HISTORY 244 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Supreme Muslim Council, British Influence, Close Embrace
Outline -- The Twice Promised Land: Britain Retreats, 1917-1940
I. British Policies: Overview
● British had a pragmatic or practical view of zionism
● 1920s- looked like british would be able to pull of balancing acts
○ Attacks increased
■ British realized they couldn’t protect both sides
○
II. Ambivalent Zionist Patron, 1917-1928
● 1915- british (height of ww1) encouraged ruling family of Meca to lead an arab revolt
against the ottomans
● In return british promised leaders of mecca to help them create independent state for
arabs
● After ww1, arabs argued that british were bound by this agreement
● British did not completely abandon the idea of arab independence,
○ Independence of syria was acknowledged quite quickly
○ Iraq, transjordan, syria all independent by 1946
● In palestine, league of nations promoted jewish interests in preference to arab interests
● League of nations preamble for british authority over pal
○ BALFOUR declaration inserted
■ 1917 by british foreign secretary
■ Mandates britain to work w zionist organization to promote jewish
immigration and settlement in palestine
○ Once british took control of palestine they saw that all politically active arabs
opposed jewish settlements
○ 1917-1920- british support for zionism responded to 5 motives
■ 1- humanitarian opinion was moved by jewish suffering
● Key british leaders were personally very supportive of zionism
● Believed they were committed to alleviating suffering from long
suffering people
■ 2- by restoring long suffering jews to their ancient homeland, britain
calculated they could give their control of palestine a moral justification
that would fend off criticism of other powers
● Helping jews was seen as humanitarian position
● British could counter other countries criticism that they were acting
unfairly
■ 3- by sending european refugees to palestine, british leaders sought to
keep them out of britain themselves
● Britain thought they had enough jews
■ 4- ** issuing balfour was to hope to weaken war effort by germans
● Hoped to maintain american jewish support for the americans
participation in the war
Document Summary
Outline -- the twice promised land: britain retreats, 1917-1940: british policies: overview. British had a pragmatic or practical view of zionism. 1920s- looked like british would be able to pull of balancing acts. British realized they couldn"t protect both sides. 1915- british (height of ww1) encouraged ruling family of meca to lead an arab revolt against the ottomans. In return british promised leaders of mecca to help them create independent state for arabs. After ww1, arabs argued that british were bound by this agreement. British did not completely abandon the idea of arab independence, Independence of syria was acknowledged quite quickly. Iraq, transjordan, syria all independent by 1946. In palestine, league of nations promoted jewish interests in preference to arab interests. League of nations preamble for british authority over pal. Mandates britain to work w zionist organization to promote jewish immigration and settlement in palestine.
