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Posted by synthesis Promoted 79 days 14 hours ago 2449 views
editorial
Politics / Mideast Conflict
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People are as people do. A discussion of Palestine during the years of the British Mandate.
The land does not care to whom it belongs. Possession is a construct of the human mind to ensure that the ground on which we stand continues to provide and succour. If our land is good, we'll put our roots down deep. And our land is good. We grow our food and unearth our wealth in the very same ground we lay our dead to rest. We, as human beings, are inextricably linked to the land. We nurture it and it, in turn, nurtures us. This concept is self-evident. We claim ownership on land because it owns us.
Humans are a living creature just as any other. We crave prosperity and security. The desire to see our families happy healthy and wealthy is a universal endeavour to which all people ascribe. When the land is better over the next hill, then people will exercise Thomas Jefferson's inalienable right to pursue their happiness. Race, religion, creed and ideals pale into insignificance against the search for a better life. In this brief snapshot of history, I will endeavour to tell the story of three peoples acting as people always do.
It's 1922 and the Great War had just been fought. Britain and her allies had emerged triumphant and had destroyed the decaying Ottoman Empire. The British had paid a high price though. The gruelling war had left her weary and riddled with debt. The emerging economies of Japan and America had stripped Britain of her export market and had forced her into recession. The once great Empire was in decline. Nevertheless, to the victor go the spoils and so the Middle East had fallen under British mandate.
The Jewish people had survived two millennia in Europe. The Jews displayed no desire to assimilate into the cultures they lived within, and Christendom had never displayed fondness for the 'Christ killing' exiles living in their midst. Furthermore, the Jewish bend for finance had placed them in a position of open disdain. A large portion of the banking sectors were controlled by the Jews. Their people were educated, wealthy, and tight knit. Needless to say, a welcome had never been given, and the Jews had never tried to get one.
The Arabs of Palestine had been living under Ottoman rule for the past 400 years. It was an empire on the decline and there had been an absence of real rule for some time. Palestine was a sparsely populated country at this time. Figures fluctuate on who is telling the story but Palestine had about 650,000 Arabs, with only 80,000 Jews at this time. The Ottomans had sided with Russia, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and had lost. Their empire had been carved up between the allied powers, creating modern day Turkey, Syria, and Palestine.
So now we have three peoples, each on their own pursuit of happiness. In the years between 1922 and 1933 many people exercised that right. So let's start with Mother Britannia.
Devoid of Ottoman rule, the League of Nations had placed Palestine under British Mandate. They were charged with creating a state that could manage itself and its people. The British were eager to pursue prosperity and their colonies had always been the source of their wealth. The British people cried out for a return to the days when their power was absolute. Britain had long held Egypt, and with the Ottomans gone, they had a chance to make the mid east into another valuable possession. Britain began their work on Palestine by establishing major trade routes and building a port city at Haifa. Western technologies and innovations flooded into Palestine and triggered a rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. Prosperity came to Palestine, and in turn was passed on to Britain. Britain had worked in her own self interest, pursuing her own prosperity in a way that brought wealth to both nations. But other wealthy parties also had an interest in Palestine, the Jews wished for a return to their homeland.
The Jewish communities in Europe were a discriminated minority. European history is littered with forced relocations, expulsions, forced conversions, destruction and killings. Despite enduring the attentions of Christendom, the Jews had emerged in the 19th century with wealth, power and influence in Europe. Judea was the land of their ancestors, and Jewish religion is centred on the veneration of their forefathers. Judaism is essentially a tradition more than a religion. Its focus rests on the retelling of stories, the recounting of trials and tribulations, and the reaffirmation of the ties within their community. The desire to return to their spiritual home had never dimmed, fuelled as it was by the constant hostility that existed towards them. But for the first time in thousands of years the mid east was controlled by western powers, and Palestine was now open to them. The Jews were heading home, but it was not to an empty house.
The Palestinians were mostly farmers and herders. They had a similar standard of living to those of other Arabs in neighbouring countries. The Ottomans had been lax in their control over Palestine and the 1800's saw a series of revolts and uprisings that were both bloody and unsuccessful. From this there was a developing sense of nationalism. The Palestinians died young, had little wealth, and were largely devoid of the trappings of western civilisation. Over the course of the mandate, the immigrating Jews brought wealth and western technology that the Palestinians never expected. The rapid industrialisation and urbanisation brought many Palestinians from the countryside and into the richer areas controlled by the Jews. The standard of living began to rise in Palestine, so too did the life expectancy. The technology and capital brought by the Jewish settlers and British control enabled the drainage of the northern marshes and the reclamation of much of the desert for agriculture.
In 1922 the Arabs of Palestine numbered 650,000 and the Jews 80,000. By 1930 the Jewish population had doubled to 160,000 (60,000 from immigration and 20,000 from natural growth). The British were alarmed by this rapid growth and placed restrictions on the number of Jews wishing to enter.
The population of Palestine had remained virtually unchanged during the Ottoman rule. The rudimentary methods of agriculture, constant wars, and ineffective medicine had provided an effective population cap for hundreds of years. As conditions became better in Palestine, the Arabic population had begun to grow naturally. People were living longer and had more surviving children. Palestine was experiencing prosperity, a phenomenon that was seldom seen in the mid east. During the Mandate years the Arab Palestinian enjoyed wages double that of their neighbours Syria, Egypt, Iran, and Transjordan. Palestine now offered an abundance of well paid jobs, medicine, education, western goods, and stability under British control. The Arabic world had noticed, and its people were moving to greener pastures.
The official census of 1930 puts the Arab population at 820,000, without immigration. Conservative estimates of illegal immigration push that number to well over a million. Jordanians, Egyptians, Syrians and Iranians had flooded into Palestine in search of a better life.
The world is our oyster. Each of us is born into this world safe in the knowledge that the earth is our playground. No matter how far we develop as a people there always is one inescapable truth that no amount of technological or philosophical growth can overcome. We are human. Humans are as humans do. We are intrinsically destined to act in our own self interest. This is not to deny that acts of extraordinary selflessness do not occur. Rather that these acts are done by an individual's desire to make the world better for themselves and their families. The pursuit of our own happiness never stumbles, never falters. It is what compels us to live full, good lives. It is also what makes us so fierce in our retribution. We all hold the belief that a better life exists for us, and that the path to that better life is within our power to travel. The immigration of the Jews and the Arabs into the land of Palestine during the Mandate years is a story of people acting on a simple belief that a better future can exist for them.
And so people pack their bags, and pursue their happiness.
Population Resources:
http://www.mideastweb.org/palpop.htm
http://www.jstor.org/pss/4282493
http://www.meforum.org/522/the-smoking-gun-arab-immigration-into-palestine
Other:
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp
http://www.mideastweb.org/mandate.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_people
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/mandate.html
http://www.eretzyisroel.org
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=2139
http://www.palestinefacts.org
http://www.historyguide.org/Europe/lecture9.html
Related Links:The Pursuit of Happiness