Balfour's Shadow

David Cronin

Description

This is the controversial history of the British government's involvement in the Zionist project, from the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to the present day.



Written by the British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, the Declaration stated 'His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object.' Its impact on history has been immense and still reverberates a century later, starting what has been referred to as a hundred years of war against the Palestinian people.



This history focuses on the devastating events which resulted from the Declaration, such as the Arab Revolt, the Nakba and establishment of the state, the 1956 and 1967 wars, the Cold War and the Oslo period. It also shines a light on controversial figures such as Tony Blair. In doing so, Balfour's Shadow provides a fascinating take on this much-contested, important history.
Timeline of Key Events

Text of Balfour Declaration

Introduction

1. Laying the Foundations

2. Bringing in the Black and Tans

3. ‘We Must Shoot to Kill’

4. Sowing the Seeds of Ethnic Cleansing

5. Arming Israel (1953-1956)

6. Arming Israel (1957-1979)

7. Sidelining the PLO

8. The Loyal Lieutenant

9. Partners in Crime

Postscript: Israel’s Greatest Friend?

Notes

Acknowledgements

Index

Sujets

• International Relations
• Post-Colonialism
• Political Science
• 20th Century
• Modern
• HISTORY
• Invasión (desambiguación)
• Arthur James Balfour
• Nakba
• Organización de las Naciones Unidas
• 1948 Palestinian exodus
• Balfour Declaration
• Israel
• Mandate Palestine
• Modern history
• History of the Middle East
• Geopolitics
• General officer
• Palestinian territories
• Zionism
• West Bank
• United Nations
• Palestinian National Authority
• Middle East
• Jerusalem
• Imperialism
• Colonialism
• British Empire
• Palestine
• Invasion
• Impérialisme (jeu vidéo)
• General
• Arthur Balfour
• Lebanon
• Obermodern-Zutzendorf
• Guerre de Palestine de 1948
• Gaza
• 1967
• 1948
• Organisation des Nations unies

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 juin 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781786801081
• Langue: English

Extrait

The most dramatic centenary account of the Balfour Declaration.
Robert Fisk
Like his other books, David Cronin s latest work sheds light in the dark corners of western imperialist policies that wreak havoc in most of the world. This one about British policies over the 100 years since Balfour is worthy of reading not only by every British person interested in truth but all humans who yearn for peace and justice.
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Professor at Bethlehem University
It is not surprising that each year the November anniversary of the Balfour promise is celebrated by British friends of Israel and mourned by millions of dispossessed Palestinian refugees. Speaking the truth about the catastrophic consequences of British support for Zionism, this amply documented book shows how Britain erected and for decades maintained the scaffolding that gave birth to a settler-colonial state in Palestine and the Palestinian Nakba. Acknowledging Britain s moral responsibility towards the Palestinians is a key message of this timely and courageous book. A must read for those seeking truth and reconciliation in the Middle East.
Nur Masalha, editor, Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies
Journalists , David Cronin tells us, have a duty to cause trouble for the powerful. This sense of duty informs every word of Balfour s Shadow. From Foreign Secretary Balfour s illegitimate 1917 promise to the Jews of a homeland in Palestine to Tony Blair s global grandstanding and profiteering on Israel s behalf in the twenty-first century, Cronin exposes Britain as an enabler of Israeli apartheid. Cronin blends indignation with meticulous objectivity in an alternative history that is concise but comprehensive.
Raymond Deane, Composer
David Cronin describes vividly how, by deception, Britain s imperial designs and perceived need for international Jewish support in wartime gave birth to the Balfour Declaration of November 1917, which handed Arab Palestine to the Zionist Movement, as a Jewish national home or Jewish state. Cronin examines Britain s continuing pernicious, deadly and lucrative relationship with Israel, its political support for Israel s war crimes and theft of Arab land and the mutual arms trade.
Tim Llewellyn, former BBC Middle East Correspondent
Theresa May vowed in a recent speech to the Conservative Friends of Israel to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration with pride and to take the UK-Israeli relationship to the next level . Balfour s Shadow challenges May s propagandist celebration through its exposure of the declaration s fundamental illegitimacy, supported by a wealth of factual detail on arms and money transfers, methods of repression, and the racist discourse through which the British Mandate prepared the establishment of Israel and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
Rosemary Sayigh, author of Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries and Too Many Enemies: The Palestinian Experience in Lebanon
Balfour s Shadow is a passionate, cogently argued presentation of the tragic and devastating consequences of the 1917 Balfour Declaration. Cronin s work provides a unique insight into the historic and current relationship between Britain, Israel and the Palestinians.
Selma Dabbagh, novelist and playwright
This superb book is a revelation, uncovering the dreadful history - and present - of Britain s connivance with Israeli atrocities. It is also badly-needed given the silence that has largely prevailed, in both academia and media, on the crucial relationship between British and Israeli governments. It really deserves to be widely read and understood.
Mark Curtis, author of Secret Affairs: Britain s Collusion with Radical Islam
Balfour s Shadow
Balfour s Shadow
A Century of British Support for Zionism and Israel
David Cronin
First published 2017 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright David Cronin 2017
The right of David Cronin to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 9944 7 Hardback ISBN 978 0 7453 9943 0 Paperback ISBN 978 1 7868 0107 4 PDF eBook ISBN 978 1 7868 0109 8 Kindle eBook ISBN 978 1 7868 0108 1 EPUB eBook



This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.
Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Simultaneously printed in the United Kingdom and United States of America
Contents
Timeline of key events
Text of Balfour Declaration
Introduction
1. Laying the foundations
Rumours of Russia
The golden key
Cousins divided
2. Bringing in the Black and Tans
Copper-fastened by Churchill
A certain ruthlessness
Teaching a lesson
Guns for the colonies
Down with the English
3. We must shoot to kill
Discretion to destroy
Bad villages
Dirty war
4. Sowing the seeds of ethnic cleansing
A strained alliance
Corpse city
Carving up Palestine
Midwifing a miracle?
5. Arming Israel (1953-1956)
Pressure from Peres
Skullduggery over Suez
A killing spree in Gaza
6. Arming Israel (1957-1979)
Shopping for submarines
Greasing the wheels of occupation
We cannot afford morality
Seize every order
7. Sidelining the PLO
Kowtowing to Kissinger
A patronising attitude
Humouring Israel
Rallying behind Reagan
8. The loyal lieutenant
A swift peace?
Get rid of Saddam
Palestine s police state
Suffering for Israel?
Spindoctor for a siege
9. Partners in crime
Devoted to drones
Eyeing big orders
Clegg s crocodile tears
Conservative cheerleading
Smearing solidarity
Postscript: Israel s greatest friend?
Notes
Acknowledgements
Index
Timeline of key events
November 1917
British government declares its support for the objective of establishing a Jewish national home in Palestine.
December 1917
British Army captures Jerusalem.
April 1920
San Remo conference of allied powers agrees to place Palestine under British administration.
June 1920
Herbert Samuel arrives in Palestine as Britain s first high commissioner.
May 1921
Riots in Jaffa; Britain responds to this and subsequent unrest by sending extra security forces to Palestine.
May 1922
Winston Churchill, then colonial secretary, publishes a white paper on Palestine. It reconfirms commitment to Balfour Declaration but denies that Britain wants Palestine to be wholly Jewish .
August 1929
British forces suppress riots in Jerusalem and other Palestinian cities.
October 1933
British forces attack Palestinian protesters in Jaffa.
April 1936
General strike declared by Palestinians political leadership; revolt against Zionism and British administration begins.
June 1936
British authorities destroy Palestinian homes in Jaffa s Old City.
July 1937
Commission appointed by the British government recommends mass transfer of Palestinians - voluntary or otherwise - so that Jewish state may be established.
March 1939
British government drafts white paper recommending that Palestine become an independent state, where Jews and Arabs share government , within a decade.
Summer 1939
British Army states that the Palestinian revolt has been smashed .
November 1944
Armed Zionist group, the Lehi, assassinates Walter Guinness, a British politician, in Cairo.
July 1946
Another Zionist group, the Irgun, bombs British government offices in Jerusalem s King David Hotel.
September 1947
UN General Assembly votes for separate Jewish and Arab states to be formed in Palestine.
Spring-Summer 1948
Zionist forces undertake major ethnic cleansing campaign in Palestine.
May 1948
British rule in Palestine ends; state of Israel formally established.
May 1950
Britain, the USA and France sign Tripartite Declaration on limiting arms supplies to the Middle East.
October 1956
Israel attacks Egypt, implementing a secret plan drafted with Britain and France.
January 1959
Britain signs contract to supply Israel with Centurion tanks; various similar deals follow.
June 1967
Israel goes to war with Arab neighbours, making heavy use of weapons supplied by Britain.
October 1973
War between Israel, Egypt and Syria.
June 1980
Supported by Margaret Thatcher s government, the European Economic Community issues declaration on Israel-Palestine conflict.
September 1982
Thatcher condemns massacres by Israel s proxy forces in Lebanon as barbaric .
May 1986
Thatcher undertakes first official visit by British prime minister to present-day Israel.
December 1987
First Palestinian uprising - or intifada - begins.
September 1993
Israel and PLO sign Oslo accords; Britain declares full support for this peace deal.
September 2000
Second intifada begins.
August 2005
Contract signed to supply British Army with Israeli-designed drones.
November 2005
European Union launches first policing mission for the West Bank and Gaza, with significant British involvement.
July 2006
Israel attacks Lebanon, with support from Tony Blair, then Britain s prime minister.
June 2007
Blair named as representative for Middle East Quartet (the EU, USA, UN and Russia).
July 2008
Gordon Brown becomes first British prime minister to address Israel s parliament, the Knesset.
December 2008
Israel launches Operation Cast Lead, a major attack on Gaza, almost certainly using British weapons.
July 2014
Israel launches Operation Protective Edge, another offensive against Gaza.
December 2016
Theresa May promises to mark centenary of Balfour Declaration with pride .
Text of Balfour Declaration
On 2 November 1917, Arthur James Balfour, then Britain s foreign secretary, signed a letter to Walter Rothschild, an aristocrat and committed Zionist. The l