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BLOCKADE

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Chapter One

Foreign Office, November 2nd, 1917.

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

On November 2, 1917, a cold drizzly day in London, England, a front-page advertisement appeared in The Times of London. This document, which became known as the Balfour Declaration, was an appeal to the Jewish people made by the British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour and other members of His Majesty's Government. It was in the form of a letter to Lord Rothschild, the preeminent leader of the British Jewish community. This was the height of World War I. Millions of British and French soldiers had already been killed, and The Times of London was filled with casualty lists and terrible accounts of the war. The Western allies were very hard pressed and in addition anxious about their Eastern ally, the Russian Empire.

In March 1917, moderate Russian socialists led by Alexander Kerensky had overthrown the court of the Romanovs. Kerensky made a fatal error in deciding to continue prosecution of the war and refused to make any meaningful land reforms. The mammoth Russian army slowly began to fall apart, as mass desertions and mutinies took place. Then the Germans sent Vladimir Ilyich Lenin via a sealed train from Switzerland to Finland to further agitate the situation. The Germans hoped that a further insurrection would topple the moderate Russian government and force it out of the war. Above all, the Germans wanted to avoid continuing to fight a two-front war, the French and British on the western front and Russia on the eastern front.

Britain knew that Russia in the fall of 1917 was in deep trouble. The Balfour Declaration was issued for several reasons, many of them connected to the war on the eastern front. Firstly, it was felt that the Jews had a profound influence on Russian affairs. After all some 25 percent of the upper Bolshevik leadership at that time was Jewish. British theorists reasoned that the Balfour Declaration would induce Russian Jewry to help the western allied cause. Secondly, there was a strong belief by Christian fundamentalists, including David Lloyd George, that the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine would herald the second coming of Christ. Thirdly, many sympathized with the Jewish people on purely humanitarian grounds and felt that a Jewish Homeland would be a good way to solve the problems of the Jewish people. Fourthly, there was a belief by many that there really was a powerful worldwide Jewish cabal that worked behind the scenes of power pulling the strings. To them, the "Protocols of Zion" was no pipedream. If these secret Jewish conspirators could be persuaded to help the British war effort, the western allies might eventually prevail. Lastly, Chaim Weizman, the great Zionist leader, had tremendously helped the British war effort with his chemical wizardry. Weizman, a world-class chemist, had developed a process involving acetone that had a profound effect on British munitions capabilities. Perhaps the British Government felt that Weizman's efforts needed to be rewarded. Whether it was one specific reason or a combination of factors, the Balfour Declaration was issued on November 2, 1917.

General Edmund Allenby had conquered the Ottoman Empire's territories in Palestine in 1917. Following Allenby's triumphal entry into Jerusalem in December 1917, the British army soon occupied most of what is now Israel. Following the end of World War I and establishment of the League of Nations, the British Mandate was established. It should be emphasized that it never dealt with geographical borders. The Mandate was further delineated at San Remo, Italy, in April 1922. The British had laid the ground for almost a century of incessant warfare when they made two very conflicting promises. Hussein ben Ali Sharif of Mecca had been promised by T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) most of the Arab Middle East in exchange for his support. Similarly, for the many reasons previously mentioned, the Jewish people had also been promised an opportunity for a national home. The bloodshed and acrimony started by these divergent promises may never be resolved.

Following the consolidation and approval of their mandate, the British colonial authorities soon began to organize their administration. It was very British—tea parties, cigars, gin and tonics, and all the trappings of an English colonial administration. The British in Palestine upheld the class stratified society that they brought from England and other colonial administrations. In his book, One Palestine Complete, historian Tom Segev described men and women sipping lemonade on terraces. The men wore pith helmets and the women shaded themselves from the sun with parasols. The upper classes of the administration went to lectures, concerts, and dances. Segev noted that the British viewed Palestine more as an emotion than a reality.

In standing by the Zionist movement at that moment in time, the British administration felt that it was gaining the support of an important and influential ally—the Jewish People. In the first decade following the Balfour Declaration, the British Colonial Administration helped the Jews settle Palestine. The Yishuv, as it was called, soon amounted to a quasi-state. For the first decade after World War I, mass immigration of Jews was allowed and Jews were permitted to purchase land from the indigenous Arab population. The Jewish immigrants built many collective settlements and established industries and banks. The Palestine Post, the precursor to the English language Jerusalem Post, was first published in Jerusalem on December 1, 1932. The entire infrastructure for the state that was to eventually come was established in the British Mandate period.

Arab residents saw the developments in the postwar years differently. They felt that there were only two possible outcomes, either the Arabs would defeat the Zionists or the Zionists would defeat the Arabs. Britain was perpetually caught in the middle of this dilemma.

Most in the British administration identified with the Arabs, but a few were sympathetic to the Jews. One British officer is quoted by Segev as saying, "Arabs, Jews, and Christians in Syria and in Palestine they are all alike, a beastly people." There was clearly a huge disconnect between the British and their subjects. It should be borne in mind that there was a much larger percentage of Christian than Moslem Arabs residing in what was then Palestine.

Mark Twain had described Palestine in 1867 "as a desolate country whose soil is rich enough but mainly given over to weeds." He concluded that it was "a silent mournful expanse—a veritable desolation." That description changed as the Jews in Palestine began to build a future country, while the Arabs and their internecine fighting and squabbling did not react to the Jewish progress. Soon, mainly due to Jewish hard work and dedicated pioneers, the country was electrified, aquifers were built, and marshes were drained. The malaria that had plagued the early settlers was soon gone.

Even at the beginning of the British Mandate in 1917 about half the population of Jerusalem was already Jewish and had been since the middle of the nineteenth century. The Jerusalem of the early British Mandate was not the city of biblical legend. It was not the Jerusalem of Gold as sung by Naomi Shemer. Cholera and other diseases abounded. It was corrupt, backward, and filthy. For the Ottoman Empire that had ruled Jerusalem until 1917, it was not a jewel in their imperial crown. Most Jewish residents of Jerusalem prior to the British Mandate lived on donations from Jewish communities in Europe and North America.

Huge battles ensued between the British and the Jews about the use of Hebrew language. Theodore Herzl had originally wanted German to be the official language of the new Jewish state. Others had proscribed either Yiddish or English. Luckily for the Jewish people in Palestine, Hebrew prevailed. Asher Ginsberg, known as Ahad Ham, became the main supporter of Hebrew as the language of a future state. The resurrection of biblical Hebrew as a modern language became a key factor in the establishment of a new state. After the establishment of the Jewish state, the Hebrew language enabled immigrants from over a hundred different countries to integrate themselves into their new home.

Until the so-called Nebi Musa riots of 1920 there had been little overt violence between Arabs and Jews in Palestine. Jewish authorities had warned the British administration that there would be major disturbances. As usual, the British authorities under reacted. Ronald Storrs, the chief British official, should have learned a lesson from the Ottoman Turks, who had heavily guarded the annual procession. The rioting that followed the procession resulted in five Jews and for Arabs being killed. Compared to the Hebron riots of 1929 and the great Arab revolt of 1936-1938, the casualties were small, but they were an ominous portent.

Following the violence of Nebi Musa, sporadic disturbances continued in British Mandate Palestine. It was clear that the continuing Jewish immigration was an anathema to the Arab population of Palestine. Not only did more than 100,000 Jews immigrate to Palestine during the 1920s, but the Jewish immigrants also positioned themselves above most of the Arab residents in Palestinian society. They took the better jobs; they purchased large pieces of land and generally superseded the Arabs in whatever positions they had in society. Natural jealously ensued, exacerbating Arab fears and paranoia about the Jews.

The Jewish labour association called Histadrut began to run Union affairs, discriminating against Arab workers. The Jews practised socialism, a foreign concept to the Arabs. In addition, many devout Moslems were scandalized by the scanty dress of Jewish women. The Jews drank wine, another taboo to the Moslem faith. At least both sides agreed on the prohibition of pork. The culture clash was deeply felt by both parties. In addition, the Jews looked down on the Arabs, demeaning them and relegating them to inferior positions. The acrimony revolved around Jews taking over and casting the Arabs to the bottom of society. Above all, the paranoia focused on religious affairs. Any interaction between Jews and Arabs that touched religious artefacts and sites was ultimately bound to result in a conflagration.

On September 23, 1928, a dispute arose between the Moslem religious court (the Mahkameh) and the Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall (Wailing Wall). It was Kol Nidre, the eve of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. A Mihitza (screen) had been set up at the wall to divide male and female Jewish worshipers—a common Jewish practise among Orthodox and some Conservative Jews. The screen, as described by British authorities, was an ordinary household item, the kind one would use to divide a bedroom. It was collapsible, a few wooden frames covered with cloth. This simple screen was to become the focal point for bloody rioting that ultimately claimed hundreds of lives.

In a typical Jewish manner, the Moslem authorities learned of the screen because of an argument between the Sephardic and Ashkenazim religious sextons (beadles or Shamuses). The Moslem religious trust, the Waqf, demanded that the screen be taken down. The Western Wall adjoins the Al-Aqska Mosque, perhaps the third most important Moslem religious site in the world next to Mecca and Medina. The Ashkenazic beadle (sexton) Noah Glasstien asked that the screen be allowed to remain until after the Yom Kippur prayers would be complete. The British authorities sensed that there would be trouble.

The Arabs predicted that this temporary screen would gradually evolve into a permanent structure. They saw this as an infringement of their religious rights and a desecration of their holy sites. Ultimately, British soldiers dragged one of the Hassidic worshipers out through the Dung gate and flung him and his screen into the nearby Kidron Valley.

The Jews had worshipped at the Western Wall since medieval times. In particular during the Ottoman Empire, Jewish worship was well tolerated. Sometimes the proverbial greasing of the palm had eased Jewish worshippers' access. Jews had been blowing the Shofar (the ram's horn) and utilizing a Torah ark, as well as using benches for many years. It was also noted that the screens had been utilized many times before. Nevertheless, this singular event involving a simple household screen set off an unstoppable chain reaction of bloody events. The many deaths that ensued have to be viewed in the larger context of the Arab fears of Jewish economic domination and interference with the Moslem religion.

In the early morning of Friday, August 23, 1929, many thousands of Arab villagers began to gather and make their way to Jerusalem. Although they were armed only with knives, sticks, and iron bars, they were going to worship at the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, signifies the Arab holy places above and adjacent to the Western or Wailing Wall. British authorities questioned the Arabs about their weapons. The reply was that the Arab villagers were concerned about Jewish attacks and provocations. After one of the Arab preachers made a fiery speech calling on the Islamic faithful to kill the Jews until their last drop of blood was spilt, the die was cast. The worshippers became an angry mob. Violence soon spread through all of Jerusalem. The Palestinian police, consisting mostly of Arabs intermixed with a few Jews and led by 175 British officers, were completely ineffectual. Soon the rioting spread to Hebron, and the bloody massacre that followed became emblazoned on Palestinian history. The preceding violence in Jerusalem had taken the lives of eight Jews and five Arabs. Unfortunately the murders in Hebron took a far larger toll. In all, sixty-seven Jews had been murdered; many of them were mutilated.

While the attack on Jews in Hebron was motivated by both fear and hatred, there were many other reasons, some of it simple looting, some for fear of economic competition, others for the cultural clashes mentioned and still others for wanton murder. It could be argued that this was not a "classic" Eastern European pogrom. The British Mandate police did try and intervene and save Jewish people. Many Arabs in the community saved Hebron's Jews wherever possible. In fact, it is remarkable that perhaps two thirds of Hebron's Jews were saved by their Arab neighbours. Nevertheless the Hebron Massacre remains until this very day a terrible blot on the record of Arab-Jewish relations in Palestine.

In the wake of the Hebron murders the future Nobel Laureate S. Y. Agnon wandered Jerusalem trying to save his many manuscripts. It was then that Agnon decided that his attitude towards the Arabs had changed. He felt the Jews must insulate themselves from the Arabs or else they would all be lost.

In 1928, an upstart and fiery demagogic German politician began to gather together his party, the Natural Socialist Democratic Workers Party (the Nazi Party) for elections in Germany. That year, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party gained only 2.8 percent of the popular vote. In 1930, that percentage rose to some 18 percent of the vote. By 1931 and 1932, Hitler's Nazi party was achieving close to one third of the popular vote. In December 1932, Albert Einstein left Germany never to return. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany. The Jewish people's worst fears were now realized.

A major event reported on the front page of the January 31, 1933, edition of the Palestine Post was the appointment of Herr Hitler as the new German Chancellor. At this point there was no mention of Hitler's anti-Jewish policies. Only a few months later on, April 10, 1933, the Palestine Post reported that Jews were barred from German medical schools. This same edition reported that Dr. Chaim Weizman held numerous meetings with Arab leaders from Trans Jordan. The sheikhs expressed the strong view that they would be able to cooperate with the Jews in Palestine. Unfortunately their wishes never came true.

The Palestine Post reported in its editions for October 29 and 30, 1933, serious Arab violence and strikes. Many lives were reported lost in Jaffa, Haifa, and Nablus. The following day, the paper reported that the violence shifted to the holy city of Jerusalem, where several people were killed and seventeen injured. At the same time only eight months after Adolf Hitler took power a conference was convened in London for the relief of German-Jewish refugees. Hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling were collected by forty-five different organizations to help the refugees. This shows clearly how early in Hitler's regime the German Jews were threatened.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from BLOCKADE by Gerald Ziedenberg Copyright © 2011 by Gerald Ziedenberg. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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