1917 | The Turks occupy the Promised Land. To weaken the fronts in Europe, British troops from Egypt chased the Ottoman armies and gradually conquered the Near East. Jerusalem was liberated in November 1917 by His Majesty’s General Sir Edmund Allenby. A month later, Megiddo in Galilee was taken from the Ottomans. A Jewish Legion volunteer, David Ben Gourion, exclaimed: We are free from the Turks, we believe that the Jewish State already exists.
Census
A census carried out by the Ottomans showed a population of 228,600 in Palestine, including the towns of Gaza and various cities to the north and east of the Jordan River.41
1918 | The British carry out a census of the population living in Jerusalem. There were 71,995 inhabitants. 46,363 or 64.4% were Jews, 15,984 or 22.2% Christians and 9,648 or 13.4% Arab Muslims.
Jaffa, the pilgrims’ port, is the city with the most spectacular growth, rising from 2,500 inhabitants in 1800 to 47,779 in 1922. At the same time, Haifa grew from 1,000 to 24,000 inhabitants.
Balfour Declaration
The British were in favor of ceding at least part of the conquered territory to the Jewish people so that they could establish a sovereign state. The Balfour Declaration states:
Dear Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild,
On behalf of His Majesty’s Government, I am pleased to send you the following statement of sympathy with Zionist aspirations, submitted to and approved by Parliament.
His Majesty’s Government favourably contemplates the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use its best endeavours to facilitate the attainment of this objective, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice either the civil and religious rights of the non-Jewish communities existing in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by the Jews in any other country.
The British Foreign Secretary,
James Arthur Balfour
This declaration is considered a de facto milestone in the creation of the State of Israel.
Sharing the Middle East
1919 | The Near East is an immense territory stretching from the Sinai Peninsula in the south to the Euphrates in the east, the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the Turkish foothills in the north. With the Ottomans ousted, two superpowers reigned over these vast desert regions: France and Great Britain.
Both had emerged weakened from the First World War and lacked the military strength to impose themselves. Political solutions had to be found quickly that would also suit the colonized nations. Independence activists were already making their presence felt on the ground.
These diplomatic discussions began in San Remo, Italy. Faïsal Husseinï (to whom the British had made promises that he and his armies would help them put an end to the Turkish Empire) asked for a territory to link Saudi Arabia to the Middle East. According to his wishes, he received the territory east of the Jordan River, Transjordan, commonly known as Jordan. The borders of Iraq were also negotiated. Both countries would be administered under a British mandate. France was granted a colonial mandate over a small territory long known as Lebanon, as well as over Syria.
His Majesty’s representative, the British Colonial Secretary, Sir Winston Churchill, defends the cause of the Jews and their desire to found a nation in the Holy Land. He declares: It is manifest and equitable that the Jews who are scattered all over the world should have a national home, which some may join. And where better than in the land of Palestine, with which they have had intimate ties for over three thousand years? The assembled representatives, including the Arabs, decide that the territory between the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Jordan River in the east, from Galilee in the north to the Sinai desert in the south, is suitable as a Jewish national home.
The Treaty of Sèvres
1920 | Some of Europe’s borders were also up for discussion, e.g. Alsace’s attachment to France, Germany’s borders with Poland and Denmark, the boundaries of the former Ottoman Empire, Turkey, and so on.
All territorial changes were recorded by the influential nations of the day on April 25, 1920, at the Quai d’Orsay, Paris, France. Present: Great Britain, the United States, Japan, Belgium, France, Italy, Turkey and Egypt. Among the documents initialled were those defining the territories in the Middle East. The Jewish national home in the Holy Land was formalized, along with Transjordan, Lebanon and Syria! All the major nations decided to give the Balfour Declaration the force of law, no longer backed by England alone, but of international scope. The Jewish National Home is not a state of tolerance, but a state of law.42
From this day on April 25, 1920, according to international law, the heart of the Jews and the heart of Israel, Jerusalem belongs to the Hebrew State in Canaan ! This mandate for Palestine was approved by the League of Nations in July 1922, making it binding on all member states of the League of Nations Covenant, in accordance with article 22.43.
After signature on August 10, 1920, the final document of the Treaty of Sèvres was submitted to the General Assembly of the League of Nations for approval.
Jews and Arabs accepted this division and lived more or less in harmony. Only a few isolated cases of groups of brigands on horseback, sometimes on their dromedaries, disrupted the peaceful life of the Near East.
Inauguration of the Bnai Zion Medical Center in Haifa. The first hospitals are organized, open to all citizens regardless of race. Jewish society invests enormous sums to ensure a quality of life close to that of Europe. As soon as it opened, all people, regardless of their community – Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Druze and Christian pilgrims – were treated there without distinction.
1921 | All societies, both Arab and Jewish, develop. Public education for children, training courses and places of study multiply. Talmudic intellectual centers flourish. Young people from all over the world came to learn Hebrew, study the sacred texts and immerse themselves in Jewish life in Eretz Israel. Progress in animal husbandry was unquestionable, crops grew and were respected, and food distribution was organized.
Fruit from various grafted orange cuttings gives excellent results. The orange tree developed by Jewish agronomists requires little care and produces a pulpy, sweet and pleasant fruit. This juicy citrus fruit, full of vitamin C, is very healthy. It grows easily in stony soil and is set to become an international star. Shamouti oranges keep well, making them ideal for export. Stamped Jaffa orange, it has been one of Israel’s best ambassadors.
Definition of Palestine in
le Larousse of 1925
1925 | PALESTINE: land between Phoenicia to the north, the Dead Sea to the south, the Mediterranean to the west and the Syrian desert to the east, watered by the Jordan River. It’s a narrow strip of land, squeezed between the sea and Lebanon, with the Jordan River running through it and flowing into the Dead Sea. It is also referred to in Scripture as the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land and Judea.
A Jewish state under British mandate; capital Jerusalem.
Hebrew University
The first university in the Middle East, in Jerusalem, opens its doors. The educational cycle is complete, from learning to read to university degrees. Culture and science progress. Young people from other nations came to study. In return, young Jews and Arabs take part in student exchanges, visiting countries all over the world, learning about other cultures and returning with their knowledge. It’s a kind of lung for the creation of much-appreciated international relations.
1928 | Foundation of the Muslim Brotherhood movement by Hassan al Bana. The charter they adopted stipulated three objectives: to unite the Muslim governments of the Middle East under Sharia law, to fight and destroy Zionism, and to establish a universal caliphate.
1929 | Tensions between Jews and Muslims become more insistent. These were conflicts over sacred sites claimed by both communities: Mainly the Temple esplanade, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the tomb of Machpela in Hebron, the burial place of Abraham and his wife Sara, parents of Isaac for the Jews and Abraham father of Ishmael for the Muslims.
Exaggerated claims on both sides fuelled tensions and misunderstandings. Finally, on August 24, an uncontrollable Arab mob attacked the Jews of Hebron. The British police were overwhelmed, unable to keep order and, above all, arrived too late. Sixty-seven Jews, a third of them students at the Talmudic Academy, were massacred. Houses and synagogues were looted; 435 Jews survived, hidden by nineteen local Arab families.
On September 1, the English leader, Sir John Chancellor, condemned the atrocious acts committed by groups of ruthless, bloodthirsty criminals… murders perpetrated on defenceless members of the Jewish population… accompanied by unspeakable acts of savagery.44
The tone is set! The Jews don’t want a second massacre and decide to form their own police force. A young, dynamic and experienced man, ex-British army volunteer officer David Ben Gourion, the man who knows the desert inside out, is the ideal leader, both in mind and present. He is entrusted with this important task.
1931 The Jewish economy needs money for investment. The export of wine from the Promised Land was an undeniable success. Slightly sweet, it is served on Sabbath evenings and religious holidays in Jewish communities around the world.
Another fruit is becoming the region’s best ambassador: the shamouti orange. From Jaffa to the Saron plains in the north, the trees produce tons of juicy, delicious fruit. Thanks to its natural shelf-life, it can be transported wherever demand requires. Under the Jaffa label, other citrus fruits with multiple aromas will be produced and exported.