The Land Of Israel - Part Three

As part of our study of the land of Israel, in the previous message we learned that two British men in the early nineteen hundreds felt that the Jewish People should have their own land and nation. Lord Balfour made a declaration called The Balfour Declaration saying, "Palestine should become the home of the Jewish People." We will study in this lesson how this declaration was received.

In July 1922 the League Of Nations empowered Great Britian with the Mandate for Palestine in which Great Britian was charged with establishing a Jewish home in Palestine. The land allocated to the Jewish People by the League Of Nations had Syria as its northern border, Transjordan as its eastern border, Egypt as its southern border and the Mediterranean Sea as its western border.

How was the Balfour Declaration and its approval by the League Of Nations received? Unfortunately, it was strongly opposed by neighboring Arab States resulting in violence during 1920, 1921, 1929 and 1936 through 1939. There were attempts to establish talks between Jews and Arabs that never took place. The British Government even proposed dividing Palestine into a Jewish and Arab State that was rejected by the Arabs. As history illustrates, this same conflict continues to the present day!

This conflict led Great Britian in May of 1939 to develop what was known as the White Paper putting restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine. The result of this was it became very difficult for the Jewish People attempting to flee from the Holocaust. However, they developed a network of immigration activities assisting the Holocaust survivors to come back to Palestine. Between 1945 and 1948, 85,000 Jews were brought back to Israel in secret using dangerous routes. Some were caught and sent back to Europe or put in detention camps.

The next lesson will look at the steps taken to establish the State Of Israel! Stay Tuned. 

Blessings,

Frank