1 ABSTRACT The thesis discusses how the management of information available to the Asquith and Lloyd George Governments on Palestine, which because of its importance to the defence of the Suez Zone was an area of crucial strategic importance to the British Empire and should at least be British influenced, between 1914 and 1920, evolved into a strategy designed to acquire Palestine as a British dominated region within the British Empire. The thesis also discusses how Britain’s original intention to support an Arab revolt against the Ottomans, and thereby create a friendly country in Palestine which would protect Suez, evolved into a strategy that sought to acquire Palestine itself. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter deals with the appointment of Lord Kitchener as War Minister and how a changed foreign policy, forced on the Government by the Ottoman Empire’s alliance with the Central Powers, was brought under his control, which enabled him to create a new British Vice-Royalty in North Africa and the Middle East. It also discusses British relations with the Arabs, responses to Arab nationalism and the obstacles to Lord Kitchener’s desire for a new Vice Royalty presented by French interests that resulted in the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, dividing the Ottoman Middle East territories between Britain and France. The second chapter covers the history of the British Government’s involvement with Zionism together with the reasons and strategic implications for British support of Zionist aims of restoration in their ‘Promised Land’, British misconceptions of Jewish and Arab nationalism, British clashes with the French, and the nature of Arab nationalism in Palestine. The third chapter examines how the Paris Peace and San Remo Conferences led to a British mandate and changes to the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The final chapter examines the conflict between Arabs and Zionists over land ownership; the Military Government’s handling of these disputes, and the consequent effect on British strategy to govern Palestine. Ultimately, British success in Palestine would be determined by the efficacy of their methods in dealing with the contentious issues of land, since both Arabs and Zionist claimed sole ownership. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Abstract 1 Acknowledgements 4 Transliteration and abbreviations 5 Introduction: 6 Imperial and Middle Eastern Strategic Considerations 7 Zionism and the Question of Finance 8 Arab -Zionist Relations and Post War British Rule 8 The Historiographical Debate 9 Conclusion 19 Chapter 1: Britain, France and the Quagmire of Arab Independence 22 Protecting the Empire 25 Industrial Shortcomings 25 Kitchener Takes Control 27 A New Foreign Policy 33 Co-operating with France 36 Rise of Arab Nationalism 37 France Repositioned 42 France’s Claim to Syria 42 Implementing Strategy on Palestine and Ottoman Territory 47 Negotiating Factors 55 Sykes’ View of Palestine 62 De Bunsen’s Strategic Recommendations 64 Flawed Intelligence, and Flawed Strategy 66 The Arab Bureau and Arab Independence 67 Overtures to Sharif Hussein 70 Mixed Messages 74 The Al-Faruqi Episode 76 Rival Chiefs 84 Guarantees of Independence 86 Hussein’s Territorial Demands 90 Conclusion 92 Chapter 2: Al Haaretz Asher Arecha (To A Land Which I Will Show You). 98 Introduction 98 The Chosen People 100 The Price of Exile 103 Tradition in the Galut 104 The Promised Land 106 Haskalah and Aliyah 108 Forging a Nation 112 Rise of Chovevi Zion 114 Herzl and the Rise of Anti-Semitism 118 Belief in Restoration 121 Restoration and Early Twentieth Century British Politicians 128 Gaining British Support: Weizmann and his Promotion of Zionism 129 British Conundrums: Change of Strategy 1914 131 British Interest in Zionism Grows 132 Anti-Zionist Perspective of a Jewish State 143 A New Direction 1916: Zionists and the Lloyd George Government 147 French Interest 1915-17 151 Influencing America 154 3 Influencing Russia 1917 156 Difficulties in the Path to Ultimate Success 158 The Balfour Declaration 2nd November 1917 160 Conclusion 164 Chapter 3: Defining Palestine 169 Introduction 169 Arab Perspectives 1900-14 169 Pre Mandate Zionist Perspectives 171 Reconciliation Attempts 173 Other Cooperation Attempts 175 Post War Cooperation Attempts 176 Revising Sykes-Picot, 1917-19 177 The Mandate and its Boundaries 181 Conclusion 183 Chapter 4: Land Disputes 185 Economics and Military Control 186 Strategy and Military Government 188 Political Realities 192 Arab Perspectives 199 Arab Self-Determination and the Military Administration 200 Aliyot (The First and Second Aliyah) 203 Economics of Land Categories 206 Effects of the Agricultural Background in Ottoman Palestine 208 Politics of Land Purchase 210 Whitehall Acts 212 Fundamental Antipathy 216 Conclusion 217 Conclusion 223 Bibliography 237 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My passion for history has spanned the last five and a half decades though, until a few years ago, my desire to pursue history in an academic fashion was unrealisable. That it has remained an unquenchable desire for so many years is owed to the inspiration of my long retired Junior School form teacher, Mr. Sidney Danes. Research and completion of this PhD thesis owes much to a number people whose assistance, support, and advice was invaluable. First my thanks go to my supervisor, Professor Vanessa Martin, for her guidance. After so many years in industry, it was clear that my writing skills needed considerable adjustment to meet the register required for a Doctoral thesis. Achieving this standard owes much to Dr. Peregrine Horden whose clear advice was of immense worth. His suggestions for alterations to parts of the first two chapters greatly improved their presentation and layout, and significantly facilitated writing the remainder of this thesis. My thanks must also go to the late Emeritus Dr. Julian Chrysostimides, and Dr. Charalambos Dendrinos, of the Hellenic Institute. Their interest and questions on Jewish history and religious practice resulted in a more readable chapter on the two thousand year old theological basis for political Zionism, and our many discussions on history have been a significant highlight of this opus. My research in the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem greatly benefited from the advice of Dr. Rochelle Rubinstein, the Deputy Director. Also, Roy Noy whose skill obtaining documents using the Archive’s database allowed me valuable time for additional research. Much of this thesis concerns Anglo-Jewry, a community whose opinions are always diverse. I am grateful to Rabbi Rachel Benjamin of South Bucks Jewish Congregation for the opportunity to use the Synagogue’s Adult Education programme for presenting papers based on my research, as a means of testing my material on a highly partisan audience. To my daughter Mrs. Jocelyn Waite and her husband Paul, both history teachers, my grateful thanks for their objective, incisive, and informed observations on the ‘working museum of industrial archeology’ that was British industry at the outbreak of the First World War. Similarly, my daughter, Mrs. Wendy Murray, showed exemplary patience enduring my loquacious responses to her questions, of considerable help in writing this complicated history. Finally, my greatest thanks must be to my wife, Jeannine. Her unflagging encouragement and support over the past six years, her tolerance and understanding when I felt frustrated, raised my spirits whenever they were low. Without her love, support, and patience this thesis could not possibly have been accomplished. 5 A Note on the Transliteration The transliteration system is basically that of the Cambridge History of Judaism. Well known place names such as Jerusalem, Haifa and Jaffa, have been rendered without diacritics, as have commonly used words of Hebrew origin found in the Oxford English dictionary, such as ‘Torah’ and ‘Talmud’. Where an Israeli author has published a work in English their name has been rendered in the form they have chosen. Abbreviations CAB War Cabinet Papers CMND Reports by Command of His Majesty the King CZA Central Zionist Archives FO Foreign and Commonwealth Office HMLRO House of Lords Record Office IJMS International Journal of Middle East Studies ISA Israel State Archives JBIIA Journal of the British Institute of International Affairs L/P & S India Office Political and Secret MECA Middle East Centre Archive – St Antony’s College, Oxford MES Journal of Middle Eastern Studies SAD Durham University Sudan Archive TNA The National Archive 6 6 INTRODUCTION One of the most far-reaching outcomes of the First World War was the creation of Palestine, initially under Britain as the Mandatory, out of an ill-defined area of the southern Syrian boundary of the Ottoman Empire. This War was unique, both quantitatively and qualitatively, so determining strategy demanded a higher level of management skill to assemble myriad sources of information into an informative coherent picture for War Cabinet discussions. Though much historiography has examined specific aspects of Palestine the process that evolved British strategy has not been part of these works. This contribution to Palestine’s historiography will examine how the decision making process was managed by those key British Ministers, civil servants, diplomats and military staff directly or indirectly involved in devising a plan that transformed the Middle East from an area conspicuous by its absence of geopolitical nation states into the divided and faction ridden countries of today. British Strategy for the Middle East and Palestine