1917 – 1948 British Mandate

1917	The British Army takes Jerusalem and southern Israel from the Turks at the Battle of Beersheva. The Turks hand over the keys of Jerusalem and General Allenby enters on foot (contrast Kaiser Wilhelm’s arrogant entry in 1898). The Balfour Declaration (subscribed to by all the Allies and accepted as British Government policy) agrees to establish “in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people”, while not prejudicing the “rights of existing non- Jewish communities ”.  Jews send a Commission to Palestine to bring food and medical supplies and to lay the foundation of their homeland; everyone is expected to benefit from the improved irrigation, medicine and sanitation. The editor of Egypt’s “Al-Ahram” writes “The Zionists are necessary for this region. The money they bring in, their intelligence and the diligence which is one of their characteristics will, without doubt, bring new life to the country”.
1918	The remainder of the Ottoman Army is defeated in a decisive battle at Megiddo, freeing Samaria, Transjordan, Galilee, Damascus and Syria. 17,000 British and Anzac soldiers have given their lives to end four centuries of Ottoman rule. A British report says that the Muslim population of Judea takes little or no interest in the Arab nationalist movement and are even somewhat hostile to it.
1919	Paris Peace Conference. Chaim Weizmann and Emir Faisal (son of Sherif Husein, the acknowledged leader of the Arabs) sign an agreement calling for “all necessary measures to encourage and stimulate immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale”.  Faisal says that, “mindful of the racial kinship and racial bonds existing between us, the surest means of working out the consummation of Jewish national aspiration is through the closest possible collaboration of the development of the Arab state and Palestine [i.e. Israel]”.  His acceptance, though, is conditional on the fulfilment of British wartime promises of Arab independence in parts of the Ottoman Empire.  The Arabs claim Britain has promised them Palestine, but Britain denies it. (In a letter to the Times in 1937, Sir Henry McMahon wrote: “I feel it my duty to state…that it was not intended by me in giving this pledge to King Husein [in 1916] to include Palestine in the area in which Arab independence was promised.  I also had every reason to believe at the time that the fact that Palestine was not included…was well understood by King Husein.) Palestine is now in the hands of British administrators who have no real interest in it.  Some who are pro-Arab become openly anti-Semitic when they find that the Jews refuse to behave like the backward colonials they are used to and expect to be treated as equals!  Upper-class Arabs are encouraged to think that, if they make enough fuss, the idea of a Jewish homeland will be dropped.  They therefore send delegations to Parliament and to the League of Nations and, when that doesn’t work, they incite the peasants to violence by saying that the Jews will destroy their holy places.  (Palestine at this time is dominated by a small number of rich landowners, while the majority peasants are poor, landless and ignorant).  An Arab terrorist group known as the Black Hand is formed (later changed to Self-Sacrificers).
1920	The first British High Commissioner for Palestine, Sir Herbert Samuel (who is Jewish), arrives to great rejoicing.  When he stands up in the synagogue and reads Isaiah 40:1, “the Jews feel that the hour of redemption has come”. Emir Faisal is crowned King of Syria (including Palestine); riots follow as rumours spread of Palestine’s annexation by Syria. Faisal changes the dispute between Palestinian Arabs and Jews into a Pan-Arab/Jewish conflict. The San Remo Conference ratifies the Balfour Declaration, raising it to the status of an international treaty, and Britain is given the Mandate for (i.e. is trustee of) Palestine for the future Jewish nation.
1920 –1921	Third Aliyah following renewed anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe.  Roads and railways are built, and more land reclaimed.  The Kibbutz becomes a way of life for many young people who have to learn for the first time not only how to farm but also how to fight. Arab revolts in Jerusalem and Jaffa – the Jews refuse any longer to be victims and fight back.  The British High Commissioner, in an about-face, pacifies the rebels by (a) limiting Jewish immigration; (b) distributing among the Arabs government land that everyone thought would go to the Jews; and (c) granting an amnesty to Arab prisoners, one of whom, Amin-el-Husseini, they make Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.  The Arabs believe their protests are proving successful and continue to press the British Government to abandon the idea of a Jewish homeland.  The Mufti directs terrorist activities and assassinates any Arabs who oppose him. Winston Churchill is appointed Colonial Secretary, with special responsibility for working out the rules of the Mandate. He visits Palestine and states: “I defy anybody to say that [the Jews] should be at the mercy or Arab attacks.” He is impressed by the positive attitude of the Jews and hates the negativism of the Arabs. He tells them: “In as much as they’ll succeed, you’ll succeed; without them, you won’t”.
1920’s	The Arabs realise that every violent opposition of theirs results in a reduction of Jewish rights because of the British Government’s eagerness to win them over.  Their propaganda amongst the peasants, therefore, grows even more aggressive.  Haganah, the Jewish underground militia (later the IDF), is formed.
1922	White Paper asserts that the terms of the Balfour Declaration didn’t promise the Jews the whole of Palestine but only a home within Palestine, i.e. a community, not a nation. It confirms, however, that they are there “of right and not on sufferance”. Palestine is partitioned and 75% of the promised Jewish homeland is given to the Arabs, creating the Palestinian state of Transjordan.  Faisal’s brother, Abdullah, is made Emir, while Faisal himself (ejected from Syria when the French took over the Mandate there) is given the newly-created country of Iraq (cobbled together by the British out of the Ottoman provinces of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, and ignoring tribal differences).  Article 6 of the League of Nations Mandate authorises and encourages Jews to settle in the West Bank.  This has never been legally repealed.
1924-1932	Fourth Aliyah – Britian encourages the immigration of professionals and tradesmen.
1925	Sir H Samuel says in his “Report on the Administration of Palestine”: “When I first saw it in 1920 it was a desolation.  Four or five small and squalid Arab villages, long distances apart from one another, could be seen on the summits of low hills here and there.  For the rest, the country was uninhabited.  There was not a house, not a tree…  About fifty-one square miles of the valley have now been purchased by the Jewish National Fund…  Twenty schools have been opened.  There is an Agricultural Training College for Women in one village and a hospital in another.  All the swamps and marshes within the area that has been colonised have been drained…  The whole aspect of the valley has been changed…  In the spring the fields of vegetables or of cereals cover many miles of the land, and what five years ago was little better than a wilderness is being transformed before our eyes into smiling countryside.” Chaim Weitzmann warns: “Palestine is not Rhodesia and six-hundred thousand Arabs live there who have exactly the same rights to their homes as we have to our National Home.”
1929	The Grand Mufti engineers violent pogroms across the country.  The age-old Jewish community in Hebron is wiped out, and Jews praying at the Wailing Wall are attacked.  The British Government guarantees them freedom of worship there, while confirming Arab ownership of Temple Mount (Jews had prayed there for centuries without problems). British police are undermanned and Arabs object to Jews being recruited. For the first time, British Jews are distinguished from British non-Jews. The British use the riots as an excuse to review the whole question of a Jewish homeland. An Investigating Commission is sent to Palestine.  They decide the Jews are to blame because their growing numbers have increased Arab fears and left some poor Arabs landless (though British officials had prevented the Jews reaching an understanding with them).  The Commission recommend that Jewish immigration be curtailed and the purchase of land halted until the Arabs are taken care of.
1930	A tourist guide published by the Supreme Muslim Council states that the sanctity of Temple Mount “dates from the earliest times.  Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute.  This is the spot on which David ‘built there an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings’ (II Sam 24:25).”
1931	A terrorist group is formed by al-Qassan, inspired by the duty of jihad – they attack Jewish settlements.
1932	Iraq becomes an independent nation.
1933	Youth Aliyah rescues 5000 Jewish teenagers from Nazi Germany.
1936-1939	Arab revolts inspired by the Mufti, and aided by Arabs from Iraq, Jordan and Syria, result in 10,000 deaths; the Arabs also destroy thousands of fruit trees, crops, grapevines and cattle. Britain further limits Jewish immigration. Neville Chamberlain, fearful of the Muslims, says: “If me must offend one side, then lets offend the Jews rather than the Arabs.” However Arab attacks on the British are met with brutality, including collective reprisals and using Arabs as human shields.
1937	Peel Commission advocates partition of Palestine into Jewish, Arab and British districts, with the Arabs getting the greater share.  It is rejected by all sides. Followers of al-Qassan spearhead an Arab rebellion.  The report states: “It is true of course that in times of disturbance the Jews, as compared with the Arabs, are the law-abiding section of the population, and indeed, throughout the whole series of outbreaks, and under very great provocation, they have shown a notable capacity for discipline and self-restraint.” The Jewish terrorist group Irgun is formed by dissident Haganah officers who no longer wish to abide by the policy of restraint  (they have seen how violence by the Arabs has won them concessions). Haganah is mostly made up of Ashkenazi (European middle class) Jews, whereas Irgun consists of poor Sephardis (Yemenis etc.).
1939	White Paper promises the Arabs an independent state within 10 years and declares that no Jews will be admitted to Palestine after 5 years without Arab consent.  All mention of a Jewish homeland is dropped. Churchill angrily responds: “We are grovelling to these people because they are threatening us, but we have given our pledge to the Jews.” Irgun kills 38 Arabs in a series of bomb explosions.
1939-1945	World War II. Despite the White Paper’s betrayal of the Jews and appeasement of the Arabs, nearly 3 times more Palestinian Jews than Arabs fight in the British Army. Ben Gurion tells the Jews: “We must assist Britain in the War as though there were no White Paper and we must resist the White Paper as if there was no War”. Most upper-class Arabs join the Grand Mufti in collaborating with Hitler. An exception is Emir Abdullah of Transjordan who puts his forces at Britain’s disposal. During the War, oil becomes a serious concern for the British and, in order to protect their interests in the Middle East, they continually appease the Arabs.  Their promise to limit Jewish immigration leads to harrowing scenes as refugees from Nazism are sent back to Europe.
1940	The Stern Gang is formed, breaking from Irgun which it accuses of observing a truce with Britain on the outbreak of War.
1941	Palmach is established as the elite force of Haganah. Ben Gurion tells friends that, after the Nazis are defeated, Britain can’t be counted on to support Zionism, therefore, the Jews will have to break their link with Britain.
1942	Menachem Begin becomes the leader of Irgun and blames the British for not saving the Jews of central Europe.
1944	Irgun for now stops attacking Arabs and concentrates on the British – it bombs immigration offices, police stations and government buildings, while the Stern Gang kills seven British policemen in Tel Aviv.  The Jewish Agency and Haganah denounce them to the British.
1945	A joint American/British committee recommends that 100,000 Jews be admitted to Palestine immediately.  The newly-formed Arab League denounces the plan, and England refuses to implement it unless America shares the cost.  There are more distressing scenes as concentration camp survivors are turned away.  The British administrators seem to care nothing for the welfare of the people of Palestine, their main concern being to keep the upper-class Arabs happy and prevent Jews competing with British industry. Haganah joins forces again with Irgun and the Stern Gang – they blow up bridges and railways and kill British troops. The Jewish Agency, forerunner of the Jewish Parliament, condemns these attacks.
1945-1948	Internment Camps are set up in Cyprus for Jews immigrating to Palestine “illegally”. The new Labour government breaks its promise made during the election to support Zionism. Following the Holocaust, the nature of Zionism changes – no longer able to trust Britain to administer their “homeland”, the Jews decide to get rid of the British and set up their own state.
1946	Irgun bomb the King David Hotel that houses the British Government Administration Offices and is used by British Officers.  A hundred people are killed (despite a telephone warning having been given), and the British respond harshly.  They send the leaders to a concentration camp (compounding the insult by transporting them on a Sabbath), and they allow the Grand Mufti and other terrorist leaders to return to Palestine. Following further Jewish terrorist activities, British morale is low. Transjordan becomes an independent state.
1947	The Stern Gang and Irgun set up terrorist cells in London to mount a bombing campaign to drive Britain out of Palestine (inspired by the IRA), and to assassinate Ernest Bevin, the Foreign Secretary, who is against the creation of a Zionist state.  The plot is foiled by MI5. Jewish terrorists continue to attack British targets in Palestine, including a massive car bomb in Jerusalem.  British women and children are evacuated and some terrorists are executed.  Irgun retaliates by hanging 2 British sergeants.  Anger and anti-Semitism grow in Britain, leading to Jewish immigrants on the Exodus being returned to Germany. Witnessing the transports, UNSCOP (who are in Palestine in a fact-finding mission) are moved to recommend an end to the Mandate and the creation of a Jewish state. The British devise a new plan to divide Palestine – the major portion of arable land to go to the Arabs, the Negev to England and only 1,500 sq. miles to the Jews.  Two conferences to discuss the plan fail.  The British wash their hands of the problem and ask the UN to take over. On Nov 29th, the UN vote to partition Palestine, with West Bank and Gaza being given to the Arabs, and Jerusalem being administered by the UN.  This will leave the Jews with just 17.5% of the land originally promised them in the Balfour Declaration but, desperate for a homeland, they accept the decision and make plans for the inauguration of a new State of Israel. On Dec 2nd the Arabs declare War, saying: “The partition line proposed shall be nothing but a line of fire and blood.” A British official observes, “it does not appear that Arab Palestine will be an entity, but rather that the Arab countries will each claim a portion in return for their assistance, unless King Abdullah takes rapid and firm action as soon as the British withdrawal is completed”.
1947 – 1948	Arabs from other states join the Palestinian Arabs in attacking the Jews.  77 Jewish doctors and nurses are ambushed and burned to death in retaliation for Irgun’s massacre of the Deir-Yassin villagers. The British, far from stopping the fighting, get the UN to place an embargo on the sale of arms to Jews, while continuing themselves to sell arms to Arabs. Robert Kennedy (brother of J.F.K), reporting for the Boston Post, writes that the Arab responsible for blowing up the Jewish Agency was questioned by British officers and, on admitting what he had done, was released with the remark, “Nice going”. Count Bernadotte, the UN mediator, is assassinated by Jewish extremists.  The USA, fearing for its oil supplies, withdraws its support of the Jews.  Unarmed and alone, the Jews fight for their survival. The British  tell the UN that they are not “prepared to undertake the task of imposing [partition] by force of arms” and announce their decision to relinquish their mandate at midnight on May 14th 1948.  In the weeks leading up to their departure, five Arab nations amass their armies on Palestine’s borders, ready to attack the new State of Israel directly the Mandate expires.