Israel and Palestine: self and other, positive and negative; 2023
8 History
FIRST DRAFT ( pages)
Introduction
“The context”: an event and its history
“The cycle that leads to this”
The books
Part 1
A history: Ottoman 1517-1917; British Palestine; Israel and Jordan
A history of Palestine
The Promised Land … The Holy Land
Ottoman Palestine, 1517-1917
Lawrence of Arabia … The Arab Revolt, 1916-1918
The Emirate of Transjordan, 1921-1946
1923: Palestine mandate brings British Empire to its peak
Alfred Wiener, 1927
The British Mandate in Palestine, 1923-1948
The Ottoman Empire … the Balfour Declaration, 1917
Iran … Britain and Russia 1907-1979
Part 2
Land and history
“100 years”? … when did it all begin? …
More than 100 years ago … Uganda, Galveston and other possible lands
Ze’ev Jabotinsky, 1923
Alfred Wiener, 1927
“It’s their land, after all” 1928? 1968? (a personal note)
Third Reich to Cyprus to Palestine, 1945 to 1948
UNRWA … Gaza: from tented camps to tented camps; 1948, 2023
Introduction
The discussion and analysis of the war has constantly invoked a wide variety of references to the history of Israel and Palestine. The Times and The Observer have each identified a selection of books to help readers understand the historical background. These books give valuable systematic accounts. Haphazard in contrast are the contents of this section where I have put together a selection of the variety of historical references which have occurred in the reporting over the past few months.
“The context”: an event and its history
UN Secretary-General made a speech in which he referred to “the context” of October 7. Israel has called for the resignation.
“Israel brands the UN a ‘stain on humanity’ ” 26, 6
“Bias raises doubts this institution can steer Middle East to peace.” 26, 6
“The cycle that leads to this”
“The massacre sites of the Middle East come in many varieties. There are the historic battlefields, and the villages destroyed by sects and races – including Arabs, Turks, and yes, Jews – as the Ottoman Empire was torn apart by the British and French, who first took it over forcibly then equally capriciously abandoned it to its fate.
There are more recent venues for horror: city streets and refugee camps, open desert and farmyards, and all the sorts of places where the butchers of Isis slaughtered Shia Muslims and Alawites, or where Assad’s militia slit the throats of men, women and children whose towns dared to rise against him. And then there are the many massacres of Palestinians most infamously by the Lebanese Christian militias at Sabra and Chatila in south Beirut in 1982.
No one seems to learn from this endless cycle, a cycle that leads to this most extraordinary danse macabre: a rave in a grove of silver birches that now sag over rows of empty sleeping mats and tents, abandoned flip-flops, bags of uneaten party snacks.”
“Kibbutz Re’im.” Richard Spencer, The Times, Friday October 13 2023, 6.
The books
8 books to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict (W4)
Chosen by Catherine Philp and Daniel Finkelstein
The Times, Saturday Review, October 14 2023, 13.
My Promised Land. The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/14/idea-israel-ilan-pappe-promised-land-ari-shavit-review
Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu.
https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/bibi/
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama
The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood
https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/aln/aln_spring07/aln_spring07h.pdf
Hamas: The Islamic Resistance Movement
https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Hamas%3A+The+Islamic+Resistance+Movement-p-9780745642963
The Siege: The Saga of Israel and Zionism
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1986-03-01/siege-saga-israel-and-zionism
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. What Everyone Needs to Know
https://reformjudaism.org/reviews/israeli-palestinian-conflict-what-everyone-needs-know
The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited
Additions
The House Divided. Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East. Barnaby Rogerson. Profile. 2024.
“Sunni v Shia: decoding the Middle East. this potted history of the restless region is a useful alternative to academic tracts. … The book makes brief refences to golden eras of peace in the Middle east that lasted for centuries.” Richard Spencer.
The Times. Saturday Review. January 13, 2024: 13.
Part 1 A history: Ottoman 1517-1917; British Palestine; Israel and Jordan
A history of Palestine
The Promised Land … The Holy Land
Ottoman Palestine, 1517-1917
Lawrence of Arabia … The Arab Revolt, 1916-1918
The Emirate of Transjordan, 1921-1946
1923: Palestine mandate brings British Empire to its peak
Alfred Wiener, 1927
The British Mandate in Palestine, 1923-1948
The Ottoman Empire … the Balfour Declaration, 1917
Iran … Britain and Russia 1907-1979
A history of Palestine
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Palestine
Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Palestine
The Promised Land … The Holy Land
I was born in Scotland in 1945. Certainly by the time I was eight year’s old I knew about the Promised Land and the Holy Land. I knew them from my parents and sister, from Sunday School, from church and from primary school. At Christmas I sang about Bethlehem.
In this I was no different from everybody else in the Christian world. In a later section I shall introduce Alexander Keith, 1843, also from Scotland.
Ottoman Palestine, 1517-1917
“Under Ottoman rule, the Palestinian territory was organized into three states, Jerusalem, Gaza and Nablus, all linked to the Damascus Province. Palestine, in the last period of the Ottoman Empire, was first linked to the state of Sidon, later to Syria and then to Beirut, which was founded in the last period.”
https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2018/05/18/400-years-of-peace-palestine-under-ottoman-rule
[Turkey: Daily Sabah: https://www.dailysabah.com/ ]
Pre-State Israel: Under Ottoman Rule, 1517-1917
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ottoman-rule-1517-1917
Lawrence of Arabia … The Arab Revolt, 1916-1918
I also learned at school about Lawrence of Arabia. Here is what the Imperial War Museum has to say:
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/who-was-lawrence-of-arabia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Revolt
The film, 1962:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lawrence-of-Arabia-film-by-Lean
The Emirate of Transjordan, 1921-1946
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Transjordan
1923: Palestine mandate brings British Empire to its peak
On 29 September 1923, the British empire reached its peak, geographically speaking. As the Palestine mandate, administered by Britain, came into force, the empire was at its largest square mileage.
One Fine Day: Britain’s Empire on the Brink. Matthew Parker.
https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/matthew-parker-5/one-fine-day/9781408708583/
Alfred Wiener, 1927
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wiener
Like most but not all German Jews in the 1920s and 1930s Alfred Wiener supported those Jews who wanted to settle in Palestine but he didn’t want to create a Jewish state there. By 1947 he had changed his mind.
“Israel has to defend itself or where will we go? If the world wants peace in the Middle East it must ensure that Hamas is not compromised with or rewarded.”
Daniel Finkelstein, The Times, October 11, 2023. 25.
[Wiener was Finkelstein’s maternal grandfather.]
A poignant paragraph from a couple of months ago:
“Before [the Second World War] my grandfather had supported the idea of a homeland for the Jews in Palestine, but not a nation. He was vehement about it. The Holocaust, inevitably, changed his mind. Without a state, there was nowhere on which Jews could rely and, after the war, few places for many displaced Jews to go. A state was needed. And Palestine, by the way, feel the same. They want a state too, and with good reason.”
Daniel Finkelstein, The Times, June 7, 2023: 21.
…
Kritische Reisen durch Paldstina. Critical journeys through Palestine. 1927.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304742430448
Anlage (attachment) 6 includes the following table (if my translation is good enough)
Giving:
Table The religious affiliation of the population in Palestine in 1926:
Mohammedaner 641 000 72,3
Juden 158 000 17,8
Christen 78 000 8,8
Sonstige 10 000 1,1
. Gesamtzahl 887 000 100,0
In a later section we note the trajectory for Muslims, Jews and Christians in Palestine in the period 1800-1947. Between 1922 and 1947 the number of Muslims doubles and at the same time the number of Jews increase sixfold. The number of Jews doubles between 1922 and 1931 and triples between 1931 and 1947.
The British Mandate in Palestine, 1923-1948
Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine/World-War-I-and-after
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_Palestine
1914-1918 online:
https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/british_mandate_for_palestine
UN:
https://www.un.org/unispal/history/
The Jewish Virtual Library:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overview-of-the-british-palestine-mandate
“ … Israel too is a consequence of the break-up of the Ottoman empire at the end of the First World War. There followed the establishment of the British Mandate for Palestine, 1920-1948, and the subsequent creation of the state of Israel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_Palestine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palestine-mandate
https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel”
The Ottoman Empire … the Balfour Declaration, 1917
“… a people without a country … a country without a people ...”[1] [Church of Scotland clergyman, Alexander Keith, 1843]
“The establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people … [nothing should] prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities.” [Balfour Declaration, 1917]
“An empire promising a land that it had not yet conquered to a people not living there, without asking the inhabitants.”[2]
“Hushed remembrance of Balfour deal centenary … Britain has sought to play down the event.”[3]
“… in a region dominated by the rule of autocrats, jealous of their powers … Israel stands out as an exception: … a vibrant liberal democracy, an innovative economy and an ally of the West.”[4]
A few years after the Balfour Declaration, in the aftermath of the end of the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the San Remo conference in 1920 gave mandates over Syria to France and over Iraq and Palestine to Britain – as foreshadowed by the British-French Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916. Britain’s Palestine Mandate proposed a Jewish national home in Palestine.
In 1920, an advisory council was set up comprising the high commissioner, 10 British officials, 4 Muslim Palestinians, 3 Christian Palestinians and 3 Jews. In 1922 a Legislative Council was proposed which would consist of the high commissioner, 10 British officials, 10 Palestinians and 2 Jews. In 1923 an election was held for a Palestinian Legislative Council. The electorate voted for ‘electors’ who in turn would vote for Council members. A total of 823 secondary electors were to be elected; 670 Muslims, 79 Jews, 59 Christians and 15 Druze. However there was an Arab boycott and an Advisory Council was proposed comprising the high commissioner, 10 British officials, 8 Muslim Palestinians, 2 Christian Palestinians and 2 Jews – this gave Arabs 43% representation even though they were 88% of the population. This too was partly boycotted and Palestine was run by officials up until 1948.[5]
Figure 5.6 shows the preponderance of Muslims in Palestine prior to the First World War and the sharp rise in the Jewish population in the period 1922-1947.[6]
Between 1922 and 1947 the number of Muslims doubles and at the same time the number of Jews increase sixfold. The number of Jews doubles between 1922 and 1931 and triples between 1931 and 1947.
Figure 5.6 Population of Palestine, 1800-1947
The Sykes-Picot agreement, the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate in Palestine were a continuation of the history of Britain’s involvement in the Middle East. Some of the key events are listed below. Naval control of the Mediterranean and of the Suez Canal route to Asia and the presence of oil in the Middle East are all in play.
1713 Britain gains control of Gibraltar
1800 Britain takes possession of Malta which becomes the home
of the British Mediterranean Fleet.
1854 France and Egypt & Sudan set up Suez Canal Company
1869 Suez Canal opened
1875 Britain buys Egypt & Sudan’s shares
1877-1960- British administration of Cyprus. Military bases
continue.
1882-1956 Egypt becomes a British protectorate and then
continues to be a base for British forces.
1908 Britain discovers oil in Iran[7]
1920-1948 British Mandate of Palestine
1948 founding of Israel
1956 Britain uses Cyprus as a base in a war, in collusion with
France and Israel, against Nasser’s seizure of the Suez
Canal.
In 1949 Israel had declared that Jerusalem was its capital but this had never been recognised by the international community in view of the UN plan to give the city special status. In December 2017 Donald Trump announced that the US would recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and that the US would move its embassy there from Tel Aviv. The Palestinian response was protests and rocket attacks; and in return shelling from Israeli tanks. Protests also took place at the US embassy in Jordan. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Russia criticised Trump’s decision.
The move had been an election promise to his evangelical and Zionist supporters and the move was celebrated at a Hanukkah party at the White House. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) - established in 1906 – applauded the Trump move. Its Survey of American Jewish Opinion in the summer of 2017 found 16% wanting an immediate move of the US embassy to Jerusalem; 36% wanted a move at a later date in conjunction with progress at peace talks; and 44% wanting no move.[8]
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation recognized East Jerusalem as the occupied capital of a Palestinian state. Egypt tabled a motion at the UN Security Council regretting the US decision. This was supported by permanent members UK, France, Russia and China and the ten non-permanent members - but was vetoed by the USA.[9] The UN general assembly called on the USA to rescind its decision to move its embassy, the vote being 126 against 9 (US, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo) with 35 countries abstaining (Canada, Australia and others). The US threatened there would be UN funding cuts and also consequences for countries who voted in favour.[10]
[1] Spencer, Richard, and Anshel Pfeffer. “Trump’s Jerusalem declaration angers US allies.” The Times, December 7, 2017: 36-7.
Philp, Catherine. “New chapter in centuries of religious unrest.” The Times, December 7, 2017: 36.
Spencer, Richard, and Anshel Pfeffer. “Palestinians rage against US shift on Jerusalem.” The Times, December 8, 2017: 34.
Spencer, Richard and Anshel Pfiffer. “Muslim world erupts in riots over Jerusalem row.” The Times, December 9, 2017: 46.
Deng, Boer. “Zionists and evangelists praise White House.” The Times, December 9, 2017: 46.
[1] UN News Centre. “Middle East: Security Council fails to adopt resolution on Jerusalem.” UN News Centre. December 18, 2017. Accessed: December 18, 2017.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58307#.WjpNu99l-Uk.
[1] Blakely, Rhys. “United Nations votes against US recognition of Jerusalem.” The Times, December 22, 2017: 40.
Iran … Britain and Russia 1907-1979
[Iran] faced major challenges to its sovereignty, predominantly from the Russian and British empires. Foreign advisers became powerbrokers in the court and military. They eventually partitioned Qajar Iran in the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention, carving out Russian and British influence zones and a neutral zone.[20][21][22]
….. Qajar Iran's territorial integrity was further weakened during the Persian campaign of World War I and the invasion by the Ottoman Empire. Four years after the 1921 Persian coup d'état, Reza Shah took power in 1925 and formed the Imperial State of Persia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qajar_Iran
It was formed in 1925 and lasted until 1979, when the Pahlavis were overthrown as a result of the Islamic Revolution, which abolished Iran's continuous monarchy and established the present-day Islamic Republic of Iran. The Pahlavi dynasty was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, a former brigadier-general of the Persian Cossack Brigade. His reign lasted until 1941, when he was forced to abdicate by the Allies of World War II following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. He was succeeded by his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was the last Shah of Iran.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pahlavi_Iran
Land and history …
“100 years”? … when did it all begin? …
More than 100 years ago … Uganda, Galveston and other possible lands
Ze’ev Jabotinsky, 1923
Alfred Wiener, 1927
“It’s their land, after all” 1928? 1968? (a personal note)
Third Reich to Cyprus to Palestine, 1945 to 1948
UNRWA … Gaza: from tented camps to tented camps; 1948, 2023
… “100 years”? … 1948? … when did it all begin? …
The West Bank representative referred to 100 years of struggle. The Israeli representative scoffed, replying that Israel had only been in existence since 1948 …
More than 100 years ago … Uganda, Galveston and other possible territories
Theodr Herzl “met with Joseph Chamberlain, the British colonial secretary and others high ranking officials who agreed in principle to Jewish settlement in East Africa.” 1903.
Jewish Virtual Library: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-uganda-proposal-1903
Ze’ev Jabotinsky, 1923
Professor Nigel Biggar, Regius professor emeritus of moral theology at Oxford University:
“Far from disposing them to peace a century of head-banging has driven some Palestinians mad with nihilistic rage.” 31, 26
“In 1923 the radical Zionist Ze’ev Jabotinsky candidly admitted that the claims of Jews and Arabs upon Palestine were incompatible …” Biggar 31, 26.
A subsequent letter notes that Jabotinsky said:
“[Zionists] keep spoiling our own case, by talking about ‘agreement’ … that the important thing is not the iron wall, but discussions. Empty rhetoric of this kind is dangerous.”
Yisreal Medad, Shiloh, Israel,
deputy editor, English Anthology of Jabotsky’s writings in English,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3GyMEYeuKA
Jewish Virtual Library:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ze-ev-vladimir-jabotinsky?utm_content=cmp-true
Palestine Remembered:
https://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Famous-Zionist-Quotes/Story640.html
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ze%27ev_Jabotinsky
Iron Wall, 1923
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Wall_(essay)
Iron Wall, 2023
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/10/how-hamas-entered-israel/
Iron Dome, 2011-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome
Iron Dome, 2023
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20385306
… “It’s their land, after all” 1928? 1968? (a personal note)
This is a slight anecdote about me, my family and friends. We come from Dunfermline in Scotland. In 1928 my Dad and Jennie Lee were on the train going over to Edinburgh for college and university. At the same time Ali from Egypt was attending “Dunf” the training college for PE teachers. Aunt Agnes’ friend was Jean - and Jean and Ali were going out together.
In 1968 Dad had a trip to see the Aswan Dam. In Cairo he called in to see Jean and Ali - Ali by then was Nasser’s Minister for Education. The following year Jean and Ali visited Scotland and stayed with us in Edinburgh.
Ali told us this story. As Egypt’s Minister of Education he had a visit from Jennie Lee who at that time was UK’s Minister of Arts (1964-1970). The conversation turned to Israel and Palestine.
Jennie Lee was pressing the case for Israel - “It’s their land, after all”, she said.
Ali responded, “Well no, actually, it’s not their land”, citing ancient times as reported in the bible.
Jenni Lee impatiently replied “Och, how far back do you want to go?”
Third Reich to Cyprus to Palestine, 1945 to 1948
Exodus, Leon Uris, 1958
Book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(Uris_novel)
Film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(1960_film)
“Ceasefire supporters fail to understand Israel. The film exodus underlines how Jews won’t rely on others and why calls by Sadiq Khan and others are pointless…. Now jews would secure their own land and ensure their safety …” Daniel Finkelstein. Nov 1, 27
Finkelstein provides an insightful account. While sympathetic to the aspirations of the Jews, he is also alert to the opposing wishes of the Palestinians.
.(1) The role of the British Empire. In this period the British were ‘controlling’ the movement of Jews to Palestine. But at various times before and after the British Empire was supportive.
An aside. In 1956 I recall the excitement of my classmates at morning assembly asking our young PE teacher whether he was going to be called up. In reality Israel, Britain and France were at war with Egypt. At home we listened as the plug was pulled literally on the radio programme, “Any Questions”.
https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/6992
.(2) “This is Israel’s founding myth.” “The book is a romanticise tale of the of the foundation of the state of Israel, centring on the buccaneering exploits of a [fictional] Jew, Ari Ben Canaan …” “a simplistic account with the legitimate claims of the Palestinian Arabs almost entirely and wrongly ignored.”
National myths and buccaneering heroes. In a very different setting I have written about:
The national self
Self and other; opinions and reality (a couple of paragraphs).
Britannia: Three Prime Ministers and a Queen
Ireland and Britannia (links to my work do not work)
Scotland and Britannia … Independence and Referenda (links to my work do not work)
The national self … empires in Europe … the Ottoman empire
Whatever its merits in particular cases the general notionis
UNRWA … Gaza: from tented camps to tented camps; 1948, 2023
Juliet Campbell’s father worked for UNRWA when it was set up to look after the refugees displaced by the creation of Israel in 1948 … “he took me as a teenager to Gaza where I saw the misery of the tented camps …” 31, 26
[1] Keith, Alexander. The Land of Israel According to the Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. Edinburgh, William Whyte: 1843. p. 43.
Muir, Diana. “A land without a people for a people without a land.” Middle East Quarterly, 15, 2, 2008: 55-62.
[2] White, Ben. “This week a world leader much worse than Donald Trump is visiting the UK – but I don’t see any protest from MPs.” The Independent. November 2, 2017. Accessed: December 1, 2017.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/benjamin-netanyahu-uk-visit-israel-prime-minister-theresa-may-worse-donald-trump-protests-none-a8029301.html.
[3] Pfeffer, Anshel. “Hushed remembrance of Balfour deal centenary.” The Times, November 2, 2017: 31.
[4] Editorial. “Sixty-seven words. Britain’s firm commitment to a Jewish homeland … It should not be muddied by Labour’s distrust of Israel.” The Times, November 2, 2017: 31.
[5] Matter, Philip. Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. London, Macmillan: 2004.
[6] Della Pergola, Sergio. “Demography in Israel/Palestine: trends, prospects, policy implications.” IUSSP XXIV General Population Conference. 2001. Accessed: 22 January 2018.
http://archive.iussp.org/Brazil2001/s60/S64_02_dellapergola.pdf.
[7] Owen, E. Roger. “One hundred years of Middle Eastern Oil.” Middle East Brief. Brandeis University. 2008. Accessed: January 22, 2018.
https://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/meb/MEB24.pdf.
[8] Spencer, Richard, and Anshel Pfeffer. “Trump’s Jerusalem declaration angers US allies.” The Times, December 7, 2017: 36-7.
Philp, Catherine. “New chapter in centuries of religious unrest.” The Times, December 7, 2017: 36.
Spencer, Richard, and Anshel Pfeffer. “Palestinians rage against US shift on Jerusalem.” The Times, December 8, 2017: 34.
Spencer, Richard and Anshel Pfiffer. “Muslim world erupts in riots over Jerusalem row.” The Times, December 9, 2017: 46.
Deng, Boer. “Zionists and evangelists praise White House.” The Times, December 9, 2017: 46.
[9] UN News Centre. “Middle East: Security Council fails to adopt resolution on Jerusalem.” UN News Centre. December 18, 2017. Accessed: December 18, 2017.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58307#.WjpNu99l-Uk.
[10] Blakely, Rhys. “United Nations votes against US recognition of Jerusalem.” The Times, December 22, 2017: 40.