World War I changed the map of the world. This huge conflict waged over four years (1914-1918) pitted the Allies (chiefly France, Britain, Russia, and later, the U.S.) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Turkish Ottoman Empire) against each other. The end result of the struggle was very dramatic:
- Russia of the Czars disappeared. In the midst of the war, and in some part because of it, the Russian Revolution succeeded, creating the Communist state known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
- The domination of Eastern Europe by Germany and the Austria-Hungarian Empire ended. Poland ― which had not existed for more than a hundred years, having been divided between Russia, and Prussia (Germany) and Austro-Hungary ― was re-created anew.
- The entire Middle East, which had been part of the Ottoman Empire, was split into two great swaths. Half was controlled by France (the French Mandate), the other half by England (the British Mandate).
Balfour Declaration
The French Mandate included the northern part of what is today the territory of Lebanon and Syria. The British Mandate included the southern and eastern part of the Ottoman Empire.
It is important to keep in mind that the Ottoman Empire controlled the Middle East from the 16th to the early 20th century ― for some 400 years. During this time, the countries of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc. did not exist. The residents in these areas were predominately Arab subjects of the Ottoman Empire, living in loosely organized tribal communities.
The British Mandate included the landmass on the West Bank of the Jordan River all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the landmass on the East Bank of the Jordan River, an area known as Trans-Jordan. The British called this whole huge area "Palestine."
(As we might recall from Part 38, the name Palestine for the land of Israel had been coined by the Romans after their destruction of Jerusalem, which they re-named Aelia Capitolina.)
When the British took over the land of Israel, suddenly the dream of a homeland for the Jews became a real possibility as opposed to a fervent hope.
By this time, there were between 85,000 to 100,000 Jews living in the Land of Israel, of a total population of 600,000. (See History of the Jews by Paul Johnson, p. 430.) Most of the Arabs living in the land had migrated there only in the previous thirty years attracted by the jobs created by the Jews who were building and farming. (Note that when Jews began to immigrate to Palestine in large numbers in 1882, fewer than 500,000 Arabs lived there. See From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters, p. 244)
A big boost for a Jewish homeland came from Earl Arthur Balfour (1848-1930), then foreign secretary, who in 1917 promised British support for the cause.
As we might recall from Part 63, Balfour became a friend of the Jewish cause in some measure because of Chaim Weizmann whose invention of artificial acetone, the chief ingredient in cordite-smokeless gun powder, enabled the British to mass-produce gunpowder for the war effort. Balfour said that acetone converted him to Zionism.
A fascinating conversation is recorded between Balfour and Weizmann in 1906, with Balfour arguing that the Jews should consider the offer made by the British some three years earlier to take Uganda instead of Israel (At the time the Ottomans still controlled the Middle East)l:
In reaction, Weizmann said to Balfour, "Would you take Paris over London?"Balfour replied, "But we already have London." (He meant, of course, Jews should take whatever they can get; beggars can't be choosers.)
At which point Weizmann came back with, "Mr. Balfour, the Jews had Jerusalem when London was a marsh."
That gave Balfour pause. "Are there many Jews who think like you?" he asked.
"I believe I speak the mind of millions of Jews whom you will never see and who cannot speak for themselves, but with whom I could pave the streets of the country I come from," Weizmann answered.
"If this is so, you will one day be a force," Balfour concluded.
Balfour's support for a Jewish homeland became known in history as the Balfour Declaration which was issued in the form a letter to Lord Rothschild on November 2nd, 1917. It stated:
"His Majesty's government looks with favor upon the establishment in Palestine of a national homeland for the Jewish people."
One month later, in December of 1917, the Turks surrendered Jerusalem to British.
But talk is cheap, and when it came to the reality of creating such a state, the British had many other considerations and interests to take into consideration, as we shall see presently.
Failed Promises
Despite the support of certain British political figures, the British Foreign Ministry and others were generally much more pro-Arab, and the British government got busy carving out Arab countries from the lands of the Ottoman Empire.
Through their efforts the country of Iraq was created in 1921. It was a monarchy with Faisal ibn Hussein, the son of Hussein the Sherif of Mecca, as king. Soon thereafter Iraqi oil started to flow to the West.
Iraq has the second largest known oil reserves in the world (after Saudi Arabia) and it is no wonder the British were interested in having a bond with this country as well as other oil-rich Arab states.
Another country created by the British in 1922 was Jordan. In 1923, the British installed Abdullah ibn Hussein, another son of the Sherif of Mecca, as emir of the new country called Trans-Jordan, later Jordan. Jordan was confined to the East Bank of the River Jordan and did not include any part of the West Bank. (Jordan encompassed 75% of the total area of the British Mandate. In 1922 the British separated this territory from the mandate territory on the west bank of the Jordan River (which they called Palestine) and made it off-limits to Jewish settlement.)
Why were the sons of the Sherif of Mecca made rulers of these countries?
The British wanted alliances with all the Arab kingdoms. They had shored up support for the Ibn Saud of the Arabian Peninsula, who had fought the Turks alongside them. Ibn Saud got Saudi Arabia.
But when that happened, the British had to pay off the Hussein Sherif of Mecca, who was in charge of the Islamic holy sites and who had also sided with British against the Ottomans in WW I. (The Hussein family are Hashemites, the tribe of Mohammed, the founder of Islam, and have been traditionally the keepers of Holy City of Mecca.)
They had to give him and his children some land, so they gave them Iraq and Trans-Jordan ― the land on the East Bank of the River Jordan.
King Abdullah of Jordan was not adverse to the creation of a Jewish State and even met secretly with members of the Jewish Agency.. He paid for his moderation with his life when he was gunned down by an assassin on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on July 20th, 1951. His brother, King Faisal I of Iraq, was also willing to live at peace with a Jewish State and even welcomed the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel [2]
No Israel
Yet despite all this country-making, and despite the Balfour Declaration, the British could not get around to creating a country called Israel.
Why not?
There was a clear British bias against the Jews as is readily apparent to anyone who has studied the series of White Papers issued by the British government in the 1920s and 1930s.
The reasons for this bias were:
- The British had to deal with the issue of an Arab majority living in what was left of Palestine. They came up with all kinds of partition plans all of which were rejected by the Arabs. (Not all Arabs were opposed; King Faisal of Iraq signed an agreement with Chaim Weizman calling for peace and cooperation.)
- Many members of the British government and military were clearly anti-Semitic and had a romantic/patronizing attitude toward the Arabs.
- The Arabs had oil and England needed oil. In the final analysis, the British had to take into consideration what was in their best interest. Looking after their strategic interests and placating tens of millions of Arabs was more important in their eyes than saving a few hundred thousand Jews, even though this went against the conditions of the mandate that they were granted in 1920.[1]
Meanwhile the poor Jews, not knowing that the British were going to back out of their promise, kept migrating to the land.
The third migration or aliyah (1919-1923) brought 35,000 Jews to the land. The fourth aliyah (1924-1928) brought 80,000 Jews to the land. The fifth aliyah (1929-1939, as Hitler rose to power in Germany) brought 250,000 Jews to the land.
Arab Riots
The Arabs made it clear that they were not going to sit still for a Jewish state. In August of 1929, due to the instigation of the preachers in the mosques, a series of riots broke out in which many Jews were massacred.
The New York Times, in its history of Israel (Israel: from Ancient Times to the Modern Nation, pp. 38-39) writes of this time:
The riots of August, 1929, were ignited in Jerusalem over a rumor spread by Arab leaders that Jews were going to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third most holy shrine. Fighting soon spread throughout Palestine. The worst massacres were in Hebron, sacred to Jew and Muslim alike, where 67 Orthodox Jews ― men, women and children ― were slaughtered by Arabs and 50 more wounded. Pierre van Paassen, a reporter, described the horror that he witnessed by lamplight in a Jewish seminary in Hebron: 'The slain students in the yard, the dead men in the synagogue, slashed throats and mutilated bodies.' By the time order was restored 133 Jews had been killed, 399 wounded.
The 1930s saw more rioting and more massacres, especially in Jaffa and again in Hebron.
In response, the British convened the Peel Commission which almost totally did away with the Balfour Declaration that had originally promised a Jewish homeland in Palestine on both sides of the River Jordan.
In July of 1937, the Peel Commission issued a report which said that all the Jews should be confined to a tiny state that would include a sliver of land along the Mediterranean coast and a small piece in the north abutting the west side of the Lake Kineret (Sea of Galilee).
The Arabs greeted the Peel Commission recommendation with a revolt which lasted until 1939.
The Arab Revolt was led by Haj Amin Husseini (c. 1893-1974), who was originally appointed as the Mufti of Jerusalem by the British. It is interesting to note that in addition to hundreds of Jews who were killed by Arabs, some 3,000 Arabs died in this revolt at the hands of other Arabs and at the hands of the British.
For all the British criticism of Israel today, at that time the British were not shy in their efforts to quell the rioting. They introduced the policy of housing demolition and used artillery to shell rebellious towns.
The revolt was finally crushed and the Mufti fled first to Beirut and later to Europe, where he became an ally of Adolph Hitler, organizing a Bosnian S.S. unit to kill Jews in the Balkans.
After the war he was captured but escaped. He was later involved in fomenting violence, including the assassination of King Abdullah of Jordan in 1951. He died in Beirut in 1974. (Faisal Husseini, who was the PLO's representatives in Jerusalem and who died of a heart attack 2001 was a relative of his.)
Death Sentence
The British did not keep the promise contained in the Balfour Declaration and neither did they keep the promise contained in the Peel Commission report.
They did enforce one aspect of the Peel Commission report ― that which limited Jewish migration to the land to only 12,000 a year for the next five years (1939-1943). By doing so the British doomed the Jews under the control of Nazis ― they would no longer be able to find refuge in their homeland.
They did this, knowing full well what the Germans were doing to the Jews ― this was after the Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht (see Part 60). And still the British closed an escape route that would have saved millions of Jewish lives.
The Jews were desperate and they tried to come illegally in a movement known as Aliyah Bet. In response, the British set up a blockade to keep them out.
Many Jews managed to circumvent the blockade and it is estimated that 115,000 Jews got through. But 115,000 is a very small number compared to the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust and who could not find refuge in the land of Israel.
Jewish Resistance
Meanwhile, the mainstream of the Zionist movement in the Land of Israel coalesced into the Jewish Agency, an organization headed by David Ben-Gurion. Officially recognized by the British as representing Jewish aspirations, the Jewish Agency tried not to antagonize the British openly.
The Jewish Agency did have an underground military organization called the Haganah, which tried to protect the Jewish settlements from the Arabs (since the British were doing next to nothing in this regard.)
There were other Zionists, who were not part of the Jewish Agency, who felt that the Jewish Agency was too conciliatory to the British. As they saw it, the British had broken promise after promise to the Jews and had openly sided with the Arabs. Therefore, the Jews had to be much more pro-active.
One of those who had a more aggressive attitude was Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880-1940).
Originally from Odessa, Jabotinsky broke away from the mainstream Zionist movement and in 1923 formed the World Union of Zionist Revisionists. This organization from 1936 on urged the evacuation of Eastern European Jews to Palestine. Had their pleas been heeded by the British, many Jews could have been saved from the Holocaust.
At this time Jabotinsky also became the head of the Jewish underground movement called Irgun Tzevai Leumi ― simply known as the Irgun ― founded in 1937.
In 1941, Menachem Begin (1913-1992), who would later become Prime Minister of Israel, arrived from Russia and assumed the leadership of the Irgun, which took a radical approach towards confronting the British and attacking the Arabs, who were responsible for the death of Jews.
Another, even more radical group, was the Lochamei Cherut Yisrael ― better known as Lechi and called by the British the "Stern Gang" after its founder Avraham Stern (1907-1942). The future Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzchak Shamir, was one of the key leaders of Lechi.
As Jewish patience with the British withered after the devastation of the Holocaust, these more radical groups engaged in violent resistance against the British.
For example, the Irgun blew up one wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946 which at the time was the headquarters of the British authorities in Palestine. Their prior warning was apparently received and ignored. Menachem Begin quotes one British official who supposedly refused to evacuate the building, saying: "We don't take orders from the Jews." As a result, the casualty toll was high: 91 killed and 45 injured. Among the casualties were 15 Jews.
They also hanged two British army officers in retribution for the hanging of Irgun members, and staged a daring break-out of the Acco (Acre) prison where the British held many Jews active in the resistance.
A senior British officer summed up the effects of the Jewish resistance groups:
"The British Army suffered greater losses in traffic accidents than in all the [Jewish] underground operations put together. But the blows to the Empire's pride and prestige were something which could not be digested. The break-in at the Acre Prison and hanging of the two sergeants were blows to our pride. The break-in at the prison gained the symbolic significance of the fall of the Bastille." (To the Promised Land by Uri Dan, p. 120)
But the British still did not give in.
[1] For an excellent summary of the period see: Connor Cruise-O'Brien, The Siege ― The Story of Israel and Zionism. (Paladin Grafton Books, 1988).
[2] In January 1919, Faisal I and Dr. Chaim Weizmann, President of the World Zionist Organization signed the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement for Arab-Jewish cooperation, in which Faisal conditionally accepted the Balfour Declaration on which subject he made the following statement: "We Arabs... look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement. Our deputation here in Paris is fully acquainted with the proposals submitted yesterday by the Zionist Organisation to the Peace Conference, and we regard them as moderate and proper. We will do our best, in so far as we are concerned, to help them through; we will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home... I look forward, and my people with me look forward, to a future in which we will help you and you will help us, so that the countries in which we are mutually interested may once again take their places in the community of the civilised peoples of the world "
(28) Anonymous, July 5, 2015 1:54 AM
Unfair attribution of blame to the British
On the whole, these articles are written with a reasonably unbiased approach, which is difficult in the heated climate of Arab/Jewish affairs, and especially the debate over the legitimacy of the state of Israel, but the following statement lets down the hitherto fairly balanced presention of historical events: "Many Jews managed to circumvent the blockade and it is estimated that 115,000 Jews got through. But 115,000 is a very small number compared to the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust and who could not find refuge in the land of Israel". This is a very dishonest statement in light of the fact that very few of the 6 million Jews who died in the holocaust ever even contemplated emigrating to Palestine, let alone actually attempted it. Moreover, the years spoken of here are the actual war years, when it was almost impossible for any Jew to escape, so it is unfair to blame the British for the wholesale slaughter of 6 million Jews as if they had all been turned back by the British blockade.
(27) Barry Jacobs, December 28, 2010 11:13 PM
Superb and extensive information
The History Crash Course is the most superb, accurate and extensively researched and valuable document yet produced; it is worthy of preservation, scholarship and research for the professional and layman alike.
(26) emma, November 3, 2010 8:16 AM
thankyou for the insights and primary extracts.
Ihave a history oral for school(Australia) in the form of a role play, Iam acting Aurthur Balfour and the insights to some of brittans misdemeanours will help me prepare greatly, your research was well put together and by far one of the best sights i have come across so far.
(25) Barry T Smithson, June 29, 2010 11:22 PM
Having recently visited Israel, Mount. Hetzl war cemetary, Yad Vashem, the old city of Jerusalem Tiberius & northern Israel, my interest in the formation of the state of Israel has grown. I knew a little about Lawrence & the British Mandate but not about the extent of the 1930/40's blockade & how the British (of which I'm one) turned a blind eye to growing Nazi persecution & anti-semitism. This is shameful & no Englishman can be proud of it.... Anti semitism in Britain, I have seen it from time to time, always from naive ignorant people
(24) Donna, January 23, 2009 5:26 PM
British records?
Can anyone point me toward books or other records giving the British historical view of the period? TIA
(23) Bill Pentecost, November 1, 2008 1:47 PM
hindsight
It is easy in hindsightto "know" what decisions the British should have made. The truth is that there would not have been an Israel as it is today if the British had not set in motion the steps which led to the ratification of the creation of Israel in the United Nations - a vote carried because of the votes of the British Commonwealth of Nations. I met a Mr Ben Zion in Jerusalem (where he'd been born,)who showed me a wanted picture including him and about a hundred wanted "terrorists" including the future Prime Minister of Israel. Ben Zion remembered Australian and New Zealand troops comming through his parents orange orchards in 1917. These countries and other British sacrificed thousands of men to free the area from the Turkish empire - a feat which the Jews and Arabs on their own could not have done. According to both Jews and Arabs the British got it wrong. Well if it was and is so obvious how come you've not resolved it in the last 100 years of conflict? Hindsight makes many things seem obvious to some who claim the wisdom of Soloman. Even prophecy is easy in Hindsight. :-) The Scriptures indicate that Judah would live in the coastlands in the latter days - maybe there is more shaping the destiny of the Middle East than what is reported in the newspapers. Bill
ian senior, March 28, 2012 3:48 PM
British were correct
Comment no 23 reflects a similar comment of mine on the topic of blaming someone...the British...for Israel's woes.Such blame is ideed rediculous. Had it not been for the British, the State of Israel, an independent nation, would not have existed. A semi autonomous Israelite had existed for 2 centuries within the Roman Empire to about 130A.D and then disappeared until the British made such again a reality at the end of World War 1The British further enabled an Independent Israel to be proclaimed in 1948. Did any other nation, empire, ethnicity or religious grouping accomodate Israelite aspirations as did the British! 2000 years is a long long time.
(22) Thomas Sebastian, March 7, 2008 8:56 PM
A Big Thank You
Dear Respected Rabbi
The conversation between Weizmann and Balfour was really inspiring This part of history reinforce my basic argument For I have been holding forth the argument that the Israel-Palestine issue is not a Arab-Jewish conflict nor the Aryan idea of hitler is no way any base but politicians after WW1 continued cultivate them for it served their purpose and even now after decades we could not bury hitler or his nonsense ideas All what is promising is that sensible Arabs and God fearing Muslims have not disappeared and there seems to be greater awaking from the part of Arab brother that sons of Abraham Issach Isarael and Ismail need not fight someone els war nor become a tools of others to expand their markets and I think President Bushs effort with support of Arabs and Jews will bear fruit soon and dear Rabbi
A Big Thank You
(21) Anonymous, March 6, 2008 11:31 AM
In defense of my native land
I really enjoy Rabbi Spiro's articles but I do think he tends to be a wee bit prejudiced against Britain and - sometimes - Christianity.
Without either of these two I doubt Jews would have even have the State of Israel.
Reminds me of the Hungarians who, during their revolution against Communism, begged other countries to take in those who wished to flee.
Britain was first to step up to the mat and let them take refuge there.
No sooner were they there than many petitioned to be allowed to go to the States, citing the discomfort of life in Britain as their reason.
We were only a stepping stone.
Britain was also the first country - and the major 0ne - to take in Jewish refugee children from Germany (I don't know of any other)prior to the Holocaust.
Of course, there were some who complained about the spartan life there that we British children were already used to.
I didn't have the luxury of being evacuated to Canada or the States as some of my fellow Britons did but had to remain behind.
British bravery kept myself and others from suffering the same fate as those in Europe did.
Well, as we Brits say we're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't.
(20) Barbara, March 4, 2008 10:31 PM
Who can you trust?
In one way it is a good thing that Britain did not aid or really support the Jewish people in their attempt to establish the state of Israel. Now no nation can claim that they were the ones who brought Israel into
existence. Either God was your deliverer as He was in the past or the Jews did it all by themselves. Everyone has to decide which is more believable. Many Muslims like to think that the Americans supplied generous amounts of weapons right from the start. Of course the Americans don't know anything about that and the French thought they actually sold Mirage jets to Israel. Real history is just so darned inconvenient, especially to Muslims.
Powerful allies can be reassuring but God has warned Israel not to depend on foreign powers. They will always let you down. They even let themselves down. God is the only One who makes promises and then always keeps his word.
(19) Ruth Housman, March 4, 2008 8:50 AM
the Balfour Declaration
With thanks for this history, in synopsis. I need to review this. I am about to leave for Brandeis University for a talk on The Balfour Declaration is being given to the Lunch & Learn BOLLI group, the adult learning studies group at Brandeis. This talk is being heralded with great anticipation and I have just read documents forwarded to us all by Jehuda Reinharz. I am leading a life of near total, visible, synchronicity.
I look forward to reading all of this prior to the upcoming talk! With thanks again, Ruth Housman
(18) Fivish, November 12, 2007 10:30 AM
Its not too late for Britain
Its not too late for Britain to enact the Mandate! They can start by telling the Arabs that they have no 'right' to any part of the Land of Israel. They can actively stop Arab terrorists and millitanst from killing Jews by sending 'peace keeping' troops.
They can stop the anti-Israel hate mongering spewing from the Labour party. They can stop all the 'peace process' nonesense.
They can stop funding and arming the Arab terrorists and millitants.
They can appologise to every Jew for their shameful capitulation to Arab blackmail.
(17) Michael Organe, March 11, 2007 1:02 PM
Migration statistics.
Why does it matter that 250,000 Arabs arrived in Palestine during the 30 years before the start of the British Mandate? Surely what is significant is that 5/6 of the population at that time were Arab. The Turks allowed both groups to enter and settle and presumably gave no particular precedence to Jew or Arab, or did they tend to discriminate against Jews?
I agree to some extent about the behaviour of the British during the Mandate period, especially the comments about anti-semitism in the military.
However after the start of WW2 the British were in no position to allow what would have been a major civil war between Jews and Arabs if unlimited immigration of Jews had been permitted.
They had lost control of the Mediterranean and held onto Egypt and Palestine by a very small margin. It would not have been difficult for the Vichy colonial government in Syria and Lebanon to take advantage of the confusion to move into Palestine, with disastrous consequences. It might have given European Jews a fighting chance but I doubt if it would have been a good one. It was only after WW2 that British trained Jewish soldiers were experienced enough to fight the war that they did.
I suspect that if large numbers of Jews had been allowed to migrate to Israel to escape the Nazis then Hitler would have directed his attention to the Middle East as a source of oil supplies instead of invading Russia in which case it the Jews would not have escaped for long. Iraq and Persia were already pro German in spirit and the whole Middle East could have fallen very quickly to the Nazis.
(16) David Sinclair, July 30, 2006 12:00 AM
Mistake in this article
Acetone is not a component of Gunpowder, which consists of powdered charcoal, Potassium Nitrate and Sulphur.Acetone is used to make "High Explosive", an invention that led to the invention of the modern handgun
(15) Peggy Crisostomo, October 26, 2003 12:00 AM
Wonderful history lesson which i ve never learnt at school ; easy to understand and to remember
(14) James Hopkins, October 16, 2003 12:00 AM
Good Article On Jewish Documented History
This reveals to the unlearned and ignorant people who do not know the truth about Jewish history. However, this writing is only the very tip of the "iceburgh" of the complete documented history of the Jewish people.
(13) peter sammut, October 12, 2003 12:00 AM
Never have so many righteous people been persecuted for being righteous.
A well researched and well written history , No other religion has been so persecuted as the Jewish one . Adherents of this moralistic religion are truly a Light given by G-D to shine upon the people of the world , this is the reason of the persecution against Jews , this obscenity , that continues even to this very day . The Jewish People are Blessed , and those against them are doomed to oblivion.
(12) Sandy, October 9, 2003 12:00 AM
Pam Morgan needs a history lesson
This is quite late as a response, but I just read Pam Morgan's "Pointing Fingers" on the British Mandate of the formation of Israel. I'm always struck by people who have not learned their own American history: 1) The colonies fought the British, but does she realize that the French were brought into that war? 2) Jewish citizens not only fought in the Revolution, but helped fund it (Washington got his needed funding from a Jewish Philadelphian who never requested repayment 3) Pam Morgan mentions the American Civil War and what if other countries stuck their noses in--they did--namely England and France!! Please, learn a little history.
(11) Efraim, October 7, 2003 12:00 AM
History has opnened my eyes.
Rabbi Shapiro,
Thank you for you very enlightening history lesson which sheds light on issues that are in the current world headlines. The old alliances still seem to be at work, and the Jewish state is still struggling against forces who are acting in self-intrest and greed. It is amazing how timely Torah is for today.
(10) Menashe Kaltmann, October 7, 2003 12:00 AM
British Anti Semitism
Again well done on an excellent article!
Interestingly members of my immediate family can tell of the terrible and shameful behaviour of The British Government during the time of The British Mandate.
There were 3 opinions within our family during the 1930's.
Part of our family applied and were very fortunate Thank G-d to receive permission to immiigrate from Europe to the Land of Israel during the late 1930's. They arrived in the Land of Israel in 1938.
Part of our family were refused entry and then decided to go illegally. They went on a rickety vessel that was impounded by The Turks in Instabul. After many days and some haggling the Turks allowed the ship to leave and after many days arrived at a beach during the middle of the night. The beach was located between Tel Aviv and Netanya and members of The Irgun were waiting for the Jewish passengers of this ship to swim about a kilometer ashore.This was I think in late 1938.
Part of the family stayed in Europe and were killed by The Germans during The Holocaust. My Dad (ad 120) is Thank G-d a survivor.
Rabbi Spiro your history articles are fantastic and explain the background to what happened to so many Jewish families during those frightful times. The British policies were cruel and lacked any real human decency and were solely based on self interest.
(9) Gary Selikow, January 24, 2003 12:00 AM
Thank you
For outlining the responsibility of the British for sending so many Jews to be incinerated in Hitler's ovens and for the way in which they helped the Arabs to kill many Jews in Eretz Yisrael.
The anti-Semitism which motivated these diabolical actions and policies, is made clear by the crude anti-Semitic statements made by Neville Chamberlain and Anthony Eden, among others.
About 500 000 Jews actually attempted to enter "Palestine" after the Shoah had begun in 1942, but were brutally turned back by the British even after news of the death camps and gas chambers had filtered back to the British.
This information makes it particularly sickening to see much of the British establishment, including the British media (epitomized by the hate speech of the likes of Robert Fisk, and the BBC), politicians , academics like Tom Paulin and others, leading the international campaign to vilify and harm Israel.
They are showing the same callousness in regard to Jewish men, women and children being murdered today, as they did during the British Mandate.
(8) Pam Morgan, April 2, 2002 12:00 AM
Pointing Fingers
Yes, we (Americans) should be concerned that people die at the hands of others (terrorists). Yes we should be concerned if a terrorist state, takes over another state. But when we put our noses into another country's business, we have to look at where our responsibility and interference is reasonable. Yes I would want help if someone were to try to take our country, but is it your business? When do we put our noses into other people’s business?
What would have happened if another country would have interfered with America’s Civil War? Who knows, but it may not have turned out the way it did. Our lives could have been worse freedom could have been taken rather than given. There is also the will of G-D. What does He want? It is not always up to us to run out and stop aggressions. Yes we want to be able to do business but business is not always important, although some people think it is.
I am not an expert in operations of a country but I have lived 45 years on this earth and I can tell you that when you get into someone else’s business you risk your life. So we have to decided how much will we be able to give to save a people of another state?
Let us never forget the lives, American and European, that were given to free the Jewish state from the clutches of the Third German Reich. Yes many innocent Jewish died. But will you die for my country? Will you give your life for me? Will you give up some of your what freedom you have and your happiness so that I can live? Will you give the life of your child so that my child can live?
I wish America had the ability to help every nation that is going through hell. I wish America could wipe out hunger and disease. America spends billons for assistance to other countries, how much more should we give? If we were G-D we could give you Peace beyond all understanding.
Making decisions on war is so important, (G-D like), so before we say let’s run out and help the Jewish, the Greek, or the Romans, we must be willing to give up lives or our own innocent.
(7) William Kysela, February 13, 2002 12:00 AM
Thank you for the information and research!!
Dear Rabbi Ken Spiro,
Keep up the good work!! There can be no justification in my mind of the way the Jewish people have been treated down through history by despots of every age - man's inhumanity to man is common knowledge in every age - keep up the efforts to bring honor , liberty and justice to all mankind - evil persons will use anything to achieve their evil goals - the price of liberty is eternal vigilance - may God restore your land to the people and may all men live together sharing equal rights to all the resources that God has placed here for us. May all men be able to worship in freedom and with no fear - and may God frustrate all efforts of the wicked, whom we have to deal with in every age and every land. As Winston Churchill once put it, "Never, never, give up!" and most expecially to the forces of evil. May liberty, justice and equality be for every man, woman and child in Israel and Palestine. I pray almost daily for this to be so. May all the children of your nation,both
Jewish and Palestinian, grow and prosper in peace, harmony and prosperity!!! Shalom!!!! Keep teaching the truth - give light and the people will find their way.
(6) Bruce Derflinger, February 12, 2002 12:00 AM
The Crash Course is Fantastic
So much is covered and so well
(5) samantha ball, February 11, 2002 12:00 AM
you seam to forget that after the first world war England was in no fit state to do anything to help and if we had entered a new war with Germany sooner we would have lost.Things would be very diferent.Plus we fought Germany for over two years alone. what was that great power the USA doing.Its true that If Japan hadn't attacked the USA then would never have entered a war in europe thank God for Japan because without the US england would Have been destroyed.Germany wouldnt have even considered a state called Israel.So stop pointing fingers at others and take a good look at yourselves.Oh just in case you think this is anti Israeli I am A jew
(4) Donna newlon, February 11, 2002 12:00 AM
Enjoy the lesson
I just want to tell you how much I enjoy this history lesson! Thank you for providing this !
(3) Ken Cameron, February 11, 2002 12:00 AM
The British Mandate
Britain has a mixed record in relation to Israel ranging from the Balfour Declaration to the obstruction of aliya. By 1945 Britain had ceased to be a great power and was severely weakened by war. British politicians recognised that oil imports were vital to reconstruction hence the pro Arab policy of the 1940s. This was an example of pragmatic politics taking precedence over morality in politics. But perhaps it is also worth noting that if Britain had failed to resist Nazi Germany from 1939-1941 until the Soviet Union and the USA entered the war, the consequences for the world and Jewry would have been infinitely worse.
From a British point of view the attack on the King David Hotel was an act of terrorism despite the supposed warning before the explosion. Detonating a bomb in a public building is likely to kill innocent people whether instigated by Irgun or Hamas.
Finally, after the partition of 'Palestine'in 1948, the new Israel should have included all of the West Bank, erroneously described today as the 'occupied territories'.
The prophecy in Zechariah 12 2-3 is a warning to all who seek to interfere in Israel's destiny.
Shalom Israel.
(2) irene Wise, February 10, 2002 12:00 AM
Imformative and upsetting!! Thank you.
(1) Glen Weinberger, February 10, 2002 12:00 AM
Book?
Rav Spiro,
I just want to tell you that I find great joy in reading your brief History excerpts and it helps remind me of the past history of the Jews and how to use it to help Am Yisrael into the future. I was just curious if at the end of the crash course in Jewish history if you planned to create a book of the brief history overview that you are righting. Personally I think it would be a great idea. Thank you very much for you inspiration.
Sincerely,
Glen Weinberger