British Rule in Palestine
BY JOSEF FRAENKEL
CROSSROADS TO ISRAEL. By
Christopher Sykes.
ALLENBY. By Brian Gardner.
MANDATE MEMORIES-1918-1948.
By Norman and Helen Bentwrich.
The latest book by Christopher
Sykes is an important contribution
to the history of Zionist, Arab and
British policies during the Pale-
stine Mandatory era.
Christopher Sykes was just ten
years old when his father, Sir
Mark Sykes, opened the gates to
Weizmann and Sokolow (February
1917) for direct negotiations with
the government which led to the
Balfour Declaration. He witnessed
the development of events from
Balfour to Bevin and served dur-
ing the last war in the Middle East.
His "Two Studies in Virtue" (1953)
includes a fine essay on the origins
of the Balfour Declaration and six
years later, his "Orde Wingate"
too was well received. Sir Mark
Sykes lives on in Zionist history
(Sykes-Picot Agreement and Chris-
topher Sykes will be remembered
for his books on Zionism and Pale-
stine.
It is a remarkable book, chal-
lenging — even provoking. The
reader will be fascinated, excited,
agitated or angered.
The book consists of 14 chapters,
each dealing with memorable hap-
penings in their chronological or-
der. Sykes presents the policies
and points of view of the Zionists,
Arabs and British, and then gives
his own judgment, sometimes for
and at other times against the Zi-
onists, Arabs or British.
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
38—Friday, April 30, 1965
Sykes recalls Theodor Herzl's
"Der Judenstatt" and writes:
"This was the idea, enthusiast-
ically shared by Balfour, which
inspired Zionism." Then he in-
cludes an excerpt from his "Two
Studies in Virtue" of Max Nor-
dau's statement in 1920, that the
word "Heimstaette" of the Basle
Program was a synonym and
"circumlocution" for State, and
Sykes accuses "the Zionists in
London" of being "guilty of
double-dealing". On the one
hand "a Sokolow or a Leon Si-
mon" gave an assurance that Zi-
onism did not mean a Jewish
State while others affirmed that
Zionism aimed at a State. This
view is outdated and hypocriti-
cal. There were Cultural, Polit-
ical and Practical Zionists and
their various interpretations
could be found in all the Zionist
textbooks. But in 1917, before
and after the Balfour Declara-
tion, the opinion of "the Zionists
in London" was expressed by
Chaim Weizmann at the Confer-
ence of the Zionist Federation
(May 1917): "States must be
built slowly, gradually, systemat-
ically and patiently. We, there-
fore, say that while the creation
of a Jewish Commonwealth in
Palestine is our final ideal—an
ideal for which the whole of the
Zionist Organization is working
—the way to achieve it lies
through a series of intermediary
stages."
Sir Mark Sykes (who died in
February 1919) had seen Lord
Rothschild's letter in the Times
(May 25, 1917) concerning "the
establishment of an autonomous
Jewish State" and he had attended
and addressed numerous private
and public Zionist meetings and
was acquainted with the various
Views. Besides, J. A. Balfour and
Lloyd George stated that by the
Balfour Declaration they had al-
ways meant an eventual Jewish
State.
A few weeks after the Balfour
Declaration, Hanukah 1917, Gen-
eral Allenby liberated Jerusalem,
after 400 years of Turkish rule.
Allenby's victory was celebrated
in every Jewish home, especially
in the Holy City which had a Jew-
ish majority.
Brian Gardner's biography de-
scribes Allenby as a great or one
of the greatest generals of the
First World War. The book will
attract readers interested in mili-
tary strategy. But it contains very
little on Zionism. Gardner who
studied Allenby's private archives
could have dealt more fully with
the subject.
Lloyd George first asked Gen-
eral Jan Christian Smuts, a sin-
cere friend of Zionism, to take
over the Palestine Command,
but he declined. Allenby was
therefore appointed (June 1917)
and b e f or e leaving London,
Lloyd George presented him
with "The Historical Geography
of the Holy Land" by Sir George
Adam Smith.
The first difficulties and con-
flicts with the Zionists flowed not
from the Arabs but from the hos-
tile military administration. Allen-
by "immediately" forbade the pub-
lication of the Balfour Declaration
in Palestine. When Col. Meinertz-
hagen complained about this, he was
recalled to London from Palestine.
The anti-Zionist military adminis-
tration nourished and supported
Arab nationalism and Arab hatred.
For two and a half years the text,
the spirit and the hopes of the
B a If our Declaration were sup-
pressed, encouraging the growth of
Arab disturbances and producing
the basic source of future White
Papers. The historian Christopher
Sykes names this chapter—"Inter-
regnum with Chaos."
From July 1920 until May 1948,
from the first High Commissioner
of Palestine, Herbert Samuel, to
the last, Sir Alan Cunningham,
there were, almost without inter-
ruption, dramatic clashes between
the three bodies: the Mandatory
Power, the Arabs and the Jews.
Whenever the Arabs organized vi-
olent demonstrations, London ap-
.
pointed a Royal Commission to
prepare a White Paper, usually
unfavorable to the Yishuv. Trans-
jordan — an illegitimate child of
Zionism—was established. • In spite
of the White Papers Jews contin-
ued the upbuilding of Palestine.
From one White Paper to the next
—the Yishuv became stronger and
the number of Jews increased from
100,000 to half a million.
Sykes writes skilfully of the his-
toric events in Palestine within the
framework of the political situa-
tion of the world, and of Balfour,
Lloyd George, Herbert Samuel,
Churchill, the Mufti, Lord Plumer
and Harry Truman. But his tender
hero is Weizmann. He considers
him "one of the supreme diplomat-
ists of his time," who achieved
most of his triumphs "through
private interviews, where his per-
sonal charm could have full play."
But Weizmann's enchantment was
futile in the presence of Lord
Passfield, whom Sykes condemned
as "the most anti-Zionist Secretary
of State with whom Zionists had to
deal at any time." At that time
about 170,000 Jews lived in Pale-
stine. Fifteen years later the num-
ber had increased to nearly 600,000
and Ernest Bevin shouted at Weiz-
mann: "If you want a fight you
can have it !" And the intense
fight ended with the establishment
of the State of Israel.
Sykes often uses the adjec-
tives: "moderate" and "extrem-
ist." When a "moderate" adopts
the ideas of an "extremist," he
still remains a "moderate." But
if an "extremist" is converted to
"moderate" views, he is still
called an "extremist." Jabotin-
sky is an "extremist" * and Bent-
wich a "moderate.".
One has to admire Norman Bent-
wich. This young patriarch who
was and is still active in numerous
societies, has published 30 books,
is constantly preparing new pub-
lications, writing articles, presid-
ing over or addressing meetings,
flying between London and Jeru-
salem and, on the way, visiting
Germany or Ethiopa. In 1940 he
and his sister Margery wrote a
book about their father Herbert
Bentwich, a co-founder of the Zi-
onist Federation of Great Britain
and about their mother, Susie.
Now, he and his wife, Helen, a
relative of Sir Herbert Samuel,
have produced "Mandate Memo-
ries." Incidentally, Helen Bent-
wich was chairman of the London
County Council (1956-1957).
From July 1, 1920, the military
administration became a civil one
with Herbert Samuel as High Com-
missioner. Norman Bentwich, the
attorney general in Palestine, and
his wife were collaborators and
participants in the events. They
knew all the leading personalities
and the book reflects their impres-
sions, their efforts to reach an un-
derstanding with the Arabs, their
service to the population of Pale-
stine and their reaction to personal
insults. Norman Bentwich, a peace-
loving liberal, a supporter of Brith
Shalom tried to be impartial and
to bring harmony into Jewish-Arab
relationships. But peace-making ac-
tions only increased the mistrust
of the Jews and of the Arabs.
There was always a "Bentwich
affair." An Arab shot and wound-
ed him, Zionist students, mainly
Revisionists, demonstrated against
him, and the bitterly anti-Zionist
part of the civil administration
wanted him to resign because he
was a Jew."
The reader will discover a fund
of political and social stories
which only the Bentwiches could
recount and a description of the
beginning and end of British rule
in Palestine. Although I am not
in agreement with all the views
expressed by Sykes and Bentwich,
I enjoyed reading the two stimu-
lating books.
Max Hirsch was named the third
top trainer during the past 40
years in a poll taken nationally by
Hialeah Racetrack. Hirsch Jacobs
was fourth in the trainer's, cate-
gory while Walter Blum was
fourth among jockeys.
Classical Scholar Sir Leon Simon
Dies in London; Adviser to. Israel
LONDON (JTA)—Sir Leon Si-
mon, who combined careers as a
British government official, ad-
viser to the government of Is-
rael and a recognized classical
scholar in Greek and Hebrew, died
here Tuesday at age 84.
Monument
Unveilings
(Unveiling announcements may be
inserted by mailing or by calling The
Jewish News office, 17100 W. 7 Mile
Rd., Detroit 35. VE 8-9364. Written an-
nouncements must be accompanied by
the name and address of the person
making the insertion. There is a stana-
ing charge of $3.00 for an unveiling
notice, measuring an inch in depth.)
*
*
The family of the late Isadore
Shapiro announces the unveiling
of a monument in his memory
noon Sunday, May 9, at Beth Abra
ham Cemetery. Rabbi Sperka will
officiate. Relatives and friends are
asked to attend.
* * *
The family of the late Samuel
Spinner announces the unveiling
of a monument in his memory noon
Sunday, May 2, at Chesed shel
Emes Cemetery. Rabbi Goldschlag
will officiate. Relatives and friends
are asked to attend.
* *
The family of the late Harry
Entin announces the unveiling of a
monument in his memory 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 2, at Workman's
C i r c l e Cemetery.. Relatives and
friends are asked to attend.
* * *
The family of the late Josephine
Wolf announces the unveiling of
a monument in her memory 10
a.m. Sunday, May 9, at Clover Hill
Park Cemetery. Rabbi Lehrman
will officiate. Relatives and friends
are asked to attend.
The Family of the Late
Educated at Oxford University,
he served as director of telecom-
munications at the British gen-
eral post office and as director
of the Post Office Savings Bank.
After retiring from the British
civil service, he served as chair-
man of the board of governors
of the Hebrew University and ad-
viser to the Israel government in
several fields.
He translated ancient Greek
literature into Hebrew and He-
brew into English. A disciple of
the Hebrew philosopher essay-
ist, Achad Haam, he wrote a biog-
raphy and many essays on him.
The Family of the Late
JEANETTE
SHAP I RO
Announces the unveiling
of a monument in her
memory noon Sunday, May
2, at Machpelah Cemetery.
Rabbi Gorrelick will offi-
ciate.
Alb
The Family of the Late
BERNARD
KAUFMAN
announces the unveiling
of a monument in his
memory 2 p.m. Sunday,
May 2, at Beth El Memo-
rial Park. Rabbi Syme will
officiate. Relatives and
friends are asked to
attend.
The Family of the Late
SARAH SA DOV I TZ
ROSE JACKSON
Announces the unveiling
of a. monument in her
memory 11:30 a.m. Sun-
day, May 9, at Beth Tefilo
Emanuel Cemetery. Rabbi
Levin will officiate. Rela-
tives and friends are ask-
ed to attend.
Announces the unveiling
of a monument in h e r
memory 1 p.m. Sunday,
May 9, at Chesed shel
Emes Cemetery. Rabbi
Goldschlag will oxiciate.
Relatives and friends are
asked to attend.
The Family of the Late
The Family of the Late
REBECCA
REISMAN TRINDA
DAVID MILLER
Announces the unveiling
of a monument in her
memory 1:30 p.m. Sun-
day, May 2, at Chesed shel
Emes Cemetery. Rabbi I.
Halpern will officiate. Re-
latives and friends are
asked to attend.
Announces the unveiling
of a- monument in h i s
memory 11 a.m. Sunday,
May 2, at Northwest He-
brew Memorial Park
Cemetery. Rabbi Segal
will officiate. Relatives
and friends are asked to
attend.
The Family of the Late
The Family of the Late
PHILIP
M ENDELSON
SAMUEL
GORDENKER
Announces the unveiling
of a monument in h i is
memory 1 p.m. Sunday,
May 2, at Hebrew Memo-
rial Park Cemetery, Pin-
sker Section. Rabbi Hal-
pern will o-f ficiat e.
Relatives and friends are
asked to attend.
Announces the unveiling
of a monument in h i s
memory 1:30 p.m. Sunday,
May 9,_ at Machpelah
Cemetery. Rabbi Brender
w i 1 I officiate. Relatives
and friends are asked to
attend.
The Family of the Late
The Family of the Late
HARRY
ALEXANDER
Announces the unveiling
of a monument in h i s
memory 1 p.m. Sunday,
May 9, at Chesed shel
Emes Cemetery. Rabbi
Sperka will officiate. Rela-
tives and friends are
asked to attend.
J EANNE H ERSH
Announces the unveiling'
of a monument in h e r
memory 12 noon Sunday,
May 2, at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Rabbi Syme
w i 11 officiate. Relatives
and friends are asked to
attend.