Zach Bornheimer's History Portfolio

The British betrayed the trust of the Arabs and, consequently, were put into a difficult position when the Arabs started fighting back.  Before getting into the results, the preceding events will be analyzed.  The McMahon-Hussein correspondence of 1915-6 was the first confirmed support for the Arabs. Sherif Hussein of Mecca believed that he had the support of the British because of the words exchanged.  At the same time, Sir Mark Sykes, a member of the British Parliament, was having secret discussions with the French (more specifically, Charles François George-Picot) about the way the French and British would divide the land.  The Arabs did not want the French in that land, as stated in the McMahon-Hussein correspondence, and the Sykes-Picot Agreement would divide the land with the French; either the French or the Arabs would be let down.  The British would betray either the French or the Arabs.  The French are allies of the British and the land the Arabs had was necessary for the control of India.  We would not know who the British would betray until the Balfour Declaration was written in 1917.  This document stated that the British would back the Jews and support a Jewish state as long as it did not “prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in other countries.”  The Balfour Declaration was the first official document written on behalf of the government.  By the time the Arabs understood that the British had betrayed them, they started attacking anyone and everyone.  In 1920, The British allowed the Zionist Organization, the Jewish National Fund, to purchase land in the region of Palestine.  In 1920 and 1921, Arab attacks became increasingly apparent.  In 1936, Arab Rebellions started to break out.  For the years 1936-1939, the Arab Rebellions targeted British forces and occasionally Jews.  The Arabs used violence and non-violent rebellious techniques.  At one point, the British had to bring in 20,000 troops to quell the Arabs, some of who were forced into the violence.

During the inter-war period, the Arabs, were not able to unify to get their point across because of inexperience in European Politics and internal (within the area) struggles.  Because the Zionists were more adept at European Politics, they were able to make cases against the Arabs and the Arabs, because of their inexperience, were unable to articulate responses or even retaliatory remarks.  During the inter-war period, the Arabs were struggling and fighting against the British (mostly) and the Zionists (more rare).  This internal struggle made it difficult for the Arabs to concentrate on articulating and realizing their interests.

بالعربية:

اسمي Zachary bornheimer. أنا بصدد الكشف عن لكم شيئا سيتغير في ديناميات منكم حول النموذج البريطاني العربي العلاقة بين البلدين. اكتشفت وهي وثيقة ولم تكن قط يفترض أن يتم اكتشافها. أما الكتابة في مدينة عربية الصحافي في دمشق عام 1917 أن من واجبي إفساح المجال أمام تعرفون هذه الوثائق. وتبين لي رسائل من السير هنري ماكماهون, شريف مكة الحسين; ماكماهون-حسين المراسلة. وهذه الوثيقة مهم جدا بالنسبة لنا.

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English:
My name is Zachary Bornheimer.  I am about to reveal to you something that will change your paradigm about the dynamics of the British-Arab relationship.  I have discovered a document that was never supposed to be discovered.  As an Arab Journalist writing in the city of Damascus in 1917, it is my duty to let you know of this documents.  I found letters from Sir Henry McMahon and Sherif Hussein of Mecca; the McMahon-Hussein correspondence.  This document is very important to us.  Sir Henry McMahon says, “Great Britain is prepared to recognize and support the independence of the Arabs in all the regions within the limits demanded by the Sherif of Mecca.”  He also says, “Great Britain will give to the Arabs her advice and will assist them to establish what may appear to be the most suitable forms of government in those various territories.” Great Britain is going to help reestablish the Arab caliphate!  Having Great Britain’s assistance and support will help us achieve our goals and help us restore the caliphate.  Other documents may surface later, but I doubt they will be as important as this one is to us.  Praised be Allah.

Translation done automatically by: http://translation.babylon.com/English/to-Arabic#

Theodor Herzl references, in an excerpt of Der Judenstaat, the ‘Jewish Question.‘   He does not reference it just once or twice, but rather it is a key component in Der Judenstaat.  The ‘Jewish Question,’ according to Herzl, “is no more a social than religious [question]” and he also says that the Jewish Question will not be answered until it is answered on a political basis.  When Herzl refers to the Jewish Question, I believe he is referring to a question posed in Genesis 3:13 “The Lord G-d called out to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”  If G-d knows all, why would he be asking Adam (the man) where he is.  This poses a moral question similar to: where are you morally, spiritually, and physically.  I believe Herzl is referencing this verse and is interpreting it to mean ‘where are we’ and ‘where should we be.’  The ‘Jewish Question’ revolves around the idea of “where are you” and that could be interpreted to mean on a mental, spiritual, ethical, moral, and/or physical level.  If the ‘Jewish Question’  is “where are you,” then in modern times, it must have some meaning.  By my interpretation of the ‘Jewish Question,’ the idea of ‘where are you’ is still an important one in today’s society and through out all time.

• Who: Negib Azoury
• Where: Paris
• When: 1905
• What: An opinion about the Program of the League of the Arab Fatherland
• Purpose: A document in which Negib Azoury articulates his opinion about the league and attempts to refute the league’s plan and dismantle its platform (e.g. by stating that Egypt cannot be united with the Arab Empire).
• Value: Can give us an inside look at an Arab’s point of view of the league and the a primordial form of Arab Nationalism (Azoury wants a central empire controlled by a devoted sherif rather than more countries that could not be controlled well and would be introducing “the germs of discord and destruction”).
• Limitations: The actual platform of the league is not present, so Azoury might be leaving key facts out of his statement and this limits the ability to analyze this document completely.  This statement was translated from its original language to English making its original diction unrecoverable, so we cannot view what Azoury wrote, but rather what the translator translated with an accuracy of which we do not know.

Nationalism played a major role in 19th century Palestine.  An Arab nationalist program developed in response to persecution by the Ottomans and the influx of Zionists.  Zionists came into the area known as Palestine for land, but they decided a place was needed for Jews due to rampant anti-semitism and by the encouragement of Europeans.

Sources: Our Class Discussion, A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Imperial powers have a responsibility to minority groups under suzerainty that is no different when compared to majorities.  Imperial powers have no responsibilities to the people under suzerainty.  The imperial powers can allow the people to have liberties from freedom from interference in their countries affairs, to allowing them to vote in elections.  They could also take away freedoms spanning from taking away their freedom, to forcing them to vacate, to killing them.  Imperial powers have no responsibilities to autonomous territories and therefore have no responsibilities to minority groups under suzerainty.

The major part of the Arab-Israeli conflict stems from the Israelis wanting to live in the area known as Palestine/Israel and the Arabs not wanting them to live in that area.  To define the Arab-Israeli conflict, a clear definition of Arabs and Israelis needs to be defined.  I am marking the Arabs as anyone in the Middle-Eastern area who follow the Islamic religion and/or people who are of Arabic decent.  Jews will be marked as people who are from Israel and/or are Jewish.  The dynamics of the conflict stem from the belief, according to the Jews, articulating “a land without people for a people without land” and, according to the Arabs, an invading people.  A main dynamic of the conflict revolves around the religious significance of the area and the resources in the area.  By the end of October, I will know more about the dynamics of the Arab-Israeli conflict.