New book reminds us that Britain promised Palestinians a homeland in 1915
But makes a mistake in trying to be "even-handed" between the colonising Israelis and the colonised Palestinians going forward.
Cover photo: Jubilant Palestinians marching recently in front of the Washington Monument located near the US White House.
REVIEW OF THE BOOK: WHY DIDN’T I KNOW? Britain’s Legacy in Palestine. By Monica Spooner.
By Brian Green (Guest post)
As Donald Trump keeps escalating his ethnic cleansing bile over Palestine, as the Israeli military gets set to return to the killing fields this weekend - obviously +50,000 notches on their blood-soaked belts aren’t enough - , as Starmer and Labour refuse to break from the Biden/Trump/Netanyahu narrative on this genocide - and we keep on shipping arms to feed it and is it time to ask: will Starmer become the Neville Chamberlain of our era? - and as hundreds of thousands of people get ready to march again in London on the upcoming weekend (see below), two things become abundantly clear: a) Palestine will continue to be a global hotspot for many years to come; b) we cannot know too much about this land and its people. Hence, this book review.
Monica Spooner’s book can be best understood in four parts. As a personal political awakening on the part of Dr Spooner and her husband Roger, and therefore the title. An expose of the duplicity of British Imperialism together with the ruthlessness of Zionism. As a travelogue which places the reader in the proximity of events, giving the book an intimacy and richness not found in many accounts of the region. And finally, it comprehensively catalogues the web of religious dignitaries, academics, historians and peace activists who were and are involved in the impossible task of attempting de-escalation and reconciling Palestinian nationalism with Zionist colonization. It is a portrayal which is so exhaustive that MI5 and Mossad could save resources spying on these individuals by simply referring to the book.
Dr Spooner and her husband, both accomplished scientists, personify the paradox between being brought up religiously on the ‘word of god’ then going on to study the ‘works of man.’ Clearly in their respective charitable Christian households (there are clearly other Christian households less benign), the world view of benevolence, positivity and forgiveness was commonplace during their upbringing. This was to leave a permanent stamp on their character. But when the world is viewed through such an idealistic prism, the penalty is a certain naïve outlook on the world.
ARAB NATIONALISM BETRAYED BY THE BRITS
And so, it was with the Spooners, when in 2008 they discover the betrayal of Arab Nationalism by British Imperialism during their vacation in Jordan. They were visiting an exhibition of the McMahon-Hussein correspondence in Aqaba only to learn that in 1915, prior to the issuing of Balfour Declaration, Britain had promised the Arabs a state which would include Palestine. The British had made this promise with one goal in mind: to mobilise the Arab world against the Ottoman Empire who had allied themselves with Germany in World Wat One.
For the Spooners, this was a revelation, though it is debatable whether or not this this was an open or closed secret in Britain itself at the time. After all, even the ending of the 1962 film epic Lawrence of Arabia alluded to this treachery, despite Lawrence himself removing the first chapter in his biography “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” that dealt with this subject. However, even a cursory investigation of this subject to one interested in the history of British imperialism would have exposed this duplicity, duplicity which is built into the DNA of imperialism.
Whatever the case may be, all credit must be given to the Spooners who acted to remedy this revelation. Their focus became the Balfour Declaration which had cemented this betrayal, and which formed the starting point leading up to the formation of the State of Israel via the defeat of the Palestinian Uprising 1936-9 (unfortunately not discussed), and the concentration camps of the Third Reich.
THE CENTENARY OF BALFOUR A CONVENIENT TARGET
The forthcoming centenary of Balfour Declaration in 2017 created a convenient and vital target whose goal was to ‘urge’ the British Government to apologise for its duplicity and betrayals in and around 1917. This was seen as a means of bringing peace to the region. Once this target was set, the book deals with the monumental journeys needed to set up this project first as a political lever then later as a project to re-educate the British public about the real history of Empire in the Middle East.
This involved a great deal of foreign travel by the couple to rope in key figures abroad as well as roping in key political, religious, and academic figures in Britain itself. The book makes little mention of working with the trade union movement except in the case of Len McCluskey a senior officer in Unite the Union who sought them out rather than being sought out.
No one can fault the prodigious effort both put into this effort. It was not without risk especially when travelling in Israel itself, though there is no account of either of them being interviewed by Mossad nor of any of their numerous trips to Israel being blocked at the border. Without their efforts, it is unlikely the Balfour Project would have matured, and the book records the steps which were undertaken to realise this project.
What can be faulted is the goals and methods of the project. The project to this day does not treat the actual relation between Zionist and Palestinian, the coloniser and the colonised, neither accurately nor objectively. Instead, they and their project have always sought to be even handed between Palestinian and Israeli ascribing rights to either side; this is a position which has not changed.
We know where this photo was taken.
THE TWO-STATE “SOLUTION” IS NO SOLUTION
The slogan “Peace with justice, security and equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis” continues to adorn their letterhead. Again, this is consistent with their support for a two-state solution to the Zionist problem, a solution which can never be even handed. The book seldom discusses the merits of a unitary Jewish Arab state, except on one occasion to recount how it divided the two Israeli intellectuals they were having dinner with.
Rather the Project remains trapped in the illusory goal of a two-state solution. This is also the position of successive UK government, as well as others. The question is posed: why does liberal imperialism favour a two-state solution? The answer is clear. Such a solution consolidates and sanctifies the colonial territorial conquests of Zionism. It leaves the Palestinians with only a left-over fragmented state beholden to Israel. Truly it would be a second-class state violating the principle on which the Project is based, even handedness to both Jew and Palestinian. This is a contradiction the Spooners fail to acknowledge.
Imperialists are not threatened by activists who seek de-escalation and peaceful resistance. Instead, they see their possible worth, even venerating proponents of these tactics such as Mahatma Ghandi. It helps create the veneer of civility in contrast to the state clamping down on those who support the Palestinian armed resistance, for in this divide Imperialism recognises its own vulnerabilities.
As impressive and admirable the efforts of the Spooners have been in setting up the Balfour Project, it is unlikely their efforts will be anything but a marginal irritation to the aims and ambitions of British Imperialism which to this day continues. That said, anyone wanting to read a book enriched by location, a personal account of the brutality Palestinians experiences every day, and a reflection of the personalities involved in the efforts to bring peace to the region, this book is a worthwhile read. But not beyond that.
To purchase a copy of this book at a cost of £12.99, you can click here HERE at Troubador bookshop.
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Brian Green is a socialist and a leading member of the Norfolk Palestine Solidarity Campaign. He operates the website theplanningmotive.com
ALL OUT ON 15 FEBRUARY!
More details on Saturday’s national march, expected to be huge but which the BBC will likely report as “maybe 10,000 attended” can be founded HERE.
At the same time, more and more activists are calling for a wider range of tactics than marches and wanting a wider spread of cities besides London for national PSC events. Can we finally make Starmer listen? Have a view yourself? Write: theleftlanepolitics@gmail.com
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IS THIS THE BEST WE CAN COME UP WITH?
Have you read the recent two-part series in THE LEFT LANE which exposes the false steps being taken by a group call Collective to attempt to form a “new party of the left”? They are being widely read and discussed. Part One on 24 January can be read HERE and Part Two from 8 February is HERE .
Includes a petulant response from Collective numero uno Karie Murphy and suggests she should consider her position.
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