Zionism/Palestine in World War I Flashcards
What is problematic about criticising Israel based on Zionism?
Assumes continuity, an unchanging ideology - ideology as genie of history. Assumes that ideas have the power to shape policies and to continuously shape them.
How should we approach movements in the study of history?
Contingent factors operating within historical context
What is the best way to study ideology?
Through dialectics, tensions, contradictions - never monolithic
What are the five key ways we can look at Zionism?
Safe haven, refuge, national movement, colonial movement, multifaceted phenomenon
What are three distinct versions of Zionism?
European Zionism, Ottoman Zionism, Bourgeois Zionism
How did Ottoman Zionism perceive itself?
As a movement of national Jewish rights rather than territorial independence - context of Armenians, etc.
What would have perhaps meant that Zionism’s relationship with Arabs be not necessarily one of conflict? What is the flip side of this?
Aim of normalising would necessarily mean an inclusive society. On the there hand, project seeking to maintain cultural specificity - problematic for native population.
What determined the path that Zionism took? (Inclusive vs. exclusive)
Historical context of 1930s and 1940s
What has the study of wars in the Middle East tended to neglect?
Impact on society
What does Tamari argue about the historiography of the Ottoman period?
Rewritten and squished down into four miserable years of tyranny. Also ‘high politics’, excepting study of Yishuv.
What is important to remember about Zionism in this period and interfaith relations?
Zionism was not necessarily the determining element in relations
What points to inter-religious/ethnic solidarity in the early years of the war?
Jerusalem municipality meeting - called for unity regardless of nationality or religious beliefs. Also meeting of Jewish and Muslim residents in November 1914.
Who argues that it was the experience of war and crisis which enabled inter-communal cooperation?
Elamliach
When was the Red Crescent Society established?
1915, Jerusalem
Who did Sakakini give shelter to in 1917?
Levine, Russian Zionist Jew with US citizenship
What does Jacobson argue about the Zionist movement in WWI?
Gained power and support from the Jerusalem community, where it had not been particularly influential. Independent network of relief and support - ‘quasi-state’ at times.
What provided the Jewish community with paper money and credit? What was significant about it?
Anglo-Palestine Bank Company - due to American diplomacy. Key to helping Jewish community through crisis.
When did American Jewish aid arrive in Jerusalem? What did it facilitate?
1915-17. ‘Tea and Bread’ Houses.
Whose diary does Tamari compare with al-Turjjeman’s?
al-Fasih
Who points out that even at the end of the war there were more Arabs fighting for the Ottoman Empire than Arab revolt? How many?
Goncu - 300,000
Who argues that Jerusalem was a junction for the Empire and local society in WWI?
Winter and Robert
What happened by October 1914, impacting life and politics in Palestine?
End to foreign postal services - almost complete halt in delivery of foreign newspapers and news from outside Palestine - feeling of almost complete isolation
What was shut down in December 1914?
Arabic newspaper al-Karmil.
What Hebrew newspaper was shut down upon accusations of Zionist propaganda and anti-Ottomanism?
ha-Ahdut (December 1914)
What Hebrew newspaper continued functioning until 1917?
Sephardic newspaper, ha-Herut.
By how much does McCarthy estimate the population declined during the war,, owing to famine, disease, war casualties, deportations?
6%
When was the locust invasion?
1915
What was an unexpected effect of the war, as suggested by Tamari?
Socially transformative - unanticipated emancipatory impact on society.
What opportunities did war present? (Quote)
Palestine transformed “into one major construction site”. Modernised communication and transportation system. Public hospitals, clinics, pharmacies in all provinces to combat epidemics. Transformation in lifestyles and work habits.
Who lamented the decline of moral order during the war?
Totah and Barghouti
Who was known as ‘The Butcher’ in arabic?
Ahmed Jamal Pasha
What is a problematic element of the Hussein-Palestine debate?
Assumes that either had the right to negotiate the future of Palestine - neither represented the people of Palestine. To think Hussein was in a position to demand certain things from the British also misunderstands his position as a local puppet leader.
Finish the quote by Shlaim: “By the stroke of the imperial pen…”
“…the Promised Land became twice promised”.
What was the impact of WWI on the WZO?
Fractured - main constituents had been distributed among the warring states. Centre of political gravity shifted from Berlin to London.
What had Sykes-Picot determined would happen to Palestine?
International regime in consultation with Sharif of Mecca and other allies - not necessarily contradictory - international regime perhaps best achieved through understanding with Zionist leaders
What are the two main schools of thought regarding the origins of the BD? By which two historians are they represented?
Stein vs. Verte. Skill of Zionists and appeal of Zionism vs. hard-headed British pragmatism
Who created the myth about chemicals and WWI and BD?
Lloyd George in his ‘War Memoirs’.
How strong was the Zionist lobby at the time?
Not particularly - only in 1930s. Weizmann had not been part of the Anglo-Jewish establishment.
What Irish comparison was made regarding the role that the Zionists could serve for the British?
‘Jewish Ulster’
Who emphasises the significance of Christian Zionism?
Tuchman
Who argues that BD was the result of a combination of fortuity and contingency related to WWI and personalities involved?
Matthew and Lacquer
Who called Weizmann an “irresistible political seducer”?
Berlin
What does Shalim argue about the significance of Weizmann?
Exaggerated but importance was more in keeping Britain to rash wartime promises
Who argues that BD was a propaganda stunt, not intended to be the basis of subsequent British rule in Palestine, let alone commitment to establishment of Jewish state?
Renton
Who has stressed the ‘unromantic’ nature of BD, that it was the result of hard-headed realism on both sides?
Kimche
What does Segev argue motivated BD?
Neither military nor diplomatic interests, but prejudice, faith, sleight of hand
Who suggests that because the British did not renege on their promise that the BD was issued for reasons beyond political expediency?
Reinharz
What does Levene query about Zionism and the British?
That if a relationship with Zionism was what the British intended, why did this ‘cool so rapidly’? Anti-Semitism.
Which two historians argue that Palestine was not ‘double promised’?
Kedourie and Friedman
What did the British send to Hussein to explain BD? What did the say?
‘Hogarth’s Message’ - Affirmed commitment to Arab nation and that ‘no people shall be subject to another’ (re. Palestine).
Who argues that British soldiers retrospectively thought they had fought in Palestine to liberate its people and bring righteous rule of British?
Fantauzzo
What has Bar-Yosef focussed on re. propaganda?
Crusading themes
What was the name of the European diplomar/consul in Jerusalem during he war?
Conde de Ballobar
What was Ballobar’s experience of the war in Jerusalem?
Life not halted for elites - disruption not equivalent to annihilation
What suggests that Britain superimposed religious boundaries, according to Ballobar?
Neighbourhoods had been key hub of communalism - shared festivals and ceremonies
