Britain's broken promise

God has often raised up mighty empires for His purposes. Such have been the Greeks, Romans, Babylonians and Assyrians. It is not co-incidental that in all cases the epicentre of activity has been focussed around God's people and land of Israel. So too, I suggest, with the British empire. In the modern era no nation more so than Britain has played a greater part in the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland.

The reasons that God gave Britain an empire were not just for our blesing. I believe it was firstly so that we might take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and secondly, so that we might have the power and authority to re-establish the Jewish homeland in Israel. A heavenly mandate indeed !

Sadly however, we polluted the former to some extent with imperialism, and the latter we failed to complete. True, we did a lot of good things, but history records that our failings have affected both Jew and Arab alike, with subsequent cries for justice increasing in both camps even to this day. Regardless of your view in this matter, the main and only point in question for our purpose here is - have we acted righteously?

The Balfour Declaration issued on November 2nd 1917, with full approval of the Cabinet was a British promise made to the Jewish people. It said this: "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 achievement 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."

As a consequence, in July 1922 the League of Nations entrusted Britain with the Mandate for Palestine (the name by which a much larger region was then known). Recognizing "the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine", we were called upon to facilitate the establishment of a Jewish National Home. Where did we fail in this vital, some would say God-given, commission ?

To begin with, in 1937 we (the British) recommended dividing the country into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Jewish leadership, under great pressure, were forced to accept the idea of partition. At least this would give them a homeland of sorts. The Arabs were uncompromisingly against any partition plan. We divided the land - and none too efficiently either - as the present situation shows! Furthermore we then further backtracked from even this weak arrangement:

"This pledge of a home... is the pledge which was given, and that is the pledge we are now being asked to break..." said Winston Churchill in 1939. Thus summarised the breaking of a covenant, a pledge that had been given at a crucial time, just prior to the Holocaust. Is it co-incidence that within a few weeks the World was plunged into war, and Hitler more firmly established in his so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish problem" ? How different would the scenario have been had we stood our ground ? Could the slaughter have been prevented ? Perhaps. We shall not know in this lifetime, but we will certainly find out on judgement day !

Some would say that our backtracking was due to a sense of "British fair play" in response to powerful representations from the Arab nations. Arab resentment of a Jewish presence had erupted in periods of intense violence when Jewish transport was harassed, fields and forests set on fire, and attacks launched against population centers and individuals. Attempts to reach a dialogue with the Arabs were ultimately unsuccessful. Others say our retraction was because we were fearful of German might and their alliance with the Arabs. The more cynical simply point to British self-interest in Oil.

Regardless of any argument, and to cut a long story short, history recalls that when the war ended in 1945 the struggle continued in Israel. Important to note that it was a struggle in which we, the British, actually spilled Jewish blood. The end result was that we managed to get ourselves into such a mess that in May 1948, when the United Nations voted on the Article which lead to the re-birth of the State of Israel, Britain abstained. Many people were deeply ashamed by this decision.

THE POSITIVE SIDE: During the 26 years of the British Mandate, agriculture was expanded; factories were established; new roads were built throughout the country; the waters of the Jordan were harnessed for electricity; and the mineral potential of the Dead Sea was tapped. The Federation of Labour was founded to advance workers' welfare and to provide employment by setting up cooperatives in the industrial sector and marketing services for the communal agricultural settlements (Kibbutzim). Between 1933 and 1945, Britain was an important refuge for Jews fleeing Nazi-controlled Europe. It is estimated that over 80,000 Jewish refugees reached our shores, and 55,000 stayed. This much is in our favour !

RECENT HISTORY - What a mixed bag we are ! After 1945 we placed increased restrictions on the number of Jews permitted to settle in the Land - at the time of their near exhaustion, precisely when the survivors of the Holocaust needed our help most. The Jewish community responded by instituting a wide network of "illegal immigration" activities to rescue these survivors. Blood was shed on all three sides - British, Jewish and Arab.

Between 1945 and 1948 some 85,000 Jews were brought to the land (Eretz Israel) by secret, often dangerous routes, in spite of a British naval blockade and border patrols set up to intercept the refugees before they reached the country. Those who were caught were interned in British detention camps on the island of Cyprus, or returned to Europe. Some died in the process. Towards the end of 1947 Britain finally washed her hands of the situation and turned the matter over to the UN.

THE NATION IS RE-BORN - On 14 May 1948 at 4pm the State of Israel was proclaimed according to a new United Nations partition plan (thus "all nations" also divided the land !). Less than 24 hours later, the five armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq invaded the country, forcing Israel to defend the sovereignty it had regained in its ancestral homeland. In what became known as Israel's War of Independence, the newly formed, poorly equipped Israel Defense Forces (IDF) repulsed the invaders in fierce intermittent fighting, which lasted some 15 months and claimed over 6,000 Israeli lives (nearly one percent of the country's Jewish population at the time). Britain was impotent to their plight.

From: IRN - http://www.revivalnet.NET

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