Was The Balfour Declaration And How Did It Affect The Creation Of Israel?

In 1917 the world was in the middle of a bloody war between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers. Never in history had humans seen a war that caused as much destruction as World War 1. In the midst of this war a declaration was made by British Foreign Secretary Balfour to Lord Rothschild. This declaration led to the creation of the modern state of Israel and caused the constant fighting in Palestine as we know today. The Balfour Declaration was a letter that declared the support of the British government to give a homeland to all Jewish people in Palestine. Jewish people across Europe had been prosecuted throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century and wanted a state of their own. Palestine had been controlled by the Ottoman Empire
for several hundred years, but it was obvious they were on the vrge of collapsing, and if Germany lost the war that would be their final straw. However Palestine was already home to millions of non jewsish groups and had been promised to other people. The French were under the impression that they would receive Palestine when the Ottoman Empire collapsed. As a result they promised that land to Arab nationalist groups as a reward for their help in WW1. Britain gained control of the land after WW1 and was faced with the aftermath of the Balfour Declaration. Palestine was split into two sections to accomadate the indigenious people and the new Jewish immigrants. The original occupants (from now on referred to as Arab) were given the western part of Palestine, which was renamed Jordan. Many of the Arabs fled to neighboring Muslim states such as Lebanaon which were prodimatly Christian, which caused problems in its own rights. After World War 11 ended millions of Jews were misplased across the European continent due to Germany`s Final Solution Project. Many of them fled to Palestine instead of returning to their homes across Europe. It was entirely possible that they had no home left or were afraid of further prosecution if they returned. Great Britain tried to limit the influx of Jewish immigration, but tensions kept rising between Palestiaian Muslims and the new Jewish refugees. Limiting the refuges was only a short term solution, as they began to enter the country illegally. To understand why the Arabs and Jewish immigrants couldn`t get along we have to discuss who the orginal occupatns of Palestine were and why it affected their relationship eith the incoming Jews. When the Balfour Declaration was written it specifiacally permits the prejuicided of non-Jewish communities already residing in Israel, but that isn`t what happend. Throughout history Palestine had been renamed, ruled, and resided by countless groups of people. After the Romans forced the Jewish people out of Judea in the second century B.C. the people left were called “Caanaties.” These people were descendants of Jewish survivors, Christians, and Perisans. After the Ottoman Empire seized control over the region in 1516 the Caanaties gradually converted to Islam. The Palestinians are descendants of these people. For over a thousand years these were the largest inhabitants in the land now known as Palestine, although lingering groups of Christians and Jewish people were scattered throughout the land. Of course when the Balfour Declaration and British occupation of Palestine first took affect there was disagreement among the nation, as well as other Muslim countries.
It is only natural to believe that this would occur considering the situation. When a new country takes over another country and decides it is now a “homeland” for another group of people of course the current occupants would object this. However disagreements turned into violence not only between the religious groups, but between the Jewish and Arab people and the British. After fighting started to escalate between the Jews and Arabs, the British government attempted to slow the immigration of Jewosh people to Palestine. The result was thousands of illegal and dangerous attempts to enter the country by European jews. Both the Palestinians and the Jews blamed the british for their problems within their communities and amongst each other. This encouraged organized violence against the British. Although the Arabs and Jews had found a common enemy, it did nothing to untie them. If anything violence became easier between the two. Other nations began to notice the problems in Palestine between the Muslims, Jews, and the British government. After the United States continued to pressure Britain into fixing the Palestinaian problem to no avail, a meeting was called by the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry in 1946. The group gave little sympathy to the Palestinians and decided that there should be no limits on
immigration of Jewish people to Palestine by the british government. “Palestine should ultimately become a state which creates the rights and interests of Moslems, Christians, and Jews alike; and accords to the inhabitants as a whole the fullest measure of self-government consistent with the principles now set forth.” The group decided that Britain should continure their possession of Palestine, but the United Nations should advise them on the cureent problem and future issues if they shall arise. Both Arabs and Jews venhemontly opposed this conclusion. The United Nations created a special assembly to fight the destruction in Palestine and determine the cause of the problems.
By 1947 terroisim had takes control over the area with leaders of both groups condoning terrosit activity. The same year Britain announced that their mandate of Palestine would end after nearly twenty six years of occupation. When Britain removed their military forces from Palestine in 1948, the state of Israel was created the same day. Within hours of the creation of the new state all the surrounding Arab countries, except Lebanon, sent military forces to the West Bank. Jordan sent troops to try and occupy Jersualum as it was considered holy to them as well as Jews and Christians. The Israelis responded with armed forces of their own. This started the first of the Arab Israeli Wars. The groups involved (Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan) grusdgingly agreesd who would control which areas. This just added more confusion and hostility between the Arabs and the Jews. Perhaps the governments of these countries knew what was going on, but imagine the confusion of the regular people who lived in these areas. They are controlled by Britain for twenty six years and suddenly they aren`t, a new state is created, and now certain countries are controlling and divinding regions all in a short period of time. Also why does religious interest allow Egypt and Jordan to participate in the activities of another nation? Perhaps the largest problem with Palestine
is that everyone is making decisions for them when it shoulf be their own government working together. A problem, wether it be war or poverty, is best solved by the people who live in the environment, not third parties. The first Arab-Israeli war is called different names depending on which side you agree with or are a resident of. The Israelis called it The War of Independence, while their counterparts refer to it as something akin to “the castorphe” in Arabic. The Palestinian`s goal was to stop the creation of Israel, athough it had already been declared and recognized by the United Nations. The goal of the Jews was to take the land that they felt belonged to them. The first Arab Idraeli war ended in 1949 with negotians between the countries involved in Greece. The United Nations sent Ralh Bunche to act as a mediator between the parties.