Arab-Israeli conflict “a real estate dispute” (Gelvin) Palestine, by any yardstick, is less than prime real estate (Rodgers)

Zionism Diaspora, history, religion and hope  dream of return to the Holy Land – “God would in the future bring about an ingathering of the exiles and restore the children of Israel to the Promised Land” (Tessler) 19 th century Western Europe: liberal nationalism  legal emancipation of the Jews 19 th century Eastern Europe: intensified persecution of the Jews (pogroms)  emigration to USA or Palestine – Pinsker; question of national identity

Political Zionism Theodor Herzl Created Zionist “coherent international movement” Existence of a Jewish nation, absence of a Jewish state Did not find a power willing to sponsor the movement

Definitions of modern political Zionism Cleveland: Jewish nationalism focusing on Palestine Gelvin: a nationalism movement that redefined a religious community – Jews – as a national community … [which] asserts the right to an independent existence in its historic homeland. The politics of Zionism was influenced by nationalist ideology, and by colonial ideas about Europeans’ rights to claim and settle other parts of the world (

The Balfour Declaration Unilateral British declaration Result of belief that Jewish groups in the US and Russia (and Germany) could influence their governments’ war policies Aimed to win the “hearts and minds” of Jews around the world

Balfour Declaration Unilateral British declaration Result of belief that Jewish groups in the US and Russia (and Germany) could influence their governments’ war policies Aimed to win the “hearts and minds” of Jews around the world

Chaim WeizmannLloyd George

Palestine What was Palestine? To the Muslims: A geographical expression To the Christians: historical memory with religious significance To the Jews: roughly conterminous with the land of Israel (Yapp)

The Palestinians Majority were cultivators living in villages Less than 1/3 of Arabs lived in towns Many merchants and professionals were Christian Sunni Muslim urban notables had become more powerful under the late Ottoman period (50 urban notable families identified)  Rivalry No cities comparable to Aleppo, Baghdad or Damascus  1936 – Palestine Arab politics were the politics of notables (Yapp)

Palestinian identity? Very little idea of Palestine before 1918 Arabism not so prominent in Palestine as in Syria Two options: – Palestine = southern Syria; Faysal in Damascus a potential leader – Palestinian identity; Muslim-Christian cooperation Strongest identity linked to local, ethnic or religious group

The Palestine Mandate Britain awarded the mandate for Palestine at San Remo in 1920 The League of Nation’s mandate (1922) incorporated the Balfour Declaration No stipulation of independence or constitution in the mandate Yapp: The original draft of the mandate agreement had been prepared by the Zionist Organization which had been closely involved throughout the discussion  the thrust of the mandate plainly towards the fulfillment of the Zionist programme

What were the British thinking? Cleveland writes that “Britain sought to reconcile the conflicting aspirations of Zionism and Arabism by facilitating discussions between Weizmann and … Faysal of Syria” which resulted in the Faysal-Weizmann agreement of January Study the agreement: -What was stated about economic development? -What was agreed concerning Jewish immigration? -Status of Palestine?

British Administration 1920: Civilian administration replaced the military administration Sir Herbert Samuel appointed High Commissioner; a Jewish ardent Zionist Goal for mandate? Weizmann: to make “Palestine as Jewish as England was English” Additional obligation to uphold the rights and privileges of the “non-Jewish” population  Equal/dual obligation; insoluble contradiction

Jewish-Arab cooperation? Riots in  Samuel reconsidered his policy: Goal to create an integrated political community in a unitary state British attempts to establish representative institutions; Arabs rejected the constitution of 1922 and boycotted elections to a unitary legislative council Arab demand for the Balfour Declaration to be annulled Yapp: little doubt that the Palestinian Arabs missed a great opportunity during the years  Palestine never had a constitution, a parliament, or mandatewide elections

The White Paper of 1922 (Churchill White Paper) Basis for British policy during the 1920s Study it; what can this paper tell us about British thinking about Palestine? – Relationship between Arab and Jews? – Economic development? – Political development; institutions; independence? – Legal status; territory?

Conclusions about the White Paper of 1922 Emphasised Britain’s commitment to support Zionism but played down the implications of Zionism for Palestine (Yapp) If the white paper was intended to removed the ambiguities contained in the Balfour Declaration, it failed utterly to do so. (Cleveland)

Leadership Arabs Politics of provincial notables Moderate opposition and cautious cooperation with the British Arab Executive ; limited mass support, not acknowledged by the British Collective leadership weakened by factionalism Hajj Amin al-Husayni mufti of Jerusalem and president of the Supreme Muslim Council; became the most extensive Arab political organization in Palestine Jews – the Yishuv Well organized, well financed and well connected Zionist Executive  Jewish Agency; a quasi government National Assembly Histadrut; Federation of Jewish Labor  separate Jewish economy  Control of Haganah, defense force Political party: Mapai (1930) and the Revisionists Extensive support from Zionist Organizations in Britain and the USA