On November 2 1917 the Balfour Declaration was issued from Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild conveying a promise to the Zionist Federation of a national home in Palestine. This appeared to be a step closer towards materially realising the early Zionist aspirations as previously articulated by Theodor Herzl in August 1897 when he envisioned “the creation of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine to be secured by public law.” Although professing to be a “declaration of sympathy with the Jewish Zionist aspirations” in reality the reasons behind the Balfour Declaration surpassed Zionist efforts in British politics or genuine pro-Zionist sympathies. Despite many Zionists becoming increasingly active in British politics, the formation of a Jewish state was not the intended consequence of the declaration; rather it was primarily in provision of British own interests in Palestinian territory. This land, to which the Balfour Declaration referred had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the 16th century and included contemporary Israel and a small section of present-day Jordan. It occupied a prime strategic position dividing two French colonies, Syria and Lebanon, and the British colony in Egypt whilst harbouring jurisdiction over the prized Suez Canal. Simultaneously British had imperialistic motives to take advantage of the power vacuum left vacant by the slow death of the Sick Man of Europe, the Ottoman Empire. The Balfour Declaration also temporarily allowed the Britain to hold the balance of power between the two opposing nationalist movements in Palestine however it did obligate them to both sides proving a future problem. It was also hoped that propagating a future national home to the Zionists at large would secure the ...
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...on by revolting against British authority and Jewish immigrants. The subsequent White Papers of 1937 and 1939 that the British released were to pacify both sides but sufficiently proved to both the Arabs and the Zionists that the British were unwilling to support just one side and their policies, including the Balfour Declaration, proved to be conflicting ideas. Furthermore the British could not balance the two opposing national movements forever as both were growing with the increase of Jewish immigration and land sales. Eventually the Arabs and Zionists rebelled against the British who in never supporting one side wholeheartedly lost its hold over the entire of Palestine. In the years to come many British leaders “soon reached the conclusion that the Balfour Declaration had been a colossal blunder, unfair to the Arabs and detrimental to the empire’s interests”
The ideas of David, Reuven and other reform Jews sparked new interest in the notion of a Hebrew state in Palestine. Zionism was an idea with a long history, but it starts to involve the characters of The Chosen and picks up intensity after the Holocaust.
Imperialism, Colonialism, and war had a huge impact on the Middle East, and it can also be thought of as the source of conflict. According to the map in Document A, it shows that the size of the Ottoman Empire grew smaller after the first world war, along with this change came new boundaries. These borders were created by the victorious European countries that won World War I, and made different ethnic and religious groups separated and grouped together with others. Great Britain's took over Palestine mandate and developed the Balfour Declaration that promised Jews support in making a home in Palestine. Most of the Palestine land was populated with Arabs. As soon as Jewish immigration increased, so did the tension between the two groups because each felt like they deserved the Palestine land. Zionism began early in the history of Judiasm and it was the movement for the Jews to establish a home in Palestine, and return to their holy land. During the Holocaust, six million Jews were killed and the deep-seeded hatre against them increased
Late into the 19th century, Zionism (a biblical name for Jerusalem) started to rise when Theodor Herzl published an article that concluded Jewish assimilation and emancipation could not work in Europe. It was this that started plans for the creation of a Jewish statehood. During this time, the population of Jews were spread out across different countries, and in each of these countries, they had represented a minority. Throughout this period, they had longed for a state in which they called Eretz Israel, the land of Israel. Herzl’s proposed solution was for the revival of a Jewish homeland where they could set up a state belonging to themselves. Following his publishings, the First Zionist Congress was held in Switzerland. The program state that “The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a homeland in Palestine secure by public law”. Much of the Jewish community at this point held mixed views about this movement but it was this time period of the late 19th ce...
He “had beautiful dreams for Palestinian and Jewish children (living) together” (ix). The creation of the State of Israel drastically changed the equality in the region, and these times were soon be forgotten. Israel was created as a haven for persecuted Jew as a result of the Holocaust, however, it was soon run by the military. “The new Israel seemed to be a nation where the military ruled ignoring the will of the countr... ... middle of paper ... ...
There is no excuse for the horrible things Nazi Germany did during World War II. But one can get a better idea how that war started by learning about how World War I ended. The Treaty of Versailles was created by the winners of World War I, like France, Great Britain, and the United States, to make peace. So how did it help contribute to an even worse war less than twenty years later? It was mainly because it was too hard on Germany’s territory, military, economy, and national pride.
After The Great depression and World War I, Germany was left in a fragile state. The economy was ruined, many people were unemployed and all hope was lost. The Nazis believed it wasn’t their own fault for the mess, but those who were inferior to the German people. These Nazi beliefs lead to and resulted in cruelty and suffering for the Jewish people. The Nazis wanted to purify Germany and put an end to all the inferior races, including Jews because they considered them a race. They set up concentration camps, where Jews and other inferior races were put into hard labor and murdered. They did this because Nazis believed that they were the only ones that belonged in Germany because they were pure Germans. This is the beginning of World War 2. The Nazi beliefs that led to and resulted in the cruelty and suffering of the Jewish people
In 1916, The Sykes-Picot Agreement was signed between Britain and France aiming to control and influence the Middle East after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, who was the sole controller of the region. Followed by The Treaty of Sevres in 1920, new borders were drawn by the 2 European countries for Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and Syria among other Levantine countries. However, the Kurdish population who resided among these geographical borders were not given any land for them, but divided within the new borders giving them harder time than before. As for the Palestinian case, both Zionist and Palestinian nationalism movements arose during the late 19th – early 20th century. What raised the Zionist nationalism movements further was the Balfour Declaration in 1917 which supported the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine while protecting the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities. Ever since then the two populations are, with unfortunate luck, trying to be independent nation states.
...of the situation, "The position of the Jews in liberated countries is desperate. The political pressure in Palestine is becoming unbearable. And so is my personal position as President of the Jewish agency. This is the hour to eliminate the British White Paper, to open the doors of Palestine and to proclaim the Jewish state" (Ganin). The British negative attitude gave the militant Zionists who wanted a new policy towards England and for new activist leadership a reason to take action. They felt, "...it's astonishing how fast they forgot about that..." (Silverberg). The Zionist leaders saw that after World War Two, Britain was exhausted economically and psychologically. British power had weakened because of the war. The Jewish community realized that they would not be able to rely on Britain for help and so they turned all their attention to the United States (Ganin).
...one of the darkest periods of history, filled with madness and murder. Following the war many people asked why the Jews succumbed to the Nazis like “Lamb at the slaughter”. One cannot forget or ignore the many shows of resistance amongst the Jews such as the Jews who fought in the forest of Eastern Europe and also the Jews who started the uprising in ghettos and in concentration camps. One result of the Holocaust is that the state of Israel was no doubt established because of the Holocaust. As a result of the great catastrophe which occurred to the Jewish people many nations realized that establishing a state was a necessary step for the protection of Jews. With the end of the war and the unconditional surrender, international courts were set up for the quick trials and sentencing of the Nazis for their war crimes against the Jewish people and against all humanity.
"We cannot sit huddled within our own borders and avow ourselves merely an assemblage of well-to-do hucksters who care nothing for what happens beyond. Such a policy would defeat even its own end; for as the nations grow to have ever wider and wider interests, and are brought into closer and closer contact, if we are to hold our own in the struggle for naval and commercial supremacy, we must build up our Dower without our own borders." 1899, Theodore roosevelt his book, The Strenuous Life.
Prior to and after WWI the world saw a rise in nationalistic sentiments. The Middle East was not immune to this new ideology. Although Arab Nationalism had a start in the Ottoman Empire, its rise among the masses did not begin until after WWI. While a total rise in Arab Nationalism became apparent on the Arabian Peninsula, a separate nationalist movement began in Palestine as a way to combat a unique and repressive situation. In Palestine the British mandate, along with British support, and the world's support for Zionist immigration into Palestine, caused a number of European Zionists to move into the country. These factors created an agitated atmosphere among Palestinians. Although there was more than one factor in creating a Palestinian-centered Arab Nationalism, the mounting Zionist immigration was among the most prevalent of forces.
“Many Jews were fleeing Europe from Hitler so that they can reclaim the land they believed was their Biblical birthright, (Document 4 Excepts from the Israeli Declaration of Independence). Leaders were petitioning Great Britain to allow Jewish people to begin migrating into Palestine, then in 194 8the formal state of Israel was formed. “The Balfour Declaration Britain promised a national home for the Jewish people as seen in” (document 2). However, people were already living there so the natives felt like they were getting there home taken away from
Arabs from Palestine started the war in 1948, but the Jews were targets because of their
Winston Churchill once said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” The Battle of Dunkirk was one of the first major battles of the Second World War that the newly appointed Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill, had found himself in. The goal of the battle was for Allied troops (consisting mostly of British and French troops, but no American troops) to safely evacuate from the oncoming tidal wave of onslaught that was the German Army. To many, the evacuation seemed to be an impossible feat, but that wasn’t the case. The evacuation turned out to be a miracle because most of the troops had successfully made their way from Dunkirk back to the safety of the Allies.
The Treaty of Versailles, one of the most controversial international agreements(“D.1. The Treaty of Versailles."), had been negotiated between January and June of 1919 (History. Staff). Although it was negotiated between January and June, the Treaty of Versailles was officially signed on June 28, 1919 (Hashall) at Versailles, a suburb of Paris (Benson). This treaty involved Germany and all allies of World War I (Benson). The peace agreement was established to aid in the termination of World War I.