeli withdrew its army from the Sinai Peninsula which was a show of peace and acceptance to the treaty that had been signed. In the meantime the friction with Lebanon was increasing as was witnessed in the 1978 raid where thirty eight Israeli died. The whole conflict took a new turn on June 1981when Israeli Air Force commanders destroyed Iraq’s only nuclear reactor in its capital city Baghdad. This was followed by attacks on Lebanon in a six day attack that left the whole of the Lebanon military base destroyed. The days that followed up to today have seen a string of attacks having been done by all sides against each other mainly in the Gaza Strip. The solution to this war started long after the World War I is yet to be found. Conclusion The conflicts witnessed in the Israeli today are after a result of issues which have been carried since the end of the 19th century. Theodor, a Jewish Journalist initiated the movement that called for the independence of the Jews and advocated for them to be allocated their own independent state. After his death in 1904, Weizmann took over the control and the Zionist Federation in Britain pressed for the Jews to be given a state and live on their own. The anti-Zionists which were made up mainly of the people living in other parts of Europe were against the movement as they were not sure whether they would be sent home after the establishment of the state (Smith p. 24-29). World War I began in 1914 and Britain was involved being on the same side with France and Russia and being against Germany and the Austria-Hungary. In 1917 Britain assented to the Balfour declaration which began the new sate of things in the Middle East. The Balfour Declaration was to declare Israeli and independent country (Rosenberg 2013). In 1922, Britain was given the administrative mandate over Palestine. At the same time the USSR was formed after Vladimir Lenin had overthrown Czar Nicholas II after his engagement in World War I and the economic status of Russia at that time. During World War II more than three quarters of the Jews in Europe were killed in the Holocaust following the orders of Adolf Hitler who advocated for the Nazi rule. After World War II, Israeli was established in 1948. Since that time there have been wars between the Israeli and the neighbors in the Middle East mainly due to religious and economic conflicts (Rosenberg 2013). Cited Works Smith, D. Charles. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. New York: Bedford, 2012. Print. William, L. Cleveland & Martin, P. Bunton. History of the Modern Middle East. New York: Westview Press, 2009. Print. Pahumi, Nevilla. Review of A History of the Modern Middle East, Fifth Edition. Middle Ground Journal. 7, 2013. Web. Khater, Fouad, Akram. Primary Sources in the History of Modern Middle East. North Carolina: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Margalit, Avishai. Review of Hadara Lazar’s ;Out of Palestine: The Making of a Modern Israel.2013. Web. Margalit, Avishai. Palestine: How Bad, & and How Good, was British Rule. February, 2013. Web. Yapp, M. The Making of the Modern near East. 1st September 1987, Retrieved February 2014. Web. John, Robert. Behind the Balfouur Declaration. Britain’s Great Pledge to Lord Rothschild. (n.d) Web. (n.a) The Balfour Declaration.(n.d) Web. http://zionism-israel.com/Balfour_Declaration_1917.htm Rosenberg, Jennifer. The Holocaust. 20th Century History.2013. Web. Read More