The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

by Jonathan Schneer

  6. possibly Herbert Samuel … This is the speculation of Sanders, High Walls, 334.

  7. the shadowy, malign … Berridge, Fitzmaurice, 233–34.

  8. “a very veiled suggestion …” Quoted in Sanders, High Walls, 325. The American professor was Horace Kallen.

  9. “What the Jews …” “Palestine,” January 27, 1916, February 28, 1916, NA, FO371/2671/138708. The Italian businessman was Edgar Suarez. 155 If Britain did not act … For the German dimension, see Friedman, Question of Palestine, 53.

  10. “I read the memorandum …” Sykes to Samuel, February 26, 1916, House of Lords Record Office, Samuel Papers, Correspondence, vol. 1, 1915–17.

  11. “You must speak Zionism …” Reinharz, Weizmann, 79–80.

  12. The French worried … The two French Jewish professors were Dr. Nahum Slousch, a Zionist, and Victor Basch, an anti-Zionist. It is a historic irony, given Germany’s later role with regard to Jews, that during World War I she could appear to them, at least on some occasions, as a savior. In the Russian and Polish territories that came under her control, Germany abolished anti-Semitic regulations, encouraged various social, cultural, and educational initiatives that would benefit Jews, favored appointing Jews to municipal councils, and appointed a Jew to head the Jewish department of her civil administration in Poland. Whatever the underlying motives, Germany announced that the Jews of Warsaw would be emancipated as soon as German soldiers had liberated the city. See Levene, War, Jews, 85.

  13. “I am not a Zionist …” “Suggestions for a Pro-Allies Propaganda among the Jews of the United States,” December 15, 1916, Yivo Institute, Wolf Papers, microfilm reel 7.

  14. “Mr. Lloyd George has …” Wolf to Lord Reading, February 24, 1916. Ibid. The French contact was Professor Basch.

  15. “In the event of Palestine …” Wolf to Cecil, March 3, 1916, NA, FO371/2817.

  16. “We should inform …” Ibid.

  17. “It has been suggested …” O’Bierne, minute, February 28, 1916, NA, FO371/2671.

  18. “To obtain Jewish …” Reading to Montagu, March 19, 1916, Lord Reading Papers, Mss. Eur. F118/95. For two blow-by-blow accounts, see Friedman, Question of Palestine, 48–64, focusing upon the Zionist perspective, and Levene, War, Jews, 77–107, focusing on Wolf’s perspective.

  19. “when in the course of time …” Crewe to Sir George Buchanan, March 11, 1916, NA, FO371/2817.

  20. “It must be admitted” … O’Bierne, minute, March 22, 1916, NA, FO371/2671.

  21. “The present time” … Cecil, minute, June 29, 1916, NA, FO371/2817.

  22. “It is evident” … O’Bierne, minute, March 15, 1916, NA, FO371/2767.

  CHAPTER 12: FORGING THE BRITISH-ZIONIST CONNECTION

  1. “might be made …” Crewe to Sir George Buchanan, March 11, 1916, NA, FO371/2817.

  2. “inestimable advantages …” Sykes, telegram, March 14, 1916, NA, FO371/2767.

  3. “I have repeatedly told Picot …” Sykes, telegram, March 16, 1916, NA, FO371/2767.

  4. “we bump into a thing …” Sykes, telegram, March 18, 1916, NA, FO800/381.

  5. “I do not think it easy …” Cecil, March 3, 1916, NA, FO371/2817.

  6. “It practically comes to …” Quoted in Stein, Balfour Declaration, 278–79, n27.

  7. “The suggestion about which …” Samuel to Gaster, April 20, 1916, CZA, A203227.

  8. “My Dear Rabbi” … Sykes to Gaster, April 28, 1916, CZA, A203227.

  9. Sykes questioned … Gaster to Sykes, November 3, 1916, Hull University, Sykes Collection, Zionism file, 4/203. He delivered at least the maps of Britain and Palestine.

  10. Picot told Sykes … Stein, Balfour Declaration, 361, n3.

  11. Aaron Aaronsohn … Historians have been aware of Aaronsohn’s role ever since the 1963 publication of Stein, Balfour Declaration.

  12. “He is one of the …” Quoted in Sanders, High Walls, 408.

  13. The NILI spy ring … Ibid., 413.

  14. So Aaronsohn went to London … All information on Aaronsohn, including diary quotations, is taken from Sanders, High Walls, 405–416; Stein, Balfour Declaration, 285–95; and www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1854.

  15. a public meeting convened … Ararat, June 1916.

  16. “His previous career …” Board of Trade official, August 1916, NA, FO668/1601.

  17. “I only once met Malcolm …” John Buchan, minute, August 14, 1916, NA, FO668/1601.

  18. “I recounted the gist …” James Malcolm, “Origins of the Balfour Declaration: Dr. Weizmann’s Contribution,” Oxford University, St. Antony’s College, Middle East Centre, J&ME, LSOC/2.

  19. “James Malcolm—the Gentile Zionist” … Unidentifiable clipping, OUNBL, Stein Papers, box 8. It may simply be based upon the Malcolm manuscript.

  20. But other accounts suggest … Stein, Balfour Declaration, 361–68; and Sanders, High Walls, 451–54.

  21. “He had met Sir Mark …” Quoted in Stein, Balfour Declaration, 367.

  22. “Can I see you anywhere …” Gaster to Sykes, January 29, 1917, Hull University, Sykes Papers, Zionism file 4/203.

  23. “I then learned that W.…” Quoted in Stein, Balfour Declaration, 367.

  CHAPTER 13: DEFINING THE BRITISH-ARAB CONNECTION

  1. “Deposition and death” … Quoted in Kayali, Arabs, 197.

  2. At the outset of the revolt … The Harb, the Ateibah, and the Juheinah most prominently, although they drew from tribes farther north and south of central Hejaz as well. Arab Bulletin, February 6, 1917, no. 41, p. 55. During the later stages of the revolt, as many as seventy thousand Arabs belonged to the Sharifian forces.

  3. “the value of the tribes …” “Military Notes,” Arab Bulletin, October 26, 1916, no. 32, p. 478.

  4. “spread in a fanlike movement …” Great Britain and the Near East, March 31, 1916.

  5. “I have drunk the cup …” “Faruki’s Report to His Excellency General Clayton, C.M.G.,” n.d., NA, FO882/4, Arab Bureau, 4.

  6. “Our small force …” Tanin, July 26, 1916, quoted in Arab Bulletin, August 30, 1916, no. 17, p. 192.

  7. “probably more through …” “Arab Revolt in the Hejaz,” Arab Bulletin, June 18, 1916, no. 5, p. 44.

  8. “At Jeddah, the Shereef’s …” Great Britain and the Near East, August 4, 1916.

  9. “The people at Mecca …” Arab Bulletin, August 30, 1916, no. 17, p. 195.

  10. Opposing them … Lawrence, Seven Pillars, 78–80; Barr, Setting the Desert, 27.

  11. “at Medina the Arab …” Arab Bulletin, August 30, 1916, no. 17, p. 195.

  12. “The situation in the Hijaz …” Storrs to Lloyd, September 5, 1916, Cambridge University, Churchill College, George Lloyd Papers, 8/6.

  13. When Feisal hurried back … Greaves, Lawrence of Arabia, 81.

  14. “did not seem in any …” Arab Bulletin, February 6, 1917, no. 41, p. 68.

  15. They divided into three … The British observer was Captain N.N.E. Bray of the 18th Bengal Lancers. Here is his description of the battle. Of the first group, who “really meant fighting,” he recorded that about twenty “advanced at a very sharp pace straight toward the Turks, who were in position about two thousand yards away. At one thousand yards they came under fire but took no notice and showed no excitement. Indeed, they appeared, but for the pace they were walking, to be out for an ordinary constitutional. When within five hundred yards, they halted a moment or two to see exactly where the fire came from and, without taking advantage of any cover or extending to any unusual extent, wandered on till they eventually halted in some dead ground within fifty yards of the Turks. Here they remained, firing snap-shots and crouching down again, suffering no casualties whatever, but inflicting a fair number on their opponents. There was no noise or confusion.”

  The remaining eighty Arabs from this first group engaged the Turks a little to the south of the village proper. “These men behaved in a similar manner and remained cool in action till ordered to re
tire so that the naval guns might shell the Turkish trenches. They retired quietly and extended, walking slowly away and taking no notice of the stray Turkish bullets amongst them.”

  Bray had nothing but scorn for the remainder of Arab troops, however. According to him, the second group, numbering three hundred men and representing the bulk of Arab soldiers present, “rushed for the town and at once began looting and fighting in a completely disorganized manner. The Turks fought very hard in the town, from house to house, and the Arabs suffered a fair number of casualties.” Nevertheless by the next morning they had driven the Turks out. “The town was in an utter state of confusion and had been ransacked from roof to floor.”

  Of the third group, the hundred soldiers who sat on the beach until the fighting was over, Bray did not deign to write anything further.

  16. Simultaneously, in Mecca … Arab Bulletin, October 26, 1916, no. 27, pp. 386–90.

  17. “The return to chthonic …” Arab Bulletin, November 26, 1916, no. 32, p. 476.

  18. “We fortify ourselves …” Quoted in Great Britain and the Near East, September 1, 1916.

  19. “The Sherif intends …” Arab Bulletin, November 26, 1916, no. 32, p. 476.

  20. The telegram requested … For this episode, see NA, FO882/5, from which all quotations are taken.

  21. The English translated it as … Antonius translates it as “King of the Arab Countries,” Arab Awakening, 213.

  22. King of the Hejaz … Tauber, Arab Movements, 160.

  23. These “easterners” … Two quotations from the opposing schools will suffice to summarize their argument. Sir William Robertson, CIGS, a committed “westerner,” explained to the cabinet why he opposed sending troops to the Hejaz: “The only way to win this war is to beat the German Armies, and as I have consistently held ever since I became Chief of the Imperial General Staff, we must accordingly concentrate every available man against those Armies.” W. R. Robertson, “Assistance to the Shereef,” September 20, 1916, NA, WO 106/1510. In opposition to this point of view, General Gilbert Clayton, in a memorandum, also addressed to the cabinet, explained why Britain should support the Arab Revolt: It had “shattered the solidarity of Islam in that Moslem is against Moslem. It has emphasized the failure of the Jehad and endangered the Khalifate of the Sultan … One way and another the best part of 3 Divisions is being held up in Arabia without costing us a man.” Moreover, if the sharif failed, that “would give the eastern coast of the Red Sea to the Turks, thus increasing for the Navy the strain of guarding the sea route to India. It would furnish the Turks with a base in Arabia for military and political activity which might well extend to the Euphrates, Aden, Abyssinia and the Southern Sudan and Somaliland.” Finally, since the revolt was widely perceived to have been British-inspired, its failure would lead to a diminution of British prestige throughout the East. Clayton, memorandum to the Foreign Office, September 28, 1916, Durham University, Clayton Papers, 693/10/65. See too Clayton to Hall, September 10, 1916, ibid., 693/10/57.

  24. “With another British Cavalry …” Murray to Robertson, January 10, 1917, British Library, Murray-Robertson Papers, Add. 52462/f.35.

  25. “My sole object is …” Robertson to Murray, October 16, 1916, ibid., Add. 52462/f.13.

  26. “The Hejaz war is …” Arab Bulletin, November 26, 1916, no. 32, p. 480.

  27. “Lawrence is quite …” Quoted in Barr, Setting the Desert, 56.

  28. They arrived in Jeddah … “Extract from a letter dated January 31, 1917, from the C.G.S., Egyptian Expeditionary Force, to the D.M.O., War Office,” NA, FO800, Balfour Miscellaneous.

  29. “A Negress, [but] she …” Storrs, diary entry, October 17, 1916, Storrs Papers, reel 6, box 2, folder 5.

  30. “He reminds me of …” Storrs to “My Dear Colum,” December 21, 1916, ibid., reel 5, box 2, folder 4, Egypt 1916–17.

  31. “with his extraordinarily …” Storrs, diary entry, October 16, 1916, ibid.

  32. “I felt at first glance …” Lawrence, Seven Pillars, 76.

  CHAPTER 14: MANAGING THE BRITISH-ZIONIST CONNECTION

  1. “a clever, efficient …” OUNBL, Selborne Papers, 80/285. This is part of Selborne’s recollection of the entire cabinet.

  2. “I do not want you …” Montagu to Asquith, December 5, 1916, OUNBL, Asquith Papers, 17.

  3. “The Turks … are fine fighters …” Murray to Robertson, December 13, 1916, British Library, Murray-Robertson Papers, Add. 52462/f.27.

  4. “The War Cabinet is very …” Robertson to Murray, January 31, 1917, ibid., Add. 52462/f.43.

  5. “in order to get him …” Hardinge to Sir Valentine Chirol, April 26, 1917, CUL, Lord Hardinge Papers.

  6. “I have just got …” Murray to Robertson, May 20, 1917, June 12, 1917, British Library, Murray-Robertson Papers, Add. 52462/ff. 96, 103.

  7. “From what I hear …” Malcolm to Sykes, February 3, 1917, Hull University, Sykes Papers, DDSY/2.

  8. “was laying down the …” Weizmann to Sieff, February 3, 1917, in Stein, Letters, letter no. 303, 7:326.

  9. “it is the opinion …” Malcolm to Sykes, February 5, 1917, Hull University, Sykes Papers, DDSY/2.

  10. When he learned … Gaster also invited Herbert Bentwich of the Maccabeans.

  11. “The most important …” Quoted in Reinharz, Weizmann, 112. See also Gaster to James de Rothschild, February 9, 1917, WI, Moses Gaster Papers.

  12. a document encapsulating … The statement ended with a by-now-familiar assertion of the main Zionist claims: that Palestine be recognized as the Jewish national home; that Jews be free to immigrate there from all countries; that their colonies be self-governing; and that Hebrew be recognized as their official language.

  13. “He needed no formal …” Stein, Balfour Declaration, 374.

  14. “Mr. Samuel replied …” Quoted in Stein, Balfour Declaration, 372. Copies of Sokolow’s résumé of the meeting may be found at the Weizmann Archive, the CZA, and the Moses Gaster Papers.

  15. “The Arabs professed …” Ibid., 373.

  16. “Mr. Sokolow replied …” Sokolow’s résumé of the meeting may be found in various archives. I quote from copies in the OUNBL, Stein Papers, box 6.

  17. “Zionists and Jews generally …” “Notes of a meeting held on Saturday, February 10, 1917, at 9 Buckingham Gate, London SW,” CZA Z440/661.

  18. “those friends of mine …” Weizmann to Harris J. Morgenstern, February 1, 1917, in Stein, Letters, letter no. 302, 7:324.

  19. “From certain information …” Quoted in Sanders, High Walls, 472.

  20. “the curious experience …” Sacher, Zionist Portraits, 104.

  21. “the only thing of the …” Ibid., 107

  22. “on grounds of British …” Sidebotham, Great Britain, 32–33.

  23. “He loved music …” Sacher, Zionist Portraits, 109.

  24. “I think we received …” Sidebotham, Great Britain, 41–42.

  25. “As I am officially …” Sacher, Sieff, Simon to C. P. Scott, October 16, 1916, online at http://www.mucjs.org/EXHIBITION/12bpctoscott.html.

  26. “I have always considered …” Sykes to “Dear Sir,” October 14, 1916, WI.

  27. “unless Palestine comes …” Palestine, February 1, 1917; “The Policy of the Palestine Committee,” n.d., OUNBL, Stein Papers, box 1.

  28. Quickly Palestine established … For example, Sir Reginald Wingate, who had replaced McMahon as Egypt’s high commissioner, requested that copies be sent to him in faraway Cairo.

  29. “We … must at whatever …” Sieff to Weizmann, February 2, 1917, WI.

  30. “it was most unpleasant …” Weizmann to Sokolow, February 18, 1917, in Stein, Letters, letter no. 309, 7:330.

  31. “There is no doubt …” Sieff to Weizmann, February 19, 1917, WI.

  32. “Letter received …” Weizmann to Sieff, February 20, 1917, quoted in Stein, Letters, letter no. 311, 7:332.

  33. “‘Palestine’ this week …” Sieff to Weizmann, February 20
, 1917, WI.

  34. “tying Zionism up …” Sacher to Simon, May 13, 1917, WI.

  35. “Where we differ from …” Sacher to Simon, May 9, 1917, CZA, Leon Simon Collection, CZA/A298114.

  36. “an extremist and …” Weizmann to Tolkowsky, February 28, 1917, WI (filed under Miscellaneous). Interestingly, the printed version of this letter in Stein, Letters, letter no. 313, 7:335, does not contain this sentence.

  CHAPTER 15: SOKOLOW IN FRANCE AND ITALY

  1. “You must take me …” C. P. Scott, diary (photocopy), March 15, 1917, WI. C. P. Scott’s diaries are available at a number of archives.

  2. “I have seen Balfour …” Weizmann to Ahad Ha’am, March 24, 1917, in Stein, Letters, letter no. 324.

  3. “‘You may tell the Prime … ’” Weizmann to Scott, March 23, 1917, ibid., letter no. 323.

  4. a breakfast at 10 Downing Street … C. P. Scott, diary entry, April 3, 1917, British Library.

  5. “Often he remarked …” Sokolow, History of Zionism, 2:xviii–xix.

  6. “I am extremely satisfied …” Sokolow to Sykes, March 28, 1917, CZA, Sokolow Papers.

  7. “You are, of course, acquainted …” Sokolow to Weizmann, April 20, 1917, quoted in Stein, Balfour Declaration, 394, n3.

  8. “If the great force …” Sykes to Picot, February 28, 1917, Oxford University, St. Antony’s College, Middle East Centre, Sykes Papers, GB 165-0275/32B.

  9. “The French are determined …” Sokolow to Weizmann, April 4, 1917, CZA, Sokolow Papers.

  10. For several hours … The other officials included Jules Cambon’s brother Paul, who was the French ambassador to Britain, and Prime Minister Alexandre Ribot’s chef de cabinet, Pierre de Margerie.

  11. “As I was crossing the Quai …” Sokolow, History of Zionism, 2:xxx.

  12. “I was told …” Sokolow to Weizmann, April 19, 1917, CZA, Sokolow Papers.

  13. “Zionists’ aspirations …” NA, FO371/3045. Weizmann, upon receiving a copy of this wire, worried that it gave the impression that Zionists would look to France as well as to England, or rather instead of to England, for protection in Palestine. He thought Sokolow had let down the movement and said so in a rather undiplomatic telegram. Sokolow replied: “Astonished fallacious commentaries … My programme were our demands for which enlisted official sympathy without slightest allusion to French alternative or any engagement … My ideal solution is naturally British Palestine.” See Sokolow to Weizmann, May 4, 1917, CZA, Sokolow Papers.