Palestine: A Policy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 
Title page of 1942 edition of the book
|
|
| Author | Albert Montefiore Hyamson |
|---|---|
| Original title | Palestine: A Policy |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Zionism - History, Mandates - Palestine, Jews - Palestine |
| Genre | History |
| Published | 1942 Methuen & co., ltd. |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 214 |
| ISBN | 0883553252 |
| OCLC | 3068318 |
| 296.09569 | |
| LC Class | DS149 .H83 |
Palestine: A Policy is a history book written by Albert Montefiore Hyamson. He was a British civil servant and a historian. The book, published in 1942, tells the story of Zionism. It covers the idea and practice of Zionism from the 1700s. It also discusses the British Mandate for Palestine up until 1942.
Understanding the Book's Background
Hyamson's Views on Palestine's Future
In 1937, a group called the Peel Commission was discussing the future of Palestine. Albert Hyamson shared his thoughts in letters to The Times newspaper. He believed that dividing Palestine into separate parts was a bad idea. He felt it would encourage extreme groups on both sides.
Hyamson thought that splitting the land would ruin the dream of a united Palestine. In this dream, Jewish and Arab citizens would live together equally. He worried that division would create two hostile countries. These countries would need the British army to keep peace between them.
Hyamson's Vision for a United Palestine
Hyamson suggested a different path. He imagined a united Palestine where everyone was equal. Jewish and Arab citizens would have the same civil and political rights. He proposed a system similar to the Ottoman "millet" approach. This system would give all communities a lot of freedom in their own matters.
In July, he asked the British government to wait before dividing Palestine. He hoped that moderate Jewish and Arab leaders could work together.
Concerns About Representation and Immigration
In August, Hyamson pointed out that the Jewish Agency truly represented the Jews in Palestine. He felt it was more representative than the World Zionist Organization. He also worried that allowing 100,000 Jewish immigrants each year would make the country too crowded.
By October, he wrote again, saying that dividing Palestine was unpopular. He believed it should be avoided. In April 1938, he wrote about a vote in the British Parliament. This vote aimed to give Palestinian citizenship to Jewish people suffering in Nazi Europe. Hyamson felt this was a kind gesture. However, he thought it would be impossible to do in practice. He also worried that Palestinian Arabs might see it as a threat.
Supporting Bi-nationalism in Palestine
In the early 1940s, Hyamson strongly supported the idea of "bi-nationalism." This idea was promoted by Judah L. Magnes. Bi-nationalism meant that both Jewish and Arab people would share power and live together in one state. In 1943, Hyamson worked with Norman Bentwich to share Magnes's ideas.
In a 1945 article, Hyamson explained why he supported bi-nationalism. He saw it as the best compromise. It avoided either Jewish or Arab groups completely dominating Palestine. He repeated these reasons in a 1946 letter to The Jewish Chronicle. Hyamson also wrote articles supporting Magnes in The Jewish Outlook. This was a journal for the Jewish Fellowship.
Challenges Before Publication
Before Palestine: A Policy was published, Hyamson was concerned. He worried about how the Jewish community would react to his book. He wrote to his friend, Sir Ronald Storrs, saying he expected "persecution" because of it.
Hyamson also asked Storrs, who wrote the book's introduction, to soften his comments. Storrs' introduction compared Hyamson's book to another work. He said it helped explain Jews and Zionism to non-Jewish people. Storrs also noted that Hyamson's fair analysis might upset extreme Zionists. However, Storrs believed it would be strange if a desire for land (territorial Zionism) became more important than spiritual Zionism. He concluded that most people would agree that Arabs could benefit from Jewish cooperation. He hoped the book would help achieve this understanding.
Key Ideas in Palestine: A Policy
Understanding Different Types of Zionism
In his introduction, Hyamson explains his own view. He calls himself a "spiritual Zionist," not a nationalist or political Zionist. In his first chapter, "The Jew and the Mission of Israel," he defines different terms. He distinguishes between Jews (who follow the Jewish religion), Hebrews (who are of Jewish heritage), and Israelites (who are part of the Jewish community).
Hyamson believes the main reason for Jewish survival is their religious purpose. This purpose is to be "priests and a holy nation." He argues that all Jews who want their heritage to survive must be Zionists.
A Look at Zionism Through History
The next four chapters explore different forms of Zionism. They often focus on how these forms relate to England. Hyamson starts with "messianic Zionism." This type of Zionism often involved beliefs about a future savior. It played a role when Oliver Cromwell allowed Jews to return to England.
He then looks at British supporters of Zionism. Many of these were Christians. Hyamson points out that they usually did not imagine a Jewish state. In a chapter called "Practical Zionism," he shares the history of Jewish settlement in Palestine over 200 years.
Political Zionism and Its Goals
The chapter "Political Zionism" discusses Theodor Herzl and the Zionist organization. Hyamson argues that political Zionism, which aims for a Jewish state, could lead to Jews losing their unique identity.
The following five chapters discuss Britain's recent involvement in Palestine. This includes the Balfour Declaration and the White Paper of 1939. Hyamson clearly sympathizes with "practical Zionists." These were people who wanted to settle in Palestine. However, he did not support "political Zionists" who wanted a Jewish state. When he talks about Jewish immigration, he always connects it to the country's "economic absorptive capacity." This means how many people the land could support economically.
Hyamson's Solution for Palestine's Future
In the final chapter, "The Next Step," Hyamson suggests a solution for Palestine's problems in 1942. He admits the situation seems very difficult. However, he believes it must be possible for both Jews and Arabs to live together. Both groups want individual freedom and community liberty. Jews want a National Home, and Arabs want freedom from domination.
To achieve this, Hyamson says the idea of separate Arab and Jewish states must be dropped. He suggests a system like the Swiss cantons or the United Kingdom. This system would have specific community laws and protections for minority groups. Chaim Weizmann wanted something similar in 1919. Other leaders like General Nuri el Said and George Antonius also proposed similar plans.
Hyamson believed such an arrangement would continue the traditions of past Jewish councils. He also suggested that Palestine, even if it had a Jewish majority, should be part of a larger Greater Syria. He hoped this approach would overcome conflicts between Jews and Arabs. He envisioned a future of cooperation, much like during the Arab Golden Age.
Images for kids
-
"One can be a Zionist without being a nationalist, even an unaggressive one. The earlier Zionism, that which has had a far longer career than the Neo-Zionism of to-day, was none the less Zionist, even though it had no tinge of nationalism in the modern semi-aggressive sense. That Zionism was not based on a Jewish nation, whose existence in the modern sense it did not admit, but on the Jewish people."(from Hyamson's preface to Palestine: A Policy (pps. xi and xii))
