All Jews have ever wanted is to stop apologizing for their very existence and for their neighbors not to try to annihilate them at every opportunity they get.
For the past 2,000 years, since their exile from their homeland by the Romans, this has been the enduring reality faced by the Jewish people.
Roughly 140 years ago, several Jews convened and resolved that it was time to stop apologizing and seek a small haven on the globe. A place where they could unite and live as a nation, free from threats.
The natural place for them was that very place where their religion was founded, where their nation was established.
The same place where their sacred sites are located, where Jewish communities have lived for thousands of years. The same place toward which they turn every time they pray.
Their aspirations were very modest, all they wanted was a national home.
In 1917, Chaim Weizmann, a key figure in the Zionist movement and later the first President of Israel, leveraged his talents, connections, and significant contributions to Britain to obtain a declaration from Lord Balfour.
This declaration acknowledged the Jews' right to establish a national home in the Land of Israel. Later, this declaration became an integral part of the mandate document that the British received from the League of Nations.
Shortly thereafter, Chaim Weizmann met with Prince Faisal, who would later be crowned King of Iraq, while his brother Abdullah became King of Jordan.
In the renowned Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, Prince Faisal supported the Balfour Declaration and encouraged further Jewish immigration to the area. In return, Weizmann committed to aiding the Arabs in their national ambition to establish the Greater Syrian Kingdom.
During this time, the Jewish community remained uninterested in and refrained from pursuing an independent state.
Immediately after the agreement was established, both of them traveled to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
This is what Prince Faisal wrote in anticipation of the conference:
"We Arabs, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement, and Weizmann has greatly helped us in achieving our objectives. I hope that the Arabs will soon be in a position to repay the Jews for their kindness. The Zionist movement is not an imperialist movement" - Prince Faisal, 1919
At the conference, they discovered they were mere bystanders in a much larger play, realizing that the Sykes-Picot Agreement had predetermined their fate without consulting them.
Subsequently, all plans for joint living were abandoned, primarily by the Arabs, outraged by the British breach of their promise to establish Greater Syria, as pledged in the McMahon-Hussein letters.
They renounced the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement and vented their anger at the British and French and against the Jews.
This led to the Nebi Musa riots in 1920 and the 1929 riots, which I have detailed in previous posts and will share again in the comments.
The peak was the Great Arab Revolt of 1936, which was a major uprising against British rule and Jewish communities, resulting in thousands of deaths and significantly influencing the region's future.
During this period, the Jews' sole political aspiration remained the upholding of the Balfour Declaration.
The first time a concrete idea for an independent Jewish state was brought up was during the discussions of the Peel Commission, established by the British in response to the Arab Revolt, to determine the future of the mandate.
I reaffirm my commitment to dedicate a separate post to this remarkable and significant commission, which interviewed hundreds of witnesses and experts, reviewed thousands of documents, and produced a 400-page report.
I have uploaded the full report of the committee to the knowledge base of Conflict Insight GPT. I will leave a link in the comments, and you are welcome to explore and ask the chat questions about the agreement.
Yet, in our current discussion, it's essential to highlight the committee's conclusion about the Jewish fate:
The future of the Jews cannot be left in the hands of the Arabs.
(Let that sink)
Following the publication of the Peel Commission's recommendations, the Arab Revolt resumed with full force and was finally suppressed only in 1939.
After the revolt, World War II began, prompting the British to momentarily postpone plans to exit the Middle East, aiming to maintain their interests and ensure a smooth passage to India.
Simultaneously, they issued the MacDonald White Paper, a significant policy shift that effectively nullified the Balfour Declaration and halted Jewish immigration, while turning a blind eye to the massive, unofficial immigration of Arab clans from neighboring countries.
(as later testified by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, I have expanded on this topic in one of my earlier posts.)
At this point, it became clear to the Jewish community that they could not rely on the Arabs for their continued existence, nor on the British.
Thus, establishing their own independent and sovereign entity was the only way to ensure their survival.
After WWII, the British requested to terminate their mandate, which led to the UNSCOP Committee and its partition plan (a topic I've also discussed more extensively in previous writings).
With the release of the partition plan, it became unequivocally clear to the Jewish leaders that if they didn't declare the State of Israel immediately when possible, the existence of a Jewish nation in the world would be at risk.
Against the backdrop of the Holocaust's trauma, David Ben-Gurion's bold decision paved the way for the Declaration of Independence, marking the beginning of Israel's journey.
Since that decisive moment, the State of Israel has almost constantly been in a struggle to preserve its existence.
Throughout the years, attempts to destroy the State of Israel have consistently failed.
Despite these threats, Israel emerges stronger after each conflict.
Some neighboring nations have accepted this reality, recognizing Israel and forging peace treaties (e.g., Egypt, Jordan, and potentially soon Saudi Arabia).
Others, like Syria and Lebanon, continue to deny Israel but lack the strength to pose a real threat. The remaining opposition comes from terrorist groups like #Hezbollah and #Hamas, backed by #Iran and #Qatar, persistently challenging Israel's security.
Today, Israel stands as one of the world's foremost military powers and a technological leader, far exceeding many older and larger nations, especially when compared to the offerings of neighboring Arab states.
So, after 2000 years, the Jews, who never intended this from the start, ultimately established their own state.
And now, they no longer apologize for their existence, though there are still some neighbors trying to harm them at every chance they get.
They, too, will learn in the end.
For the past 2,000 years, since their exile from their homeland by the Romans, this has been the enduring reality faced by the Jewish people.
Roughly 140 years ago, several Jews convened and resolved that it was time to stop apologizing and seek a small haven on the globe. A place where they could unite and live as a nation, free from threats.
The natural place for them was that very place where their religion was founded, where their nation was established.
The same place where their sacred sites are located, where Jewish communities have lived for thousands of years. The same place toward which they turn every time they pray.
Their aspirations were very modest, all they wanted was a national home.
In 1917, Chaim Weizmann, a key figure in the Zionist movement and later the first President of Israel, leveraged his talents, connections, and significant contributions to Britain to obtain a declaration from Lord Balfour.
This declaration acknowledged the Jews' right to establish a national home in the Land of Israel. Later, this declaration became an integral part of the mandate document that the British received from the League of Nations.
Shortly thereafter, Chaim Weizmann met with Prince Faisal, who would later be crowned King of Iraq, while his brother Abdullah became King of Jordan.
In the renowned Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, Prince Faisal supported the Balfour Declaration and encouraged further Jewish immigration to the area. In return, Weizmann committed to aiding the Arabs in their national ambition to establish the Greater Syrian Kingdom.
During this time, the Jewish community remained uninterested in and refrained from pursuing an independent state.
Immediately after the agreement was established, both of them traveled to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
This is what Prince Faisal wrote in anticipation of the conference:
"We Arabs, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement, and Weizmann has greatly helped us in achieving our objectives. I hope that the Arabs will soon be in a position to repay the Jews for their kindness. The Zionist movement is not an imperialist movement" - Prince Faisal, 1919
At the conference, they discovered they were mere bystanders in a much larger play, realizing that the Sykes-Picot Agreement had predetermined their fate without consulting them.
Subsequently, all plans for joint living were abandoned, primarily by the Arabs, outraged by the British breach of their promise to establish Greater Syria, as pledged in the McMahon-Hussein letters.
They renounced the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement and vented their anger at the British and French and against the Jews.
This led to the Nebi Musa riots in 1920 and the 1929 riots, which I have detailed in previous posts and will share again in the comments.
The peak was the Great Arab Revolt of 1936, which was a major uprising against British rule and Jewish communities, resulting in thousands of deaths and significantly influencing the region's future.
During this period, the Jews' sole political aspiration remained the upholding of the Balfour Declaration.
The first time a concrete idea for an independent Jewish state was brought up was during the discussions of the Peel Commission, established by the British in response to the Arab Revolt, to determine the future of the mandate.
I reaffirm my commitment to dedicate a separate post to this remarkable and significant commission, which interviewed hundreds of witnesses and experts, reviewed thousands of documents, and produced a 400-page report.
I have uploaded the full report of the committee to the knowledge base of Conflict Insight GPT. I will leave a link in the comments, and you are welcome to explore and ask the chat questions about the agreement.
Yet, in our current discussion, it's essential to highlight the committee's conclusion about the Jewish fate:
The future of the Jews cannot be left in the hands of the Arabs.
(Let that sink)
Following the publication of the Peel Commission's recommendations, the Arab Revolt resumed with full force and was finally suppressed only in 1939.
After the revolt, World War II began, prompting the British to momentarily postpone plans to exit the Middle East, aiming to maintain their interests and ensure a smooth passage to India.
Simultaneously, they issued the MacDonald White Paper, a significant policy shift that effectively nullified the Balfour Declaration and halted Jewish immigration, while turning a blind eye to the massive, unofficial immigration of Arab clans from neighboring countries.
(as later testified by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, I have expanded on this topic in one of my earlier posts.)
At this point, it became clear to the Jewish community that they could not rely on the Arabs for their continued existence, nor on the British.
Thus, establishing their own independent and sovereign entity was the only way to ensure their survival.
After WWII, the British requested to terminate their mandate, which led to the UNSCOP Committee and its partition plan (a topic I've also discussed more extensively in previous writings).
With the release of the partition plan, it became unequivocally clear to the Jewish leaders that if they didn't declare the State of Israel immediately when possible, the existence of a Jewish nation in the world would be at risk.
Against the backdrop of the Holocaust's trauma, David Ben-Gurion's bold decision paved the way for the Declaration of Independence, marking the beginning of Israel's journey.
Since that decisive moment, the State of Israel has almost constantly been in a struggle to preserve its existence.
Throughout the years, attempts to destroy the State of Israel have consistently failed.
Despite these threats, Israel emerges stronger after each conflict.
Some neighboring nations have accepted this reality, recognizing Israel and forging peace treaties (e.g., Egypt, Jordan, and potentially soon Saudi Arabia).
Others, like Syria and Lebanon, continue to deny Israel but lack the strength to pose a real threat. The remaining opposition comes from terrorist groups like #Hezbollah and #Hamas, backed by #Iran and #Qatar, persistently challenging Israel's security.
Today, Israel stands as one of the world's foremost military powers and a technological leader, far exceeding many older and larger nations, especially when compared to the offerings of neighboring Arab states.
So, after 2000 years, the Jews, who never intended this from the start, ultimately established their own state.
And now, they no longer apologize for their existence, though there are still some neighbors trying to harm them at every chance they get.
They, too, will learn in the end.
As I promised in the post, the documentation of the 1929 Riots:
https://x.com/orenbarsky/status/1733553047656083681?s=20
You can only upload 4 photos in a post, so here are some more things that didn't make it:
Faisal's letter to the Zionists
Prince Faisal's letter to Herbert Samuel, British Mandate High Commissioner:
The Peel Commission Plan (1937)
United Nations Partition Plan (1947)
Faisal's letter to the Zionists
Prince Faisal's letter to Herbert Samuel, British Mandate High Commissioner:
The Peel Commission Plan (1937)
United Nations Partition Plan (1947)
As I mentioned in the post, the full Peel Commission report is part of the Conflict Insight GPT knowledge base and can be discussed and explored by conversing with the chat
chat.openai.com/g/g-23ewefp4o-…
chat.openai.com/g/g-23ewefp4o-…
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