Britain's promise to the Arabs

On the 21st October 1914, with the war under way and six days before Britain declared war on Turkey, Hussein, leader of the Hashemites, received a message from Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War. The essence of his message to Hussein was a pledge of British support for Arab independence if the Arabs revolted against the Turks and entered into the war on the side of Britain and her allies.

Hussein wanted a specific commitment of outright independence for the Arabs. To strengthen his hand he went through the motions of joining the Jihad that the Turks had proclaimed against Britain and her allies.

On the 23th May 1915, in what came to be known as the Damascus Protocol, Arab leaders stated the terms on which, under Hussein's leadership, they would revolt against their Turkish masters.

There followed a protracted correspondence between Hussein and General Sir Henry McMahon, (who, it should be noted was a freemason) Britain's High Commissioner in Egypt. Nearly a year later Hussein was satisfied that he had secured from Britain a specific and irrefutable commitment to Arab independence.

In the years to come the Zionists, supported by the British, claimed that the letters which formed the basis of Britain's commitment to Arab independence had excluded Palestine, but the eventual publication of all the documents proved that Palestine was included in the McMahon Independence promise.

The Arabs honoured their part of the bargain, Britain did not.

How significant was the Arab contribution to victory?

By throwing in their lot with the allies, the Arabs changed the balance of power in the Middle East. Arab participation in the war enabled the British to withstand the German effort to blockade the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The Arabs also drew off considerable Turkish forces.

Britain and the Zionists

Britain's Foreign Secretary at that time was Arthur James Balfour, who was purported to have anti-Jewish views and for that reason was supportive of the Zionist idea in order to prevent more Jews coming into Britain.

Britain's support for Zionism's political ambitions was made public on 2 November 1917, in the form of a short letter from the Foreign Secretary to "Baron" Lionel Rothschild. Herzl had died in 1904 and the Zionist leader was now Dr. Chaim Weizmann and it was Weizmann and his associates, not British Foreign Office officials, who had done the drafting. Balfour's main contribution was his signature. The actual text of what came to be called the Balfour Declaration read:

"Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you on behalf of His Majesty's Government the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations, which has been submitted to and approved by the Cabinet.

His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object. It being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur James Balfour."

It should be noted that the word "Arab" did not feature in this remarkable document. This omission was obviously deliberate.

The author of the Balfour Declaration, Leopold Amery, was Jewish, according to Professor Rubenstein of modern history at the University of Wales. As the assistant secretary to the British war cabinet in 1917, Amery also helped to create the Jewish Legion. The Legion became the first organized Jewish fighting force since Roman times, and the precursor to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Rubinstein's research revealed that Amery's mother was named Elisabeth Joanna Saphir, and the family lived in Pest, which later became Budapest, and the city's first Jewish quarter. He also found that her parents were both Jewish, and that Amery changed his middle name from Moritz to Maurice. This helped him disguise his identity.

At that time (1917) the Arab population of Palestine constituted 93 per cent of the population.

The truth of the matter was the British Government had absolutely no right over Palestine. The Balfour Declaration was in fact legally impotent.

Another remarkable characteristic of this "document" was the way it concealed from public view the reality of the situation in Palestine.

But the Jewish leaders were not concerned with legality or moral rights, what they wanted was a document that allowed them to assert that their claim to Palestine had been recognised by a major power.

After his declaration that Britain viewed with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, Balfour sent an alarmed Hussein a message: "His Majesty's Government confirms previous pledges respecting the independence of the Arab countries."

Why did Britain bow to the Zionists in 1917 and betray the Arabs?

In the "American Zionist": of October 1953 a former President of the Zionist organisation, Rabbi Emanuel Newman said: "Britain's need of support provided the Zionists with the bargaining power that they required."

What exactly was this support?

On the lst April 1917, when the German submarine attack was at its greatest, the British Admiralty was considering the prospect of surrender.

The allies had exhausted their means of paying for essential supplies from America and, without huge loans, Britain would not have been able to sustain the war.

Loans for which Britain is still paying to-day.