Thanks to Britain, the Zionist dream came true
There were many reasons to dump the Balfour Declaration, but we did not bow to pressures
IT STARTED with Balfour’s Declaration in 1917, but why did Britain continue its involvement in the tragic and continuing conflict between Arabs and Jews? The last thing the Government needed was to be separating war-parties in the sands of the Middle East when they had enough foreign distractions in India and Ireland. Questions were being raised in Parliament about the justification for Britain’s Mandate and voices were heard against Balfour’s Declaration. It was not as if they had not been warned. Even David Lloyd George, whose government was responsible for Balfour, said later that the Mandate was unworkable. Attitudes were turning against the idea of colonisation and the Mandate seemed just another type of colonisation.
It was little surprise that British support was wavering. With the war over, Britain no longer needed American Jewry to help bring the USA into the war and the British army was in control of Palestine. But British ambivalence was far from the only barrier faced by the Jews. They were outnumbered ten to one by the Arabs of Palestine, who were desperate to be rid of them. Riots and strikes with much turmoil and bloodshed characterised the country between the World Wars.
The question is how the Zionists’ dream of a homeland in Palestine survived during these fateful years? In San Remo in 1920, Britain pressed for the Balfour Declaration to be adopted, against French resistance. Then, once it was enshrined in international law at the League of Nations, Britain found it difficult to withdraw from its commitments. Lord Curzon, Foreign Secretary, said it was impossible without a sacrifice of consistency and self-respect, if not honour.
In other words, Britain was landed with it. Britain had long had a strategic interest in Palestine, from where it could protect the Suez Canal and the route to India. Palestine became an important staging post for air and rail across the Middle East and easy access to oil was increasingly important. Then there was a clear advantage from the immigrating Jews who were bringing European know-how to the building of a modern agricultural and industrial country, sorely neglected during centuries of Ottoman rule.
And it was the money, largely from diaspora Jews, that saw the development of the infrastructure for the future homeland and for Britain to gain these fruits at little cost to its own taxpayers.
So, despite the murmurings of discontent in the media and Parliament, there were clear advantages for Britain to remain in situ. For the Zionists the Mandate was vital. It was this that allowed them to overcome the fragility of their position.
Without the protection of the Mandatory Authority, the Jews would have had a hard time surviving not only local Arab opposition but Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, who threatened to sweep them into the sea. While there was an undercurrent of antisemitism amongst some in the Administration, it took on the responsibility for overseeing law and order and for developing infrastructure and foreign policy, leaving the Jews to get on with building the foundations of their future state. Health, education, industrial investment and development were all in the Jews’ hands and they did not hesitate to build up a clandestine defence force. By 1939, the Jewish population had risen to 400,000, from 60,000 in 1920. Now they had enough manpower to resist the threats to their existence during the next few critical years.
There were many significant figures responsible for this outcome. Weizmann had been wooing British politicians for many years and found ready listeners in Balfour, Lloyd George, Churchill and a number of Jewish peers: Lords Samuel, Melchett and Reading. The Zionists were able to gain other friends in Europe and America through the patient work of giants of Zionist history. Sokolov, Jabotinsky, Arlosoroff, Dizengoff and many others played their parts.
This stands in contrast to the Arabs who only belatedly tried to influence Western allies. The Zionists were in constant political conflict with each other but Ben Gurion managed to unite them. Pinchas Rutenberg was responsible for the electrification of Palestine and the development of industry and agriculture.
The foundation of Israel is usually attributed to both Balfour’s Declaration and the guilt felt by the world when the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed in 1945. But when the Zionists’ dream was under existential threat during the critical 1920s and 30s, the vital role played by Britain with the Zionist giants cannot be forgotten.