British cut up and divided their empire like it was cake. Not realizing the arbitrary lines they are drawing are full of real issues, real values, real emotions and real people. From Iraq, to India-Pakistan, to Africa, to even some Island disputes between China and Japan, Brits did not think it through when they decided to pack up and leave.
Some say it was done on purpose with the thought being that conflicts would keep people weak and somehow that would help keep the crown strong.
I don’t believe that. They however did manage to leave mess behind.
Seems a fair enough criticism, however, it would be worth pointing out to the author that same ‘chattering classes’ who condemn Israel for ‘Imperialism’ are generally not the type of people who are fond of bellowing lusty renditions of ‘Rule Britannia’ in praise of the glorious British Empire either. There is no hypocrisy from them when they criticise Israel’s alleged ‘imperialism’ for their part as individuals....
How preposterous.
It wasn't "racism" that drove the British to act against Spain. Their motive was to block the Spanish from taking over the world, including the New World.
Israel history ping
The current breed otherwise known as Marxists.
And, yes, Marxists hate Israel.
Well, such is the party line. Scholars reexamining that era are concluding that Britain was not as hostile to Zionism as the propagandists of the period claimed.
I believe it is a bit misleading to assert that Her Majesty's Government promised Palestine to the Jews.
Lloyd George's government authorized a letter pledging the support of the British government for the establishment in Palestine of a ‘National Home’ for the Jewish people. Neville Chamberlain's government abrogated the declaration in 1939.
Joan Peters’ book, From Time Immemorial, does an outstanding job of detailing the past history of Arab animosity and treachery towards Jews over the past 1500 years.
The Ottaman Turks, frustrated by the lack of tax revenue generated by Palestine, invited European Jewry to emigrate to that region and restore its usefulness. The Jews built farms and orchards, then fellahin (Arab peasants) migrated into Palestine from surrounding areas to seasonally work in the fields and orchards. Ms. Peters fully develops the repercussions of the above, and the age-old hatred Arab Muslims have for Jews.
I was surprised to find that animostiy traces as far back as 3500 years ago, when three ancient Hebrew tribes separated from Moses and traveled south into the Arabian penninsula. They set up trading posts and thrived for 2000 years before being wiped out by the Prophet Muhammed, angered by Jewish leaders unwilling to accept Muhammed as a new Prophet. So Muhammed ordered his new converts to slaughter all Jews, everywhere and forever.
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Ping
ping to reader later
very well written
Ping for comments.
Outside of the Muslim countries, no press in the world is as biased, as unfair, and as dishonest and vindictive towards Israel as the British press.Britain has a press? I thought all those were published in the OPEC countries. Thanks indcons.
I knew the writer of this piece was lazy when she wrote ‘England’ rather than Britain.
Not only are those two not the same(a common mistake outside Britain and Ireland), but Balfour was a Scotsman.
She misses the ramifications of the Woodrow Wilson’s idealism and the subsequent US refusal to participate in the League of Nations after making the Mandates integral to the US entry into the League.
The fecklessness of the USA, after promising participation in the League and then taking it’s ball and going home, left the British in a rather untenable situation.
And, if they had wanted, Canada and the USA and Australia could have opened up entry to Europe’s Jews instead of letting them languish in Europe.
I think it apt to remark on the bombing of the King David Hotel. It is true that the switchboard operator got a warning about a bomb. So many false alarms had been received generally about bombs, it was thought it was just another one.
It is a matter of conjecture as to whether the terrorists knew this. Herewith the figures of the dead.
41 Palestinians.
28 British
17 Jews
4 various Egyptian, Armenian and Turkish.
Tragically for Britain, the term that would have drastically help turn the propaganda war, was this one. It was unknown at that time, I believe.
Peace Keepers.