Home Page: OCIN INITIATIVE
By Areha Kazuya
E-mail: areha_kazuya@jcom.home.ne.jp
Prologue
6. Britain's triple tongue diplomacy during World War I (3)
(3) The Balfour Declaration
In triple tongue diplomacy, the most famous one would be the "Balfour Declaration", which was made in the last of the three promises. The Balfour Declaration was mentioned in a letter sent from Arthur Balfour, UK’s Foreign Secretary, to Lord Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, in November 1917. The declaration announced support for the establishment or a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine.
After the Roman Emperor Hadrian finally suppressed the rebellion of Jews in the year 135 AD, a long history of the Jews' 'diaspora' (discrete) began. Jewish people had been banned from entering Jerusalem. They dreamed of re-establishment of a Jewish home land. They had been enduring the contempt and persecution of Christian people in Europe. In the 19th century they launched political Zionism campaign which meant the movement to return to the promised hometown of Zion 's land.
Jews became the ruler of global money in the process of prevailing capitalism from the 19th century to the 20th century. It was also an era when the financial power of the Jews affected the outcome of the war. As most of Japanese knows, Japan won the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 because the Jewish bankers in the United States bought Japanese wartime bonds. In the World War I in 1914, Judea money was the key to victory. And Rothschild was the symbol of Jewish investors. UK, troubled in money shortage, requested war funds to Rothschild and, in return, patronized the Jewish Zionism movement.
In the letter sent from Balfour to Lord Rothschild as follows:
"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 achivement 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 Zinist Federation.”
This declaration has shown clearly the intention of the British government to support the construction of Jews colony in the Palestinian home lands. Historically speaking, the Jews had left Palestine in the first century AD. But Arabs lived in Palestine continuously for nearly two thousand years since then. It was the reason why the British government mentioned the provision that " nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine". This provision, however, has not been abided since then. Israel has widened territorial control in Palestine through four wars – 1948 Arab-Israel War, Suez Crisis in 1956, Six-days War in 1967 and Yom Kippur War in 1978. At present Israel is continuing to expand their settlements. On the contrary, Arabs are just staring at it without effective counterattack,
Three promises could be read each other as such: The Balfour Declaration was "if you(Jews) lend us the necessary money for war, we(UK government) will give you the country for Jews. McMahon-Hussein Correspondence was "If you(Arabs) disrupt behind the Ottoman Empire, you would be supplied necessary money and weapons. When the war was over, the Arabic caliphate Islamic state would be established. The third and last promise – Sykes-Picot Agreement which marked the line on the map by Britain and France was "Once the war is over, let's divide the Middle East by two countries". It was obvious to everyone that these three promises were contradict each other and would lay the conflict in the future. But the UK on imminent war thought differently. “Let it(the conflict of the interest) be.” This was the true intension of UK diplomacy.
The priority of the three promises of the UK and France is that the Sykes-Picot Agreement was the top priority. Then the Balfour Declaration was the second priority, McMahon-Hussein Correspondence was least priority. The history after the World War I indicated clearly the fact and truth. The intention of the Arab and Islamic people who should be the main players in the Middle East was thoroughly ignored. Arab and Islamic people were exploited by Western powers. It was the roots of the trouble in the Middle East after World War II, which continues now.
(To be continued ----)
