On Chanukah, in addition to pondering the Maccabee victories and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, one might also reflect upon the events that transpired on Chanukah in 1917. Events which caused a wave of enthusiasm to sweep over Jewish communities worldwide, when the ancient dream of the re-establishment of Jewish statehood in the Jewish homeland was brought a little closer.
For almost four hundred years, the Ottoman Turks ruled Palestine and its Jewish community. In the late nineteenth century, as the Zionist movement began to take shape and as Zionists began to settle the land, their efforts were strongly opposed by the Turks. Land purchases by Zionists were generally prohibited and well-known Zionists were often expelled or imprisoned. During the First World War, however, a glimmer of hope appeared when the British, along with their allies, waged a campaign to wrest Palestine from the Turks.
As the success of the campaign appeared likely, after British General Edmund Allenby cunningly led his outnumbered troops to victory at the strategic Negev city of Beer Sheba, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration. The Declaration, issued by British foreign minister Lord Arthur Balfour to Jewish philanthropist Edmund De Rothschild on November 2, 1917, called for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." England issued the statement partly out of the desire to elicit the support of Russian Jewry for the Allied war effort and partly out of the belief, held by some of Britain?s leaders, that Zionism was Biblically-ordained destiny. All that seemed to stand in the way of the realization of the promises made in the Declaration was Britain's successful completion of the Palestine campaign. On November 6, Gaza fell to the British, who then drove on towards Jerusalem. With each British victory, more excitement and anticipation swept over Jewry. Aided by allied armies, the British fought their way through each town flushing out the enemy until they finally reached Jerusalem.
In the battles for Jerusalem twenty thousand Turkish soldiers and three thousand six hundred Allied troops lost their lives. Then, on December 9, as Chanukah was approaching, Turkish forces surrendered and two days later British troops marched into Jerusalem. Allenby humbly entered its walls on foot, through the Jaffa Gate, as the city's thirty-fourth conqueror. Excited crowds of Jews lined Jerusalem's streets to welcome the city's liberators. One woman told a newspaper correspondent that the Jews ?have been starving, but now we are free (Jewish Chronicle December 21, 1917).? A Jewish periodical, The Jewish Chronicle, described the Allied conquest as an "epochal event" and stated with mystic overtone, ?It is as if Providence had placed its blessing upon an enterprise distinguished as had been the Palestine campaign by the historic [Balfour] declaration to the Jewish people (Jewish Chronicle December 14 1917).? Rabbi J.H. Hertz, Chief Rabbi of the British Empire forwarded a telegram to General Allenby that read, ?British Jewry, thrilled by glorious news from Palestine, sends heartfelt congratulations on historic entry into Holy City (Ibid.).? With Jerusalem under British control, Turkish forces were soon ousted from all of Palestine. Three Jewish units participated in the completion of the conquest.
Soon, the initial euphoria faded and the excitement calmed. The climate changed. Arab leaders in Palestine petitioned the British foreign office strongly opposing increased Jewish immigration into the land. British military authorities also began to express disagreement with the aims of Zionism. Suddenly, under pressure, British commitments for the establishment of a Jewish homeland seemed in jeopardy. Barely a few months after the Balfour Declaration was issued, British military authorities banned its publication in Palestine. By 1919, the British military administration of Palestine pushed for a revocation of the Balfour Declaration and also enforced stringent measures upon the Zionists. They restricted Jewish immigration and land transfers to Jews. In addition, Hebrew was not recognized as an official language. The British even banned the public performance of the song that eventually became the Israeli national anthem, HaTikvah.
Yet the hopes of the Zionists were again raised in 1920 when a British civil mandate replaced a military administration. This change signified a return by the British government to its commitment to the principles of the Balfour Declaration. A Jew sympathetic to Zionism, Herbert Samuel, was appointed High Commissioner and the gates were opened to Jewish immigration. In the spring of 1921, ten thousand Jewish immigrants reached the shores of Palestine. The development of the land and its institutions also accelerated.
These developments triggered a violent reaction among the opponents of Zionism. Arab riots soon broke out throughout the land. Samuel responded by granting concessions to the rioters, succumbing to the pressures of violence and terror and restrictions against the Zionists were again imposed. Despite the hardships, though, the task of building the Jewish State continued, as did the efforts of the opponents of Zionism. Following the Arab riots of 1936, the British set up the Peel Commission, which recommended the partition of the land as a solution to the conflict. The Arabs, in vehement opposition to any partition, continued the revolt and the pressure on the British. In an act of appeasement to the Arabs, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain issued the MacDonald White Paper of 1939. This White Paper (policy statement) severely restricted Jewish immigration and called for the eventual establishment of one state with an Arab majority - a devastating blow to the Zionists and one which meant disaster for the Jews of Europe who would be denied sanctuary in their greatest hour of need.
The Jewish struggle for a homeland was far from over. Just as the Maccabees fought many wars and battles after liberating the Temple to achieve and maintain independence, the British conquest of Jerusalem was significant as well. With the climactic events of 1917, the Jews did not yet achieve their freedom, the British denied them the necessary rights that come with independence, but those events did signal progress in that long journey.
Under British rule, the Jews were able to build an infrastructure which was important, but that alone would not suffice. What the shift of powers during Chanukah 1917 did accomplish was to bring the Jews one step closer to the eventual establishment of the State of Israel. There would be many struggles and sacrifices made to oust the British and then defend the newborn state against its enemy's attacks. Who knows what history will be made this Chanukah or in the Chanukahs of the future?
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Larry Domnitch is the author of The Jewish Holidays: A Journey Through History, published by Jason Aronson.
For almost four hundred years, the Ottoman Turks ruled Palestine and its Jewish community. In the late nineteenth century, as the Zionist movement began to take shape and as Zionists began to settle the land, their efforts were strongly opposed by the Turks. Land purchases by Zionists were generally prohibited and well-known Zionists were often expelled or imprisoned. During the First World War, however, a glimmer of hope appeared when the British, along with their allies, waged a campaign to wrest Palestine from the Turks.
As the success of the campaign appeared likely, after British General Edmund Allenby cunningly led his outnumbered troops to victory at the strategic Negev city of Beer Sheba, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration. The Declaration, issued by British foreign minister Lord Arthur Balfour to Jewish philanthropist Edmund De Rothschild on November 2, 1917, called for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." England issued the statement partly out of the desire to elicit the support of Russian Jewry for the Allied war effort and partly out of the belief, held by some of Britain?s leaders, that Zionism was Biblically-ordained destiny. All that seemed to stand in the way of the realization of the promises made in the Declaration was Britain's successful completion of the Palestine campaign. On November 6, Gaza fell to the British, who then drove on towards Jerusalem. With each British victory, more excitement and anticipation swept over Jewry. Aided by allied armies, the British fought their way through each town flushing out the enemy until they finally reached Jerusalem.
In the battles for Jerusalem twenty thousand Turkish soldiers and three thousand six hundred Allied troops lost their lives. Then, on December 9, as Chanukah was approaching, Turkish forces surrendered and two days later British troops marched into Jerusalem. Allenby humbly entered its walls on foot, through the Jaffa Gate, as the city's thirty-fourth conqueror. Excited crowds of Jews lined Jerusalem's streets to welcome the city's liberators. One woman told a newspaper correspondent that the Jews ?have been starving, but now we are free (Jewish Chronicle December 21, 1917).? A Jewish periodical, The Jewish Chronicle, described the Allied conquest as an "epochal event" and stated with mystic overtone, ?It is as if Providence had placed its blessing upon an enterprise distinguished as had been the Palestine campaign by the historic [Balfour] declaration to the Jewish people (Jewish Chronicle December 14 1917).? Rabbi J.H. Hertz, Chief Rabbi of the British Empire forwarded a telegram to General Allenby that read, ?British Jewry, thrilled by glorious news from Palestine, sends heartfelt congratulations on historic entry into Holy City (Ibid.).? With Jerusalem under British control, Turkish forces were soon ousted from all of Palestine. Three Jewish units participated in the completion of the conquest.
Soon, the initial euphoria faded and the excitement calmed. The climate changed. Arab leaders in Palestine petitioned the British foreign office strongly opposing increased Jewish immigration into the land. British military authorities also began to express disagreement with the aims of Zionism. Suddenly, under pressure, British commitments for the establishment of a Jewish homeland seemed in jeopardy. Barely a few months after the Balfour Declaration was issued, British military authorities banned its publication in Palestine. By 1919, the British military administration of Palestine pushed for a revocation of the Balfour Declaration and also enforced stringent measures upon the Zionists. They restricted Jewish immigration and land transfers to Jews. In addition, Hebrew was not recognized as an official language. The British even banned the public performance of the song that eventually became the Israeli national anthem, HaTikvah.
Yet the hopes of the Zionists were again raised in 1920 when a British civil mandate replaced a military administration. This change signified a return by the British government to its commitment to the principles of the Balfour Declaration. A Jew sympathetic to Zionism, Herbert Samuel, was appointed High Commissioner and the gates were opened to Jewish immigration. In the spring of 1921, ten thousand Jewish immigrants reached the shores of Palestine. The development of the land and its institutions also accelerated.
These developments triggered a violent reaction among the opponents of Zionism. Arab riots soon broke out throughout the land. Samuel responded by granting concessions to the rioters, succumbing to the pressures of violence and terror and restrictions against the Zionists were again imposed. Despite the hardships, though, the task of building the Jewish State continued, as did the efforts of the opponents of Zionism. Following the Arab riots of 1936, the British set up the Peel Commission, which recommended the partition of the land as a solution to the conflict. The Arabs, in vehement opposition to any partition, continued the revolt and the pressure on the British. In an act of appeasement to the Arabs, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain issued the MacDonald White Paper of 1939. This White Paper (policy statement) severely restricted Jewish immigration and called for the eventual establishment of one state with an Arab majority - a devastating blow to the Zionists and one which meant disaster for the Jews of Europe who would be denied sanctuary in their greatest hour of need.
The Jewish struggle for a homeland was far from over. Just as the Maccabees fought many wars and battles after liberating the Temple to achieve and maintain independence, the British conquest of Jerusalem was significant as well. With the climactic events of 1917, the Jews did not yet achieve their freedom, the British denied them the necessary rights that come with independence, but those events did signal progress in that long journey.
Under British rule, the Jews were able to build an infrastructure which was important, but that alone would not suffice. What the shift of powers during Chanukah 1917 did accomplish was to bring the Jews one step closer to the eventual establishment of the State of Israel. There would be many struggles and sacrifices made to oust the British and then defend the newborn state against its enemy's attacks. Who knows what history will be made this Chanukah or in the Chanukahs of the future?
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Larry Domnitch is the author of The Jewish Holidays: A Journey Through History, published by Jason Aronson.