In his peerless work on the perfidious Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the appalling consequences for Palestine and its people that flowed (and continue to flow) therefrom, Palestine: The Reality (1939), British historian J.M.N. Jeffries wrote these justifiably angry words:
"The underlying assumption of [a certain line of 'thought' peddled by the Anglo-Zionist establishment of 1920-23] is that the soldiers who fell in Palestine fell fighting to provide there that form of government which [wartime prime minister] Lloyd George installed. The 5th Norfolks, the 8th Hampshires bled so that the Sevres Treaty might not die: the men of the 53rd Division left six hundred casualties on the Samson Ridge so that the nine subterfuges of the Balfour Declaration might pass unchallenged: the Australian Light Horse charged crying, Advance the National Home! Was anything further from the truth? We know why our soldiers died - in loyalty to their country." (p 402)
My first inkling that this old Zionist myth, stripped of course of its British references, was being recycled here in Australia came when I read the following in 2008:
"The ties that bind Jerusalem and Canberra were further cemented with the commemoration last November of the 90th anniversary of the Charge of the Australian Light Horse brigade [31/10/07], when brave Aussie Diggers trounced the Turks at Be'er Sheva, paving the way for the capture of Jerusalem... And it is in Be'er Sheva that Richard Pratt is ploughing funds to build the Park of the Australian Soldier - a permanent memorial to those who died in battle for the Jewish state." (Editorial by Dan Goldberg, Rhapsody: Linking Culture between Israel & Australia, Jan-Mar 2008)
I had stumbled upon what might be termed a 'zombie myth' - long buried, effectively forgotten (but for Jeffries' mention), dug up decades later, dusted off, and re-purposed for another use, but retaining still the core propaganda trope of the original. After all these years, whether with or without external involvement, Pratt Foundation CEO Sam Lipski and his cardboard king (Visy Industries) boss and prominent Zionist donor to the Labor and Liberal parties, the late Dick Pratt, had come up with a neat way of "cementing" - mark that word! - alleged "binding ties" between Israel and Australia when Pratt funded the construction of the Park of the Australian Soldier in Be'er Sheva*. This has now become the point of dissemination of the zombie myth to thousands of clueless Australians, especially politicians, who flock to Be'er Sheva annually.
Never have Zionist PR merchants managed anything quite like this in any country, except perhaps in fostering the myth of 'lost Jewish tribes' in many of our South Pacific neighbours.
For my exploration of this phenomenon, just click on the AIF label below.
[*Of course 'Be'er Sheva' simply did not exist in 1917. Back then it was the Palestinian Arab town of Beersheba. Hopefully, one day, it will return to its old self.]
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3 comments:
On November 7, 1918, a joint declaration made by the British and French governments cited by the Peel Report:-
"The object aimed at by France and Great Britain in prosecuting in the East the war let loose by German ambition is the complete and definite emancipation of the peoples so long oppressed by the Turks, and the establishment of National Governments and administrations deriving their authority from the initiative and free choice of the indigenous populations."
"In order to carry out these intentions France and Great Britain are at one in encouraging and assisting the establishment of indigenous Governments and administrations in Syria and Mesopotamia, now liberated by the Allies, and in territories the liberation of which they are engaged in securing, and in recognising these as soon as they are established. Far from wishing to impose on the populations of these regions any particular institutions, they are only concerned to secure by their support and adequate assistance the regular working of Governments and administrations freely chosen by the populations themselves."
The war fought in the Middle East against the Turks is inextricably linked to: the promulgation of the Balfour declaration, the subterfuge of Arab liberation from the Ottomans by the Sykes-Picot agreement, and the eventual acquiescence by Feisal at the San Remo council and treaty of Sevres. All of which led to the establishment of the British Mandate in Palestine, heralded a callous dispossession programme and exiled a large number of the indigenous Palestinian population.
No wonder someone has to paint that pig with the Australian flag!
http://www.balfourproject.org/agreement-between-emir-feisal-and-dr-weizmann/
World War One has not really ended. Palestine remains under belligerent occupation by aliens. First by the British and then the baton was passed to the land hungry Zionists.
Who wrote what to whom or what was agreed by outsiders talking among themselves means nothing.
Anon. 1 Your Balfour Project reference gives only the text of this so-called agreement. If you wish to know the full, definitive story on this matter, may I refer you to chapter 15 of J.M.N Jeffries' 1939 classic, Palestine: The Reality. There are other problems too with what you write: a) There is no inextricable link between the BD and Britain's decision to take on the Turks. That decision was made while the BD was still only a gleam in Weizmann's eyes. The BD was nothing more than a sordid betrayal of the earlier pledge given to the Sherif of Mecca by Sir Henry McMahon in October 1915; b) Faisal had nothing to do with the San Remo Conference or the draconian (but abortive) Treaty of Sevres. Apart from the victorious imperial powers, only the Zionists got a look in at San Remo. Again, I refer you to Jeffries' great work, specifically chapter 20. PTR was republished last year, so feel free to order the very best Christmas you could possibly give yourself.
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