Question 1
Evaluate the interpretations in both of the two passages and explain which you think is more convincing as an explanation of the problems facing Britain in Palestine in the period after the
First World War.
Passage A
When the British government undertook the mandate for Palestine in 1919, it was unaware that it was taking on an impossible task. Its failure to solve the problems was to infect Britain’s relations with the Arabs for decades. The Arabs, who fundamentally rejected both the mandate and the Balfour Declaration, boycotted elections and demanded a national government. Severe rioting ensued. On the insistence of the High Commissioner the British government issued a White Paper declaring Britain’s intention to hold the balance between the Arab and Jewish communities. However, the Arabs were convinced by this that the true intention was to wait to grant self-government until the Jews in Palestine had grown sufficiently in numbers and power to become dominant. The Arabs continued to demand an immediate national government, citing the promises made to them during the war. They rejected the proposal for the formation of an Arab Agency to match the Jewish Agency.
The years 1923 to 1929 were relatively quiet, mainly because Arab fears were reduced by the drop in Jewish immigration. Although the Zionists continued to consolidate their settlements and their political presence, their hopes of dominance receded. However, in 1929 the situation sharply deteriorated. Disputes concerning religious practices led to widespread communal clashes, with severe casualties. Troops were rushed in and order was restored. Arabs massacred Jewish colonists; Arab casualties were mainly caused by British soldiers.
Adapted from: Peter Mansfield, A History of the Middle East, published in 1992.
Passage B
The British mandate in Palestine was doomed from the outset. The terms of the Balfour Declaration were written into the preamble of the mandatory instrument by the League of Nations to formalise Britain’s position in Palestine. The British in Palestine were required to establish both a viable state from among the indigenous people of the land and a national home for the Jews of the world. There was simply no way to establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine without prejudice to the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. Inevitably the mandate engendered conflict between rival nationalisms – the highly organised Zionist movement, and a new Palestinian nationalism forged by the dual threats of British imperialism and Zionist colonialism. Palestine was a new country in an ancient land, cobbled together from parts of different Ottoman provinces to suit imperial convenience.
The British entered the Middle East with the intention of integrating the Arab world into an empire they thought would last forever. They encountered stiff opposition from the outset, particularly in Palestine. The indigenous Arab people, who had opposed Zionist immigration for years, did not accept Britain’s commitment to build a Jewish national home in their land. Yet the message seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Britain determined Palestine’s future without consultation or the consent of its people. Where peaceful means failed, desperate people soon turned to violence.
Adapted from: E. Rogan, The Arabs: A History, published in 2009.
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Answer
