Howard Grief ~The Legal Foundation & Borders of Israel Under International Law
LECTURE DELIVERED BY ATTORNEY HOWARD GRIEF
AT THE MENAHEM BEGIN HERITAGE CENTER, JERUSALEM OCTOBER 14, 2009
AT THE MENAHEM BEGIN HERITAGE CENTER, JERUSALEM OCTOBER 14, 2009
ISRAEL'S LEGAL FOUNDATION, BORDERS AND RIGHTS
TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honor to speak to you tonight about Israel's Legal Foundation, Borders and Rights to the Land of Israel under international law, the subject of my book published in December 2008 by Mazo Publishers, Jerusalem.
I wrote this book because I did not find any that truly presented Israel's solid legal case to the whole territory of Palestine or the Land of Israel based on all the important documents of international law that came into existence during and after World War I. This became evident to me when all the territories liberated by the Israel Defense Forces in the Six-Day War of June 1967 were inaccurately described as "occupied territories", both in Israel and abroad, despite the fact that those territories were either integral parts of the internationally recognized Jewish National Home, as in the case of eastern Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and Gaza, or were illegally removed from it, as in the case of the Golan Heights, or finally, not included in the Jewish National Home, as the Sinai Peninsula should have been. Had the Jewish legal case been properly and systematically adduced by Israeli or Jewish jurists, prior to and after the Six-Day War, the territories liberated in that war would have been correctly characterized as the redeemed national patrimony of the Jewish People and incorporated forthwith into the State of Israel, as was done only for eastern Jerusalem and much later for the Golan Heights.
The very use of the term "occupied territories" by many in Israel itself conveyed the impression that the lands liberated really belonged to Arabs and not to Jews. At the critical moment in June 1967, the State of Israel did not assert its true rights to the liberated territories and by not incorporating them into the State, led foreign nations, especially the United States and those in Europe, to believe that Israel had to return these lands to their presumed Arab owners. This decision not to annex was a monumental error and, moreover, constituted a gross violation of existing Israeli constitutional law which required the application of Israeli law, rather than the laws of war, to the liberated territories of the Jewish National Home and Land of Israel. It is worth noting that had Israel acted correctly in 1967, based on its legal rights to the liberated territories, it could have avoided the false accusation that Israeli settlements there are illegal or illegitimate, and there would be no possibility of establishing a twenty-second Arab state in the heartland of the Jewish National Home.
To understand Israel's legal foundation, borders and rights to the entire land of Palestine, one must journey back to the critical period from 1915 to 1925 when the modern Middle East was shaped. There is only one departure point and whoever thinks it began in 1948 or 1967 is woefully ignorant of the situation or badly misinformed. That departure point began with the eruption of the First World War, the Great War as it was then called, that led to the demise of the Ottoman Turkish Empire that had ruled the lands of the Middle East for the four preceding centuries. Few remember today that until World War I, no independent Arab state had existed for many centuries. Nor of course was there any Jewish State, although that was already a hotly-discussed question ever since the first Zionist Congress was convened in Basle, Switzerland in 1897 under the leadership of Theodor Herzl.
In anticipation of a Turkish defeat in World War I - since the Turks had allied themselves with Germany and the Central European Powers - the countries of Britain, France and Russia opposing them, later joined by Italy, known collectively as the Entente or Principal Allied Powers, conspired in a secret treaty to divide up the still-extant Ottoman Empire amongst themselves. Thus was born the Sykes-Picot Treaty, named after the Chief British negotiator Sir Mark Sykes and his French counterpart, Georges Picot. Under the terms of that treaty, the Arabs were promised a state or states of their own, in accordance with the McMahon Pledge, given to the Sherif of Mecca, Hussein ibn-Ali, in a letter dated October 24, 1915 to entice him to join the Allied war effort against the Turks. The McMahon Pledge, conveyed to Hussein by Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner to Egypt, did not include Palestine. While the Sykes-Picot Treaty sought to satisfy Arab national aspirations, it completely ignored those of the Jewish People and Zionism. A small truncated area of central Palestine, without Upper Galilee, the Negev and Transjordan, called the Brown area, was to be placed under an international condominium, jointly ruled by Britain, France and Russia, in consultation with Italy and Japan and the representatives of the Sherif of Mecca. A year later, with the formation of a new British Government led by Prime Minister David Lloyd George,(On December 5, 1916, the then Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, resigned under heavy criticism for mismanaging the War. He was replaced by David Lloyd George on December 7 of that year, who succeeded in forming a War Cabinet two days later.) Britain sought to disentangle itself from the shackles of the secret Sykes-Picot Treaty and rule Palestine alone. For this purpose, it wooed the Zionist Organization and issued the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917, viewing with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People and promising to "use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object". Under the new British policy, Palestine was to be reserved exclusively for Jews under British auspices and not for Arabs. Lloyd George made this very clear in instructions he conveyed to Mark Sykes, on his way to join the British army in Egypt to take up his new post as Chief Political Officer. He told Sykes - and I quote - "not to enter into any political pledge to the Arabs, and particularly none in regard to Palestine". (This quotation is found on p.426 of my book.) According to the Cabinet note of the meeting which took place on April 3, 1917, seven months before the Balfour Declaration was issued, Sykes responded to Lloyd George - and I quote again - "The Arabs probably realized that there was no prospect of their being allowed any control over Palestine".
Inasmuch as the Balfour Declaration was transformed into the San Remo Resolution on April 25, 1920 when it was combined with Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations found in the Treaty of Versailles, and inasmuch as the San Remo Resolution is the pre-eminent foundation document of the State of Israel, it is important to elucidate the meaning of several terms and phrases in the Balfour Declaration which were seized upon by various opponents of Zionism or by others who wished to confuse or conceal its true meaning.
The first term in contention is the word "home". What did "home", as it appears in both the Balfour Declaration and San Remo Resolution, really mean? This term originated with the Zionist Movement. It was first used in 1882 by a group of Bilu pioneers in Constantinople, who asked the Ottoman authorities for a home in the Land of Zion, where Jews would have complete political autonomy, except for external affairs, quite a daring proposal at the time. This term was then inserted into the Zionist Program adopted at the First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland in 1897. The Program stated: "The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish People a home in Palestine secured by public law." Those who composed the Zionist Program were acutely aware of Turkish sensibilities not to see their shrinking empire shrink even further by the loss of another one of their lands. It was therefore thought prudent and more diplomatic to use the term "home", instead of the term "state", so as not to openly offend the Turks, especially in light of the fact that Herzl intended to seek from the Turkish Sultan a charter for renewed Jewish settlement in Palestine. That is why delegates to the First Zionist Congress chose the term "home". However, what Herzl meant by a home was revealed in his diary where he wrote, and I quote: 'In Basle, I created the Jewish State. Were I to say this aloud, I would be greeted by universal laughter. But perhaps five years hence, certainly fifty years hence, everybody will perceive it" (p. 76 of my book).
Twenty years after the Zionist Program was first adopted, the term "home" was again used to express the aim of Zionism - this time in the Balfour Declaration. A few words should be devoted to a discussion of the origins of that pro-Zionist Declaration. In mid-June 1917, Chaim Weizmann met with Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour and suggested to him "that the time had come for the British Government to give [the Zionists] a definite declaration of support and encouragement" (Weizmann, Trial and Error, Harper & Brothers, New York [1949], p. 203). Weizmann felt free to make this request because over the previous three years, eminent members of the British Government had made known to him their staunch support for the Zionist cause. The British were thus highly pre-disposed to accommodate Weizmann's overture. In response, Balfour told Weizmann to submit a draft declaration to him, "which he would try and put before the War Cabinet" (ibid.).
The person Weizmann placed in charge of drafting the declaration that Balfour asked for, was Nahum Sokolow, the most senior member of the Zionist Organization based in London, as well as a ranking member of the Zionist Executive who had attended the 1897 Zionist Congress convened by Herzl. Sokolow was assisted in his task by a committee of advisers.
Two of those prominent advisers were Attorney Harry Sacher and British journalist Herbert Sidebotham, both of whom strongly urged Sokolow to call for the reconstitution of a Jewish State in Palestine in his draft declaration, but Sokolow declined to do so on the ground that this would be asking for "too much". He thought that if the Zionist draft was actually formulated so overtly, it may have resulted in the Zionists getting nothing at all (Stein, The Balfour Declaration, The Magnes Press, Jerusalem [1983], p. 466). He thus preferred a less forthright declaration of sympathy which he mistakenly believed would enable the Zionists afterwards to "gradually get more and more" (Stein, ibid.). Accordingly, Sokolow decided not to deviate from the wording of the original Zionist Program of 1897, except to propose that the word "national" be placed in front of the word "home", which did in fact give added force to the meaning of that term, thereafter called the "Jewish National Home".
What Sokolow did not appreciate was the fact that the circumstances existing in 1917 were vastly different from those that had prevailed in Herzl's day, since Turkey, having allied itself with the Central Powers, stood to lose its four-century- long control over the territory of Palestine in favor of the British. What he also did not take into account was that the British were very anxious to obtain Zionist support to justify their imminent invasion and conquest of Palestine and were therefore only too willing to give their support to the Zionist aim for a Jewish State. Such support the British shrewdly calculated would then allow them to disassociate themselves from the now burdensome Sykes-Picot Treaty and become the sole protector of Palestine to the exclusion of the French, in accordance with Zionist wishes. For these reasons alone, the British would more than likely have acceded to an explicit Zionist formulation in the proposed draft declaration, that the aim of Zionism was no less than the establishment of a Jewish State, as originally conceived and visualized by Herzl. In addition, the British were anxious to secure for the Allied cause "at the darkest hour of the War"(As worded by General Jan Christiaan Smuts in a cablegram sent to Prime Minister J. Ramsay MacDonald, in reaction to the anti-Zionist conclusions of the Passfield White Paper issued on October 21, 1930.) what they perceived to be the invaluable support of the large and influential Jewish communities in the United States and Russia in the prosecution of the war against the Central Powers. Finally, a pro-Zionist declaration would also foil or preempt a feared parallel German pronouncement that was then being contemplated for the identical purpose.
Under the prevailing circumstances it was quite ironic that while Sokolow was needlessly fearful of asking for too much from the British, i.e., a Jewish State, that was exactly what the Imperial War Cabinet had in mind when it adopted the Balfour Declaration and what it understood "a national home for the Jewish People" indeed meant. For them, at this early stage in British-Zionist relations, before any dis-affections or second thoughts had set in, the two terms were completely synonymous in British eyes, both in Government circles and in the press. This is proven by the very words spoken by Balfour at the meeting of the War Cabinet on October 31, 1917, which approved the Balfour Declaration. He stated that the Jews would be given full facilities "to build up a real center of national culture and focus of national life. It did not necessarily involve the early establishment of an independent Jewish State which was a matter of gradual development in accordance with the ordinary laws of political evolution." (This quotation is found on p. 78 of my book.) Balfour's explanation that an independent sovereign Jewish State was the eventual goal of his pro-Zionist pronouncement was also confirmed by what Balfour himself told Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, who recorded in his diary the conversations he had had with the Foreign Secretary.
Balfour's unambiguous view that Palestine would eventually become an independent Jewish State was reiterated by Prime Minister Lloyd George who, in his definitive work on the various Peace Treaties that ended World War I, wrote the following passage summing up the meaning of the Jewish National Home as that term appears in the Balfour Declaration and related documents: "…it was contemplated that when the time arrived for according representative institutions to Palestine, if the Jews had meanwhile responded to the opportunity afforded them by the idea of a national home and had become a definite majority of the inhabitants, then Palestine would thus become a Jewish Commonwealth" (The Truth about the Peace Treaties, vol. ii, pp. 1138-9).
Further proof, if any is needed, that the British Government, in favoring a Jewish National Home, actually meant a Jewish State derives from what various Government ministers and officials constantly told Weizmann prior to the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, namely, that "if Great Britain gained control of Palestine, she could be relied upon to favor the building up of a Jewish Commonwealth. They had hinted… that they were authorized to give this assurance…" (Stein, op. cit., pp. 462, 511, 551 and especially p. 463). Moreover, Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, to whom the Balfour Declaration was addressed, had twice made it known, prior to its issuance, that he favored a Jewish State in Palestine under the British Crown or under the protection of one of the Allied Powers (Stein, pp. 372, 523). Finally, one can cite the candid remarks made by Eric Forbes Adam, who served as Balfour's chief negotiator with the Zionists in regard to formulating the early drafts of the Mandate for Palestine. He stated on December 30, 1919 that the British Government has accepted "the natural implications which Zionists give to the declaration of a national home, i.e., an attempt to make Palestine a State… and… to turn the State into a Jewish State." (Stein, p. 554).
By refraining from asking directly for a Jewish State in the Zionist draft submitted to Balfour on July 18,1917, Sokolow made a calamitous strategic error, for just five years later, after Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill had taken charge of Palestine's affairs that previously lay in the hands of Balfour and Lord Curzon successively, he issued a White Paper on June 3, 1922 that defined the term "national home" in an entirely different way from that of Balfour's original intention. This White Paper equated the Jewish National Home in Palestine with a spiritual or cultural center rather than a Jewish State, and for all practical purposes blocked the emergence of the State under British auspices (p. 450ff of my book). The view that no Jewish State was ever implied by the phrase "national home" was then reiterated most emphatically by the minister who replaced Churchill at the Colonial Office, the Duke of Devonshire. In his speech to the House of Lords on June 27, 1923, he said: "Again and again it has been stated that the intention from the beginning has been to make a National Home for the Jews, but every provision has been made to prevent it from becoming in any sense a Jewish State or a State under Jewish domination" (Stein, p. 556). Thus we see, that in the short period that had elapsed since the Balfour Declaration was issued, both Churchill and Devonshire overturned and betrayed the basic purpose and meaning of the Declaration, to the severe detriment of Zionism. This British perfidy may have been prevented or at least significantly forestalled if Sokolow and Weizmann had harkened to the wise advice proferred by Harry Sacker and Herbert Sidebotham to include the words "Jewish State" in the draft formula originally submitted to Balfour. The Zionist leaders showed great naivetי in assuming that what the British had so readily agreed to in 1917 would never be rescinded in the succeeding years that saw new ministers, who had played no part in the formulation of the Balfour Declaration nor had any personal recollection of its true meaning or scope, come and go. This was truly a case of misplaced trust by the leaders of the Zionist Movement in England in the goodwill of perfidious Albion, for which the Jewish People subsequently paid heavily in the years of the Holocaust.
I wrote this book because I did not find any that truly presented Israel's solid legal case to the whole territory of Palestine or the Land of Israel based on all the important documents of international law that came into existence during and after World War I. This became evident to me when all the territories liberated by the Israel Defense Forces in the Six-Day War of June 1967 were inaccurately described as "occupied territories", both in Israel and abroad, despite the fact that those territories were either integral parts of the internationally recognized Jewish National Home, as in the case of eastern Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and Gaza, or were illegally removed from it, as in the case of the Golan Heights, or finally, not included in the Jewish National Home, as the Sinai Peninsula should have been. Had the Jewish legal case been properly and systematically adduced by Israeli or Jewish jurists, prior to and after the Six-Day War, the territories liberated in that war would have been correctly characterized as the redeemed national patrimony of the Jewish People and incorporated forthwith into the State of Israel, as was done only for eastern Jerusalem and much later for the Golan Heights.
The very use of the term "occupied territories" by many in Israel itself conveyed the impression that the lands liberated really belonged to Arabs and not to Jews. At the critical moment in June 1967, the State of Israel did not assert its true rights to the liberated territories and by not incorporating them into the State, led foreign nations, especially the United States and those in Europe, to believe that Israel had to return these lands to their presumed Arab owners. This decision not to annex was a monumental error and, moreover, constituted a gross violation of existing Israeli constitutional law which required the application of Israeli law, rather than the laws of war, to the liberated territories of the Jewish National Home and Land of Israel. It is worth noting that had Israel acted correctly in 1967, based on its legal rights to the liberated territories, it could have avoided the false accusation that Israeli settlements there are illegal or illegitimate, and there would be no possibility of establishing a twenty-second Arab state in the heartland of the Jewish National Home.
To understand Israel's legal foundation, borders and rights to the entire land of Palestine, one must journey back to the critical period from 1915 to 1925 when the modern Middle East was shaped. There is only one departure point and whoever thinks it began in 1948 or 1967 is woefully ignorant of the situation or badly misinformed. That departure point began with the eruption of the First World War, the Great War as it was then called, that led to the demise of the Ottoman Turkish Empire that had ruled the lands of the Middle East for the four preceding centuries. Few remember today that until World War I, no independent Arab state had existed for many centuries. Nor of course was there any Jewish State, although that was already a hotly-discussed question ever since the first Zionist Congress was convened in Basle, Switzerland in 1897 under the leadership of Theodor Herzl.
In anticipation of a Turkish defeat in World War I - since the Turks had allied themselves with Germany and the Central European Powers - the countries of Britain, France and Russia opposing them, later joined by Italy, known collectively as the Entente or Principal Allied Powers, conspired in a secret treaty to divide up the still-extant Ottoman Empire amongst themselves. Thus was born the Sykes-Picot Treaty, named after the Chief British negotiator Sir Mark Sykes and his French counterpart, Georges Picot. Under the terms of that treaty, the Arabs were promised a state or states of their own, in accordance with the McMahon Pledge, given to the Sherif of Mecca, Hussein ibn-Ali, in a letter dated October 24, 1915 to entice him to join the Allied war effort against the Turks. The McMahon Pledge, conveyed to Hussein by Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner to Egypt, did not include Palestine. While the Sykes-Picot Treaty sought to satisfy Arab national aspirations, it completely ignored those of the Jewish People and Zionism. A small truncated area of central Palestine, without Upper Galilee, the Negev and Transjordan, called the Brown area, was to be placed under an international condominium, jointly ruled by Britain, France and Russia, in consultation with Italy and Japan and the representatives of the Sherif of Mecca. A year later, with the formation of a new British Government led by Prime Minister David Lloyd George,(On December 5, 1916, the then Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, resigned under heavy criticism for mismanaging the War. He was replaced by David Lloyd George on December 7 of that year, who succeeded in forming a War Cabinet two days later.) Britain sought to disentangle itself from the shackles of the secret Sykes-Picot Treaty and rule Palestine alone. For this purpose, it wooed the Zionist Organization and issued the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917, viewing with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People and promising to "use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object". Under the new British policy, Palestine was to be reserved exclusively for Jews under British auspices and not for Arabs. Lloyd George made this very clear in instructions he conveyed to Mark Sykes, on his way to join the British army in Egypt to take up his new post as Chief Political Officer. He told Sykes - and I quote - "not to enter into any political pledge to the Arabs, and particularly none in regard to Palestine". (This quotation is found on p.426 of my book.) According to the Cabinet note of the meeting which took place on April 3, 1917, seven months before the Balfour Declaration was issued, Sykes responded to Lloyd George - and I quote again - "The Arabs probably realized that there was no prospect of their being allowed any control over Palestine".
Inasmuch as the Balfour Declaration was transformed into the San Remo Resolution on April 25, 1920 when it was combined with Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations found in the Treaty of Versailles, and inasmuch as the San Remo Resolution is the pre-eminent foundation document of the State of Israel, it is important to elucidate the meaning of several terms and phrases in the Balfour Declaration which were seized upon by various opponents of Zionism or by others who wished to confuse or conceal its true meaning.
The first term in contention is the word "home". What did "home", as it appears in both the Balfour Declaration and San Remo Resolution, really mean? This term originated with the Zionist Movement. It was first used in 1882 by a group of Bilu pioneers in Constantinople, who asked the Ottoman authorities for a home in the Land of Zion, where Jews would have complete political autonomy, except for external affairs, quite a daring proposal at the time. This term was then inserted into the Zionist Program adopted at the First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland in 1897. The Program stated: "The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish People a home in Palestine secured by public law." Those who composed the Zionist Program were acutely aware of Turkish sensibilities not to see their shrinking empire shrink even further by the loss of another one of their lands. It was therefore thought prudent and more diplomatic to use the term "home", instead of the term "state", so as not to openly offend the Turks, especially in light of the fact that Herzl intended to seek from the Turkish Sultan a charter for renewed Jewish settlement in Palestine. That is why delegates to the First Zionist Congress chose the term "home". However, what Herzl meant by a home was revealed in his diary where he wrote, and I quote: 'In Basle, I created the Jewish State. Were I to say this aloud, I would be greeted by universal laughter. But perhaps five years hence, certainly fifty years hence, everybody will perceive it" (p. 76 of my book).
Twenty years after the Zionist Program was first adopted, the term "home" was again used to express the aim of Zionism - this time in the Balfour Declaration. A few words should be devoted to a discussion of the origins of that pro-Zionist Declaration. In mid-June 1917, Chaim Weizmann met with Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour and suggested to him "that the time had come for the British Government to give [the Zionists] a definite declaration of support and encouragement" (Weizmann, Trial and Error, Harper & Brothers, New York [1949], p. 203). Weizmann felt free to make this request because over the previous three years, eminent members of the British Government had made known to him their staunch support for the Zionist cause. The British were thus highly pre-disposed to accommodate Weizmann's overture. In response, Balfour told Weizmann to submit a draft declaration to him, "which he would try and put before the War Cabinet" (ibid.).
The person Weizmann placed in charge of drafting the declaration that Balfour asked for, was Nahum Sokolow, the most senior member of the Zionist Organization based in London, as well as a ranking member of the Zionist Executive who had attended the 1897 Zionist Congress convened by Herzl. Sokolow was assisted in his task by a committee of advisers.
Two of those prominent advisers were Attorney Harry Sacher and British journalist Herbert Sidebotham, both of whom strongly urged Sokolow to call for the reconstitution of a Jewish State in Palestine in his draft declaration, but Sokolow declined to do so on the ground that this would be asking for "too much". He thought that if the Zionist draft was actually formulated so overtly, it may have resulted in the Zionists getting nothing at all (Stein, The Balfour Declaration, The Magnes Press, Jerusalem [1983], p. 466). He thus preferred a less forthright declaration of sympathy which he mistakenly believed would enable the Zionists afterwards to "gradually get more and more" (Stein, ibid.). Accordingly, Sokolow decided not to deviate from the wording of the original Zionist Program of 1897, except to propose that the word "national" be placed in front of the word "home", which did in fact give added force to the meaning of that term, thereafter called the "Jewish National Home".
What Sokolow did not appreciate was the fact that the circumstances existing in 1917 were vastly different from those that had prevailed in Herzl's day, since Turkey, having allied itself with the Central Powers, stood to lose its four-century- long control over the territory of Palestine in favor of the British. What he also did not take into account was that the British were very anxious to obtain Zionist support to justify their imminent invasion and conquest of Palestine and were therefore only too willing to give their support to the Zionist aim for a Jewish State. Such support the British shrewdly calculated would then allow them to disassociate themselves from the now burdensome Sykes-Picot Treaty and become the sole protector of Palestine to the exclusion of the French, in accordance with Zionist wishes. For these reasons alone, the British would more than likely have acceded to an explicit Zionist formulation in the proposed draft declaration, that the aim of Zionism was no less than the establishment of a Jewish State, as originally conceived and visualized by Herzl. In addition, the British were anxious to secure for the Allied cause "at the darkest hour of the War"(As worded by General Jan Christiaan Smuts in a cablegram sent to Prime Minister J. Ramsay MacDonald, in reaction to the anti-Zionist conclusions of the Passfield White Paper issued on October 21, 1930.) what they perceived to be the invaluable support of the large and influential Jewish communities in the United States and Russia in the prosecution of the war against the Central Powers. Finally, a pro-Zionist declaration would also foil or preempt a feared parallel German pronouncement that was then being contemplated for the identical purpose.
Under the prevailing circumstances it was quite ironic that while Sokolow was needlessly fearful of asking for too much from the British, i.e., a Jewish State, that was exactly what the Imperial War Cabinet had in mind when it adopted the Balfour Declaration and what it understood "a national home for the Jewish People" indeed meant. For them, at this early stage in British-Zionist relations, before any dis-affections or second thoughts had set in, the two terms were completely synonymous in British eyes, both in Government circles and in the press. This is proven by the very words spoken by Balfour at the meeting of the War Cabinet on October 31, 1917, which approved the Balfour Declaration. He stated that the Jews would be given full facilities "to build up a real center of national culture and focus of national life. It did not necessarily involve the early establishment of an independent Jewish State which was a matter of gradual development in accordance with the ordinary laws of political evolution." (This quotation is found on p. 78 of my book.) Balfour's explanation that an independent sovereign Jewish State was the eventual goal of his pro-Zionist pronouncement was also confirmed by what Balfour himself told Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, who recorded in his diary the conversations he had had with the Foreign Secretary.
Balfour's unambiguous view that Palestine would eventually become an independent Jewish State was reiterated by Prime Minister Lloyd George who, in his definitive work on the various Peace Treaties that ended World War I, wrote the following passage summing up the meaning of the Jewish National Home as that term appears in the Balfour Declaration and related documents: "…it was contemplated that when the time arrived for according representative institutions to Palestine, if the Jews had meanwhile responded to the opportunity afforded them by the idea of a national home and had become a definite majority of the inhabitants, then Palestine would thus become a Jewish Commonwealth" (The Truth about the Peace Treaties, vol. ii, pp. 1138-9).
Further proof, if any is needed, that the British Government, in favoring a Jewish National Home, actually meant a Jewish State derives from what various Government ministers and officials constantly told Weizmann prior to the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, namely, that "if Great Britain gained control of Palestine, she could be relied upon to favor the building up of a Jewish Commonwealth. They had hinted… that they were authorized to give this assurance…" (Stein, op. cit., pp. 462, 511, 551 and especially p. 463). Moreover, Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, to whom the Balfour Declaration was addressed, had twice made it known, prior to its issuance, that he favored a Jewish State in Palestine under the British Crown or under the protection of one of the Allied Powers (Stein, pp. 372, 523). Finally, one can cite the candid remarks made by Eric Forbes Adam, who served as Balfour's chief negotiator with the Zionists in regard to formulating the early drafts of the Mandate for Palestine. He stated on December 30, 1919 that the British Government has accepted "the natural implications which Zionists give to the declaration of a national home, i.e., an attempt to make Palestine a State… and… to turn the State into a Jewish State." (Stein, p. 554).
By refraining from asking directly for a Jewish State in the Zionist draft submitted to Balfour on July 18,1917, Sokolow made a calamitous strategic error, for just five years later, after Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill had taken charge of Palestine's affairs that previously lay in the hands of Balfour and Lord Curzon successively, he issued a White Paper on June 3, 1922 that defined the term "national home" in an entirely different way from that of Balfour's original intention. This White Paper equated the Jewish National Home in Palestine with a spiritual or cultural center rather than a Jewish State, and for all practical purposes blocked the emergence of the State under British auspices (p. 450ff of my book). The view that no Jewish State was ever implied by the phrase "national home" was then reiterated most emphatically by the minister who replaced Churchill at the Colonial Office, the Duke of Devonshire. In his speech to the House of Lords on June 27, 1923, he said: "Again and again it has been stated that the intention from the beginning has been to make a National Home for the Jews, but every provision has been made to prevent it from becoming in any sense a Jewish State or a State under Jewish domination" (Stein, p. 556). Thus we see, that in the short period that had elapsed since the Balfour Declaration was issued, both Churchill and Devonshire overturned and betrayed the basic purpose and meaning of the Declaration, to the severe detriment of Zionism. This British perfidy may have been prevented or at least significantly forestalled if Sokolow and Weizmann had harkened to the wise advice proferred by Harry Sacker and Herbert Sidebotham to include the words "Jewish State" in the draft formula originally submitted to Balfour. The Zionist leaders showed great naivetי in assuming that what the British had so readily agreed to in 1917 would never be rescinded in the succeeding years that saw new ministers, who had played no part in the formulation of the Balfour Declaration nor had any personal recollection of its true meaning or scope, come and go. This was truly a case of misplaced trust by the leaders of the Zionist Movement in England in the goodwill of perfidious Albion, for which the Jewish People subsequently paid heavily in the years of the Holocaust.
* * * * *
Another contentious expression in the Balfour Declaration that gave rise to misinterpretation was the phrase "in Palestine". Those who sought to minimize the importance of the Declaration said it meant that the Jewish National Home envisaged in the Declaration would be established not in the whole country, but only in a part of it. Ironically enough, the chief proponent of this false and contrived interpretation was none other than Ahad Ha'Am, the Zionist mentor of Chaim Weizmann and, before then, the bitter and jealous opponent of Theodore Herzl. The same argument was made by Herbert Samuel, the High Commissioner of Palestine, when he and not Winston Churchill wrote the Churchill White Paper of June 3, 1922. Samuel undoubtedly learned this interpretation from Ahad Ha'Am when Samuel worked closely with the Zionist Organization in London in 1919.
This interpretation ran completely counter to the global political and legal settlement that was made at the San Remo Peace Conference in April 1920. Syria, Mesopotamia and Arabia were set aside for Arab independence by the Allied Powers, while Palestine, on the other hand, was set aside for Jewish independence, as can be confirmed by reading the minutes of the two sessions of the San Remo Peace Conference that took place on April 24th and April 25th, 1920, and were first published in 1958. That all of Palestine was designated as the Jewish National Home and was definitely excluded from Arab self-determination is also confirmed in an Arab-Jewish Agreement concluded on January 3, 1919 between Emir Feisal on behalf of the Arab Kingdom of newly-independent Hedjaz in Western Arabia and Dr. Chaim Weizmann, acting for the the Zionist Organization. At the Paris Peace Conference that took place in 1919, Emir Feisal listed the exact areas to be set aside for Arab independence, but deliberately excluded Palestine from his list - in conformity with the agreement he had just reached with Weizmann.
Other evidence exists to show that all of Palestine was designated for a Jewish State and not an Arab State. I will cite two more examples. First, at a meeting between Supreme Court Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis and Foreign Secretary Balfour in Paris on June 26, 1919, Balfour gave his assent to the following statement made by Justice Brandeis: "Palestine should be the Jewish homeland and not merely that there be a Jewish homeland in Palestine" (This quotation and Balfour's assent to it can by found on p. 101 of my book.). Second, during a dinner conversation between Prime Minister Lloyd George and President Wilson's closest adviser, Colonel Edward Mandell House, on November 20, 1917, just weeks after the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, Lloyd George informed him that "Palestine [is] to be given to the Zionists under British or if desired by [the U.S.], under American control" (p. 99 of my book). I would also like to add that when Palestine's northern boundary was being discussed between Britain and France throughout 1920, the assumption made by both countries was that all of Palestine would coincide with the Jewish National Home. There was thus no difference between Palestine and the Jewish National Home.
This interpretation ran completely counter to the global political and legal settlement that was made at the San Remo Peace Conference in April 1920. Syria, Mesopotamia and Arabia were set aside for Arab independence by the Allied Powers, while Palestine, on the other hand, was set aside for Jewish independence, as can be confirmed by reading the minutes of the two sessions of the San Remo Peace Conference that took place on April 24th and April 25th, 1920, and were first published in 1958. That all of Palestine was designated as the Jewish National Home and was definitely excluded from Arab self-determination is also confirmed in an Arab-Jewish Agreement concluded on January 3, 1919 between Emir Feisal on behalf of the Arab Kingdom of newly-independent Hedjaz in Western Arabia and Dr. Chaim Weizmann, acting for the the Zionist Organization. At the Paris Peace Conference that took place in 1919, Emir Feisal listed the exact areas to be set aside for Arab independence, but deliberately excluded Palestine from his list - in conformity with the agreement he had just reached with Weizmann.
Other evidence exists to show that all of Palestine was designated for a Jewish State and not an Arab State. I will cite two more examples. First, at a meeting between Supreme Court Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis and Foreign Secretary Balfour in Paris on June 26, 1919, Balfour gave his assent to the following statement made by Justice Brandeis: "Palestine should be the Jewish homeland and not merely that there be a Jewish homeland in Palestine" (This quotation and Balfour's assent to it can by found on p. 101 of my book.). Second, during a dinner conversation between Prime Minister Lloyd George and President Wilson's closest adviser, Colonel Edward Mandell House, on November 20, 1917, just weeks after the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, Lloyd George informed him that "Palestine [is] to be given to the Zionists under British or if desired by [the U.S.], under American control" (p. 99 of my book). I would also like to add that when Palestine's northern boundary was being discussed between Britain and France throughout 1920, the assumption made by both countries was that all of Palestine would coincide with the Jewish National Home. There was thus no difference between Palestine and the Jewish National Home.
One final comment on this point. The phrase "in Palestine" as used in the Balfour Declaration originated from the same Zionist source as the word "home", namely in the Basle Zionist Program of 1897. This phrase, "in Palestine", is used twice in the Balfour Declaration once in the operative part, and then again in the first proviso of the Declaration, which states "that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine." The use of this phrase in the just-quoted proviso could only mean Palestine as a whole, which is exactly what it also meant in the operative part of the Declaration. The words "in Palestine" appear 15 times in the preamble and provisions of the Mandate that prove beyond any doubt that these words, in the context in which they were used in both the Balfour Declaration and the Mandate for Palestine, referred to the whole country and not merely to a part of it.
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Further controversy arose over the exact meaning of the phrase "the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine". Civil and religious rights excluded collective political rights to Palestine, which were intended or reserved only for the Jewish People. Civil rights certainly include individual political rights with regard to the right to vote and the right to take part in elections, as is the common practice in all democracies. But political control over Palestine was not included in the term "civil rights", as Lloyd George made crystal clear in the quotation cited earlier. As used in the Balfour Declaration, the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine referred to the religious communities then existing in the country and not to the Arab nation per se, as is commonly believed and often mistakenly asserted. Those religious communities comprised all the Christian, Moslem and Druze communities in Palestine, the civil and religious rights of which would be safeguarded in a future independent Jewish State. This proviso in the Declaration is actually further evidence that a Jewish State was the intended aim of the Balfour Declaration, otherwise there would have been no purpose to put that proviso in the Declaration. It should also be noted that the term "communities" was used in the plural and not in the singular, and therefore did not refer to the Arab nation as such or to the local inhabitants, but simply to religious communities in Palestine. That indeed was the interpretation placed on this term by Britain and France in the recorded minutes of the San Remo Peace Conference of April 24, 1920 as well as in the American and Italian understanding of that term.
ISRAEL'S LEGAL FOUNDATION, BORDERS AND RIGHTS
TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
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One more point about the Balfour Declaration. It referred to the country of Palestine, as did the Basle Zionist Program, that did not then officially exist as a province or as a separate country in the Ottoman Administrative System. However, everyone knew that Palestine was the unofficial name for the country known in Jewish sources as Eretz-Israel. Another common name used for it was the Holy Land or the Land of Zion. What is important to note here is that Palestine was synonymous with the future Jewish National Home and referred to the Jewish People and not to Arabs, who preferred to consider this territory a part of Southern Syria. On this important point I quote the exact words of former Prime Minister Golda Meir from an article she wrote for the New York Times, published on January 14, 1976 (found on p. 512 of my book):
"When in 1921 I came to Palestine… we, the Jewish pioneers were the avowed Palestinians. So we were named in the world. Arab nationalists, on the other hand, stridently rejected the designation. Arab spokesmen continued to insist that the land we cherished for centuries was, like Lebanon, merely a fragment of Syria."
Any doubts about what the Balfour Declaration truly meant were laid to rest at the 1920 San Remo Peace Conference, convened by the Principal Allied Powers - Britain, France, Italy and Japan - to dispose of the Ottoman territories in the Middle East. The first important decision made at the Conference was to adopt the Balfour Declaration as the basis for administering Palestine under the newly-created Mandates System, in accordance with article 22 of the League of Nations Covenant. That decision was made by the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers at the first session of the Conference on April 24, 1920 devoted entirely to Palestine. On the following day, the San Remo Resolution was adopted by the representatives of the four Principal Allied Powers (the U.S. was an interested observer at the Conference). The Resolution made the Mandatory Power responsible for putting into effect the Balfour Declaration. Britain was then officially chosen as the Mandatory Power, as recorded in the Resolution itself.
During the heated discussions that took place between the French and British representatives at the sessions of the Supreme Council, France strongly opposed the insertion of the Balfour Declaration into the pending peace treaty with Turkey on the ground that doing so meant the establishment of a Jewish State. France withdrew its opposition only after Britain gave it an assurance that none of the rights hitherto enjoyed by the non-Jewish communities in Palestine, especially those of the French Roman Catholic community, would be surrendered. The British representative, Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon, an avowed anti-Zionist, found himself in the strange and uncomfortable position of having to defend the Balfour Declaration against the French attack on it, though he had earlier (in 1917) opposed it. He told the French "that Palestine was in the future to be the National Home of the Jews throughout the world". In the French minutes of the Conference, he is reported to have stated that a future state of Palestine was promised to the Jews in the Balfour Declaration. It should be clear, therefore, that the only reason Palestine was originally carved out of the Ottoman Empire was to become an eventual independent Jewish State. This would redress, as Balfour said, the ancient wrong committed by the Roman destruction of the last Jewish State in Judea 19 centuries before.
The San Remo Resolution did not merely duplicate the exact words of the Balfour Declaration, but strengthened its language considerably. The British Government now actually had the obligation (contrary to the opinion expressed by Winston Churchill before the Peel Royal Commission on March 12, 1937) to put the Declaration into effect, rather than as before, simply "to use their best endeavors to facilitate the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People". This constituted what is known in legal parlance as an obligation of specific performance or an obligation of result, as opposed to an obligation of means. This far more tangible obligation was also evidenced by Article 2 of the Mandate for Palestine, which made the Mandatory Power responsible for securing the establishment of the Jewish National Home (see pp. 453-4 of my book).
Since Palestine was created to be a Jewish State under the San Remo Resolution, I have concluded from that fundamental fact that de jure sovereignty over the entire land of Palestine was devolved upon the Jewish People from the moment of the adoption of this resolution. However, the attributes of sovereignty, particularly the law-making function and the administration of the country, were exercised by Britain alone as the Mandatory Power until the establishment of the Jewish State, when the Jews had become a majority of the population in Palestine and could govern the country by themselves. During the Mandate period, the British were also supposed to fulfill the roles of Trustee and Tutor of the Jewish People.
The San Remo Resolution is of the utmost importance, because the State of Israel draws its legal existence from that document and not from the UN Partition Resolution of November 29, 1947, as is commonly believed, even in Israel. The San Remo Resolution, which gave binding legal force to the Balfour Declaration under international law, was no less than the Magna Carta of the Jewish People. It is the Charter of Jewish Freedom and Rights to all of Palestine and the Land of Israel, the charter which Theodore Herzl sought from the Turkish Sultan, but which eluded him when he died prematurely at age 44.
The San Remo Resolution also provided for the provisional independence of Syria and Mesopotamia, later called Iraq. These Arab states, just like Palestine, owe their legal existence to the San Remo Resolution. The Arabs have shown immense ingratitude and inconsistency in accepting the Allied commitment made in the San Remo Resolution to recognize their own eventual independence, while denouncing the same resolution for also providing for eventual Jewish independence.
The Allied decisions taken at the San Remo Peace Conference were then inserted into the Peace Treaty with Turkey - namely, the Treaty of Sטvres signed on August 10, 1920. Though this treaty was never ratified since Turkish nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) replaced the Sultan's Government, it still has legal value as an inter-allied agreement showing exactly what the intentions of the victorious Allied Powers were in disposing of the Ottoman lands. In actual fact, the provisions of this un-ratified treaty were subsequently carried out in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula and the rest of the Middle East. The Treaty of Lausanne which replaced that of Sevres did not alter the basic political and legal settlement made in the Middle East, except in some particulars that did not affect Palestine as the Jewish National Home.
In regard to Palestine, the decision taken at San Remo to adopt the Balfour Declaration was inserted in the first three recitals of the Preamble of the Mandate for Palestine. This made the San Remo Resolution a binding act of international law since the Mandate was then approved by 52 nations in 1922 and separately by the United States in a 1924 treaty. With the inclusion of the San Remo Resolution in the Mandate Charter, the Mandate for Palestine became the final resting place for the Jewish legal title of sovereignty over the entire country.
During the heated discussions that took place between the French and British representatives at the sessions of the Supreme Council, France strongly opposed the insertion of the Balfour Declaration into the pending peace treaty with Turkey on the ground that doing so meant the establishment of a Jewish State. France withdrew its opposition only after Britain gave it an assurance that none of the rights hitherto enjoyed by the non-Jewish communities in Palestine, especially those of the French Roman Catholic community, would be surrendered. The British representative, Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon, an avowed anti-Zionist, found himself in the strange and uncomfortable position of having to defend the Balfour Declaration against the French attack on it, though he had earlier (in 1917) opposed it. He told the French "that Palestine was in the future to be the National Home of the Jews throughout the world". In the French minutes of the Conference, he is reported to have stated that a future state of Palestine was promised to the Jews in the Balfour Declaration. It should be clear, therefore, that the only reason Palestine was originally carved out of the Ottoman Empire was to become an eventual independent Jewish State. This would redress, as Balfour said, the ancient wrong committed by the Roman destruction of the last Jewish State in Judea 19 centuries before.
The San Remo Resolution did not merely duplicate the exact words of the Balfour Declaration, but strengthened its language considerably. The British Government now actually had the obligation (contrary to the opinion expressed by Winston Churchill before the Peel Royal Commission on March 12, 1937) to put the Declaration into effect, rather than as before, simply "to use their best endeavors to facilitate the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People". This constituted what is known in legal parlance as an obligation of specific performance or an obligation of result, as opposed to an obligation of means. This far more tangible obligation was also evidenced by Article 2 of the Mandate for Palestine, which made the Mandatory Power responsible for securing the establishment of the Jewish National Home (see pp. 453-4 of my book).
Since Palestine was created to be a Jewish State under the San Remo Resolution, I have concluded from that fundamental fact that de jure sovereignty over the entire land of Palestine was devolved upon the Jewish People from the moment of the adoption of this resolution. However, the attributes of sovereignty, particularly the law-making function and the administration of the country, were exercised by Britain alone as the Mandatory Power until the establishment of the Jewish State, when the Jews had become a majority of the population in Palestine and could govern the country by themselves. During the Mandate period, the British were also supposed to fulfill the roles of Trustee and Tutor of the Jewish People.
The San Remo Resolution is of the utmost importance, because the State of Israel draws its legal existence from that document and not from the UN Partition Resolution of November 29, 1947, as is commonly believed, even in Israel. The San Remo Resolution, which gave binding legal force to the Balfour Declaration under international law, was no less than the Magna Carta of the Jewish People. It is the Charter of Jewish Freedom and Rights to all of Palestine and the Land of Israel, the charter which Theodore Herzl sought from the Turkish Sultan, but which eluded him when he died prematurely at age 44.
The San Remo Resolution also provided for the provisional independence of Syria and Mesopotamia, later called Iraq. These Arab states, just like Palestine, owe their legal existence to the San Remo Resolution. The Arabs have shown immense ingratitude and inconsistency in accepting the Allied commitment made in the San Remo Resolution to recognize their own eventual independence, while denouncing the same resolution for also providing for eventual Jewish independence.
The Allied decisions taken at the San Remo Peace Conference were then inserted into the Peace Treaty with Turkey - namely, the Treaty of Sטvres signed on August 10, 1920. Though this treaty was never ratified since Turkish nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) replaced the Sultan's Government, it still has legal value as an inter-allied agreement showing exactly what the intentions of the victorious Allied Powers were in disposing of the Ottoman lands. In actual fact, the provisions of this un-ratified treaty were subsequently carried out in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula and the rest of the Middle East. The Treaty of Lausanne which replaced that of Sevres did not alter the basic political and legal settlement made in the Middle East, except in some particulars that did not affect Palestine as the Jewish National Home.
In regard to Palestine, the decision taken at San Remo to adopt the Balfour Declaration was inserted in the first three recitals of the Preamble of the Mandate for Palestine. This made the San Remo Resolution a binding act of international law since the Mandate was then approved by 52 nations in 1922 and separately by the United States in a 1924 treaty. With the inclusion of the San Remo Resolution in the Mandate Charter, the Mandate for Palestine became the final resting place for the Jewish legal title of sovereignty over the entire country.
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Few people know that the prototype for the Mandate Charter was based on a draft model drawn up by Professor Felix Frankfurter, then a Harvard Law School Professor who later became a renowned U.S. Supreme Court Justice. In composing his draft model, he worked in close co-ordination with the sitting Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis. Frankfurter attended the Paris Peace Conference as a member of the American Zionist Delegation. Frankfurter's draft mandate bearing the date of March 28, 1919 affirmed in its Preamble that the Signatory Powers, a reference to the Principal Allied Powers, recognized, and I quote: "The historic title of the Jewish People to Palestine and the right of the Jews to reconstitute Palestine as their National Home: and there to establish the foundations of a Jewish Commonwealth" (this quotation is found on p. 119 of my book).
The early drafts of the Mandate were formulated by representatives of the Zionist Organization and then presented to the British delegation in Paris. A draft agreed upon by the two sides was concluded on December 11, 1919. When Curzon replaced Balfour as the British Foreign Secretary and later oversaw the final drafts of the Mandate, from March 1920 onward's, he was horrified at the depth of the British commitment to the cause of Zionism and did his best to have his subordinates water down the Zionist character of the Mandate. He had the phrase "self-governing Commonwealth" that was included in the early drafts supervised by Balfour replaced by more general wording: "self-governing institutions", as finally used in Article 2 of the Mandate. This change of language obscured what the Mandate actually intended: a Jewish State or Commonwealth - and the British subsequently applied it to the Arabs, rather than the Jews of Palestine, an inversion of what was originally intended. Curzon also had the reference to Eretz-Israel previously approved by Balfour taken out of the draft Mandate without so much as a peep out of the mouth of Weizmann. Finally, the British Cabinet approved the draft Mandate on November 29, 1920 and submitted it to the Council of the League of Nations on December 6, 1920 for international confirmation. That is when the United States, Italy and the Vatican unexpectedly intervened to delay the actual confirmation until July 24, 1922, a terrible delay that allowed for a crucial insertion to be made in the text of the Mandate, namely, a deleterious provision relating to Transjordan that was out-of-sync with the rest of the Mandate's provisions, and caused immeasurable harm to the Jewish National Home.
Without going into great detail concerning the Mandate's provisions, it is sufficient to note that the Mandate accorded national and political rights to Palestine only to the Jewish People and not to the Arab nation. The reason for that was very simple. The Arabs were granted self-determination in Syria-Lebanon, Iraq and in the Arabian Peninsula, while Palestine was designated as the Jewish National Home for Jewish self-determination. This is why there is no mention of Arab national and political rights in the Mandate for Palestine, except for the recognition of Arabic as an official language. Had it been otherwise, the Arabs would have been consulted in drawing up the terms of the Mandate. They knew about its composition and contents only after its submission to the League Council.
As the question of Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria is one of the most contentious issues today, it is important to remember that the Mandate bestowed this very right on Jews throughout the entire land of Palestine. I draw your attention not only to Article 6 of the Mandate which specifies this right but also to in Article 11 which requires the Administration of Palestine to introduce a land system that promotes the close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land. The phrase "close settlement" as used in Article 11 takes you back to Article 6, where it says that the Administration of Palestine shall encourage close settlement by Jews on the land. Furthermore, under Article 15 of the Mandate, Jews could not be excluded from any part of Palestine on the sole ground of their religious belief, a provision that also applied to Transjordan, even when it was administered by Abdullah from 1921 to 1946 under the revised terms of the Mandate that removed all explicit references to the Jewish National Home. The right of individual Jews to live or settle in what was once called Eastern Palestine, now the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, has never been legally revoked or altered, and remains in full theoretical force today under international law, despite Jordan's illegal exclusion of Jews from its territory;(As a result of the policy followed by the British Mandatory Power and subsequently by the Government of Jordan, the land of Jordan became completely judenrein, i.e., "cleansed or free of Jews". Jordanian legislation, particularly the Jordanian Nationality Law of 1954, openly discriminated against Jews, denying them the right to acquire citizenship. Jordanian law also imposes a death penalty on anyone who has sold land to a Jew. Such laws brazenly violated the specific terms of the by-then-expired Mandate which banned exactly that kind of discrimination - based on race, religion or language. The enactment of these discriminatory laws also flouted international law that continued to apply to Jordan even after the British-administered Mandate expired as regards Eastern Palestine (Jordan) upon its gaining independence in March 1946. In terms of the Mandate, Jordan was created illegally on formerly-Mandated territory that was never intended to be permanently detached from the Jewish National Home. Moreover, Britain was never legally authorized to grant independence to the Arabian emir, Abdullah of Transjordan, neither under Articles 5 and 25 of the Mandate nor by the appropriate bodies of the League of Nations. The consequences of Jordan's illegal creation are huge, but have never been properly addressed or admitted, even by Israel which concluded its own illegal peace treaty with Jordan on October 26, 1994. This treaty should be considered illegal because Israel thereby recognized and sanctioned the explicitly forbidden partition of Mandated Palestine by the British Government as well as renouncing Jewish sovereign territory in favor of a foreign state (See pp. 384-90 of my book).) in any case, the right of Jewish settlement remains valid today in all regions of Eretz-Israel under Israeli control, based on the rights inherited and devolved from the provisions of the Mandate as well as on the 1950 Law of Return that applies to Eretz-Israel, not just to the State of Israel.
The Mandate did not define the territorial boundaries of Palestine, as originally intended in the early drafts of the Mandate where a blank space was left open for that purpose. The decision was jointly taken by Britain and France to fix the limits of their respective mandated territories in a separate act. This was accomplished in a boundary convention concluded on December 23, 1920, followed by a Demarcation Agreement signed on February 3, 1922 that took effect on March 10, 1923.
It was originally agreed between Britain and France that the borders of Palestine would be based on the historical or biblical formula, "from Dan to Beersheba", a phrase appearing several times in the Bible. This was interpreted up until 1920 by Prime Minister Lloyd George and other British officials to mean that Palestine would include all the lands or regions historically associated with the Jewish People, that is all territory which at one time or other was conquered, settled and governed by the Israelites in the First or Second Temple periods. The historical formula for determining Palestine's boundaries was accepted at the San Remo Peace Conference and was also alluded to in the Preamble of the Mandate Charter, which referred to the historical connection of the Jewish People with Palestine. To show the extent of historical Palestine, the British relied on George Adam Smith's "Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy Land", published in 1915, in particular on Plate No. 34 that depicted the area of Palestine under David and Solomon. However, the French, who had originally agreed to the historical formula, later backtracked and absolutely refused to abide by its meaning relying instead on the defunct Sykes-Picot Treaty to draw the borders separating Syria-Lebanon from Palestine. Indeed, the French treated the mandated territory of Syria-Lebanon as if it were under French sovereignty and so prevented Palestine from having the borders that the historical formula should have given it. Palestine was thus deprived of what is today southern Lebanon, which is really an extension of Upper Galilee up to the bend of the Litani River. It was also deprived of most of the Bashan north of the Yarmuk River, which the Turks called Hauran. Bashan included the Golan which historically was an integral part of the Land of Israel, and not part of historical Syria. The loss of these historical areas also meant the loss of use of the waters of the Litani River and the streams on Mount Hermon, which at the time were considered vital for Palestine's future economic development.
In the east, Palestine was also deprived of land historically connected to it. During the 1920 boundary negotiations with France, Britain told the French that Transjordan was also needed for the economic development of the Jewish National Home, but a year later when Winston Churchill became Colonial Secretary in charge of Palestine's affairs, he made a fateful decision, later approved reluctantly by the Lloyd George Government to provisionally detach Transjordan from the Jewish National Home, because of the so-called "existing local conditions", a decision that over the course of the following years and decades became a permanent detachment that was illegal under the very terms of the Mandate under which this decision was initially taken. The permanent detachment of Transjordan from Palestine that took place in 1946 was announced to the Assembly of the League of Nations who welcomed it, but it was never approved by the appropriate legal bodies of the League of Nations, which were the Permanent Mandates Commission and the League Council, rather than the League Assembly.
In the South and south-west, the Sinai Peninsula which geographically is an extension of the Negev and has a deep historical and religious connection to the Jewish People, should have been included in Palestine's borders, based on the historical formula. As noted in the Bible, King Solomon's kingdom extended to Nahal Mitzrayim which, according to Biblical scholars, covered either half of Sinai or all of it, depending on the exact location of this river, which is still uncertain today. In any case, what is certain is that Sinai was never historically and geographically a part of Egypt. When Moses crossed the Sea of Reeds, he thereby left Egypt on his 40-year trek to the Promised Land. Britain administered the Sinai Peninsula ever since 1906, when the British seized it from the Turkish Sultan in order to protect the Suez Canal from a possible Turkish invasion. Just prior to 1906, the area of central Sinai formed part of the Independent Sanjak of Jerusalem. For purposes of administrative convenience, Britain appended all of Sinai to Egypt which had never claimed it for itself until the 1940's when it appeared that a Jewish State would be established and might possibly also claim it. In point of fact, Egypt inherited the entire Sinai as a legacy of British imperialism. Egyptian sovereignty over Sinai was recognized by Israel in the peace treaty with Egypt concluded on March 26, 1979. Prior to 1979, Egypt was never legally the sovereign of Sinai (contrary to what is explicit(Article One of the Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt states that upon its ratification, "Egypt will resume the exercise of its full sovereignty over the Sinai". The word "resume" indicates that, prior to Israel's conquest of Sinai in the Six-Day War of June 1967, Egypt had already enjoyed recognized sovereignty over all of Sinai - when this was actually not the case under international law. Sinai had never been under the sovereignty of modern-day Egypt until the concluding of the 1979 Peace Treaty.) in the Peace Treaty), but merely its administrator - a significant different status under international law. The cession of Sinai by Israel to Egypt was, in my opinion, illegal because Sinai was part of the historical land of Israel, and not a part of historical Egypt.
One last thought about Israel's cession of the Sinai in the 1979 treaty with Egypt: had it not taken place, there would have been no disengagement or withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 where about 8,500 Jews were evicted from 21 flourishing Israeli communities with the loss of their homes, farms and livelihoods. And Sinai would not have become a terrorist's and smuggler's paradise, as it is today. Finally, there would have been no war in Gaza in December 2008-January 2009 to stop ceaseless rocket attacks from Hamas terrorists - for which Israel has just been wrongly condemned by the mendacious Goldstone Report for committing alleged war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, based largely on fabricated, dishonest Arab accounts.
It is interesting to remember that the Zionist proposal for Palestine's future borders presented to the Paris Peace Conference in February 1919, which included in it all of the historical regions of Palestine, except for Sinai, elicited the praise of Emir Faisal, the leading spokesman for the Arab cause, as being "moderate and proper". No cry of extremism here.
The early drafts of the Mandate were formulated by representatives of the Zionist Organization and then presented to the British delegation in Paris. A draft agreed upon by the two sides was concluded on December 11, 1919. When Curzon replaced Balfour as the British Foreign Secretary and later oversaw the final drafts of the Mandate, from March 1920 onward's, he was horrified at the depth of the British commitment to the cause of Zionism and did his best to have his subordinates water down the Zionist character of the Mandate. He had the phrase "self-governing Commonwealth" that was included in the early drafts supervised by Balfour replaced by more general wording: "self-governing institutions", as finally used in Article 2 of the Mandate. This change of language obscured what the Mandate actually intended: a Jewish State or Commonwealth - and the British subsequently applied it to the Arabs, rather than the Jews of Palestine, an inversion of what was originally intended. Curzon also had the reference to Eretz-Israel previously approved by Balfour taken out of the draft Mandate without so much as a peep out of the mouth of Weizmann. Finally, the British Cabinet approved the draft Mandate on November 29, 1920 and submitted it to the Council of the League of Nations on December 6, 1920 for international confirmation. That is when the United States, Italy and the Vatican unexpectedly intervened to delay the actual confirmation until July 24, 1922, a terrible delay that allowed for a crucial insertion to be made in the text of the Mandate, namely, a deleterious provision relating to Transjordan that was out-of-sync with the rest of the Mandate's provisions, and caused immeasurable harm to the Jewish National Home.
Without going into great detail concerning the Mandate's provisions, it is sufficient to note that the Mandate accorded national and political rights to Palestine only to the Jewish People and not to the Arab nation. The reason for that was very simple. The Arabs were granted self-determination in Syria-Lebanon, Iraq and in the Arabian Peninsula, while Palestine was designated as the Jewish National Home for Jewish self-determination. This is why there is no mention of Arab national and political rights in the Mandate for Palestine, except for the recognition of Arabic as an official language. Had it been otherwise, the Arabs would have been consulted in drawing up the terms of the Mandate. They knew about its composition and contents only after its submission to the League Council.
As the question of Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria is one of the most contentious issues today, it is important to remember that the Mandate bestowed this very right on Jews throughout the entire land of Palestine. I draw your attention not only to Article 6 of the Mandate which specifies this right but also to in Article 11 which requires the Administration of Palestine to introduce a land system that promotes the close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land. The phrase "close settlement" as used in Article 11 takes you back to Article 6, where it says that the Administration of Palestine shall encourage close settlement by Jews on the land. Furthermore, under Article 15 of the Mandate, Jews could not be excluded from any part of Palestine on the sole ground of their religious belief, a provision that also applied to Transjordan, even when it was administered by Abdullah from 1921 to 1946 under the revised terms of the Mandate that removed all explicit references to the Jewish National Home. The right of individual Jews to live or settle in what was once called Eastern Palestine, now the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, has never been legally revoked or altered, and remains in full theoretical force today under international law, despite Jordan's illegal exclusion of Jews from its territory;(As a result of the policy followed by the British Mandatory Power and subsequently by the Government of Jordan, the land of Jordan became completely judenrein, i.e., "cleansed or free of Jews". Jordanian legislation, particularly the Jordanian Nationality Law of 1954, openly discriminated against Jews, denying them the right to acquire citizenship. Jordanian law also imposes a death penalty on anyone who has sold land to a Jew. Such laws brazenly violated the specific terms of the by-then-expired Mandate which banned exactly that kind of discrimination - based on race, religion or language. The enactment of these discriminatory laws also flouted international law that continued to apply to Jordan even after the British-administered Mandate expired as regards Eastern Palestine (Jordan) upon its gaining independence in March 1946. In terms of the Mandate, Jordan was created illegally on formerly-Mandated territory that was never intended to be permanently detached from the Jewish National Home. Moreover, Britain was never legally authorized to grant independence to the Arabian emir, Abdullah of Transjordan, neither under Articles 5 and 25 of the Mandate nor by the appropriate bodies of the League of Nations. The consequences of Jordan's illegal creation are huge, but have never been properly addressed or admitted, even by Israel which concluded its own illegal peace treaty with Jordan on October 26, 1994. This treaty should be considered illegal because Israel thereby recognized and sanctioned the explicitly forbidden partition of Mandated Palestine by the British Government as well as renouncing Jewish sovereign territory in favor of a foreign state (See pp. 384-90 of my book).) in any case, the right of Jewish settlement remains valid today in all regions of Eretz-Israel under Israeli control, based on the rights inherited and devolved from the provisions of the Mandate as well as on the 1950 Law of Return that applies to Eretz-Israel, not just to the State of Israel.
The Mandate did not define the territorial boundaries of Palestine, as originally intended in the early drafts of the Mandate where a blank space was left open for that purpose. The decision was jointly taken by Britain and France to fix the limits of their respective mandated territories in a separate act. This was accomplished in a boundary convention concluded on December 23, 1920, followed by a Demarcation Agreement signed on February 3, 1922 that took effect on March 10, 1923.
It was originally agreed between Britain and France that the borders of Palestine would be based on the historical or biblical formula, "from Dan to Beersheba", a phrase appearing several times in the Bible. This was interpreted up until 1920 by Prime Minister Lloyd George and other British officials to mean that Palestine would include all the lands or regions historically associated with the Jewish People, that is all territory which at one time or other was conquered, settled and governed by the Israelites in the First or Second Temple periods. The historical formula for determining Palestine's boundaries was accepted at the San Remo Peace Conference and was also alluded to in the Preamble of the Mandate Charter, which referred to the historical connection of the Jewish People with Palestine. To show the extent of historical Palestine, the British relied on George Adam Smith's "Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy Land", published in 1915, in particular on Plate No. 34 that depicted the area of Palestine under David and Solomon. However, the French, who had originally agreed to the historical formula, later backtracked and absolutely refused to abide by its meaning relying instead on the defunct Sykes-Picot Treaty to draw the borders separating Syria-Lebanon from Palestine. Indeed, the French treated the mandated territory of Syria-Lebanon as if it were under French sovereignty and so prevented Palestine from having the borders that the historical formula should have given it. Palestine was thus deprived of what is today southern Lebanon, which is really an extension of Upper Galilee up to the bend of the Litani River. It was also deprived of most of the Bashan north of the Yarmuk River, which the Turks called Hauran. Bashan included the Golan which historically was an integral part of the Land of Israel, and not part of historical Syria. The loss of these historical areas also meant the loss of use of the waters of the Litani River and the streams on Mount Hermon, which at the time were considered vital for Palestine's future economic development.
In the east, Palestine was also deprived of land historically connected to it. During the 1920 boundary negotiations with France, Britain told the French that Transjordan was also needed for the economic development of the Jewish National Home, but a year later when Winston Churchill became Colonial Secretary in charge of Palestine's affairs, he made a fateful decision, later approved reluctantly by the Lloyd George Government to provisionally detach Transjordan from the Jewish National Home, because of the so-called "existing local conditions", a decision that over the course of the following years and decades became a permanent detachment that was illegal under the very terms of the Mandate under which this decision was initially taken. The permanent detachment of Transjordan from Palestine that took place in 1946 was announced to the Assembly of the League of Nations who welcomed it, but it was never approved by the appropriate legal bodies of the League of Nations, which were the Permanent Mandates Commission and the League Council, rather than the League Assembly.
In the South and south-west, the Sinai Peninsula which geographically is an extension of the Negev and has a deep historical and religious connection to the Jewish People, should have been included in Palestine's borders, based on the historical formula. As noted in the Bible, King Solomon's kingdom extended to Nahal Mitzrayim which, according to Biblical scholars, covered either half of Sinai or all of it, depending on the exact location of this river, which is still uncertain today. In any case, what is certain is that Sinai was never historically and geographically a part of Egypt. When Moses crossed the Sea of Reeds, he thereby left Egypt on his 40-year trek to the Promised Land. Britain administered the Sinai Peninsula ever since 1906, when the British seized it from the Turkish Sultan in order to protect the Suez Canal from a possible Turkish invasion. Just prior to 1906, the area of central Sinai formed part of the Independent Sanjak of Jerusalem. For purposes of administrative convenience, Britain appended all of Sinai to Egypt which had never claimed it for itself until the 1940's when it appeared that a Jewish State would be established and might possibly also claim it. In point of fact, Egypt inherited the entire Sinai as a legacy of British imperialism. Egyptian sovereignty over Sinai was recognized by Israel in the peace treaty with Egypt concluded on March 26, 1979. Prior to 1979, Egypt was never legally the sovereign of Sinai (contrary to what is explicit(Article One of the Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt states that upon its ratification, "Egypt will resume the exercise of its full sovereignty over the Sinai". The word "resume" indicates that, prior to Israel's conquest of Sinai in the Six-Day War of June 1967, Egypt had already enjoyed recognized sovereignty over all of Sinai - when this was actually not the case under international law. Sinai had never been under the sovereignty of modern-day Egypt until the concluding of the 1979 Peace Treaty.) in the Peace Treaty), but merely its administrator - a significant different status under international law. The cession of Sinai by Israel to Egypt was, in my opinion, illegal because Sinai was part of the historical land of Israel, and not a part of historical Egypt.
One last thought about Israel's cession of the Sinai in the 1979 treaty with Egypt: had it not taken place, there would have been no disengagement or withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 where about 8,500 Jews were evicted from 21 flourishing Israeli communities with the loss of their homes, farms and livelihoods. And Sinai would not have become a terrorist's and smuggler's paradise, as it is today. Finally, there would have been no war in Gaza in December 2008-January 2009 to stop ceaseless rocket attacks from Hamas terrorists - for which Israel has just been wrongly condemned by the mendacious Goldstone Report for committing alleged war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, based largely on fabricated, dishonest Arab accounts.
It is interesting to remember that the Zionist proposal for Palestine's future borders presented to the Paris Peace Conference in February 1919, which included in it all of the historical regions of Palestine, except for Sinai, elicited the praise of Emir Faisal, the leading spokesman for the Arab cause, as being "moderate and proper". No cry of extremism here.
ISRAEL'S LEGAL FOUNDATION, BORDERS AND RIGHTS
TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
3 of 3
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I now turn to the recognition of Jewish legal rights to Palestine by the United States, a subject which has important ramifications for today. In 1922, both houses of the U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution, known as the Lodge-Fish Resolution, favoring the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People, as laid down in the Balfour Declaration. The Joint Congressional Resolution was signed by President Warren G. Harding on September 21, 1922, thus giving it the force of law. Two years later, the United States signed a treaty with Great Britain, called the Anglo-American Convention respecting the Mandate for Palestine, in which the U.S. consented to the British administration of Palestine, pursuant to the Mandate, that was incorporated word for word into the Preamble of the Convention. In agreeing to the administration of Palestine based on the Mandate, the U.S. recognized thereby the national and political rights of the Jewish People to all of Palestine, not to one-third of it, one-fourth of it or one-eighth of it - but most emphatically to the whole of it, as the future independent Jewish State. This American recognition implicitly embraced the city of Jerusalem, which served as the administrative capital of Mandated Palestine where all the principal government departments had their offices, including that of the British High Commissioner for Palestine.(This recognition is an important fact to remember whenever the U.S. Administration protests the construction of new Israeli housing projects in the eastern part of Jerusalem, formerly under illegal Jordanian occupation for nineteen years.) In return, the U.S. was accorded various rights for itself, in regard to commerce, property, education, philanthropy, religion, the judiciary and equality of treatment with other members of the League of Nations, despite the fact that the U.S. never joined the League. This treaty became part of the supreme law of the U.S. under Article VI of its constitution. The U.S. was now in effect a contracting party to the Mandate for Palestine and a guarantor of Jewish rights to Palestine.
It must also be stressed that neither the Joint Congressional Resolution nor the 1924 treaty recognized the national or political rights of any fictitiously-named nation, that never existed in history, the so-called "Palestinians", particular their presumed right to create a new Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, as former President George W. Bush and current President Barack Hussein Obama have both advocated. The U.S. recognition of the right of Arabs to a state in the land designated as the Jewish National Home is illegal under U.S. law. It is true that the 1924 treaty expired with the expiry of the Mandate on May 15, 1948, but Jewish rights to Palestine under the Mandate never expired and have remained embedded in U.S. public law to this very day. Under the doctrine of estoppel, which applies in all democratic legal systems, the U.S. is estopped from denying or impugning Jewish legal rights to former Mandated Palestine and transferring those rights to Arabs in the Land of Israel. The U.S. can no more do that than Britain can revoke U.S. independence under the 1783 Treaty of Paris or revoke the creation of Canada under the U.K. statute known as the British North America Act of 1867.(This British Act that unified several Canadian provinces into the Dominion of Canada was renamed and superseded by the Canada Act (or Constitutional Act) of 1982 giving Canada the right to amend its own constitution without reference to the U.K. Parliament, thus removing the last vestige of Canadian constitutional dependence on Great Britain.)It is a rule of international law as well as a legal norm that rights that emanate from a treaty or international agreement and are subsequently implemented to create a new state as in the case of Israel cannot thereafter be revoked by the party which granted those rights or by any party that recognized them in return for due consideration as happened in the case of the 1924 treaty. The matter has already been decided and it becomes a closed chapter. If it were otherwise, international chaos would result and there would be no legal order in the world. The principle that rights survive the expiry of a treaty has been codified in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, specifically in Article 70(1)(b).
The U.S. is evidently ignoring the earlier legal recognition it gave to Jewish legal rights to all of Palestine. We in Israel must remind the U.S. that it is still legally bound to honor our rights to the land in its entirety and that it cannot transfer them to other parties. Legally, it is estopped from insisting on a settlement freeze or protesting new Israeli building projects in Jerusalem, as demanded by President Obama. Since diplomacy does not appear to work in this particular matter the only way to enforce Jewish legal rights to the land is to resort to a legal action in a U.S. District Court to require the U.S. Government to honor these rights. In my opinion, there is a sound legal basis for this proposed action, which I first proposed in an article I wrote in 2003 and verbally even earlier. Steps are presently underway to take this action in the months and days ahead. It will be taken in the name of U.S. citizens who live in eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, whose right to live there has been recognized in U.S. public law, but is now openly challenged by the Obama Administration.
It must also be stressed that neither the Joint Congressional Resolution nor the 1924 treaty recognized the national or political rights of any fictitiously-named nation, that never existed in history, the so-called "Palestinians", particular their presumed right to create a new Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, as former President George W. Bush and current President Barack Hussein Obama have both advocated. The U.S. recognition of the right of Arabs to a state in the land designated as the Jewish National Home is illegal under U.S. law. It is true that the 1924 treaty expired with the expiry of the Mandate on May 15, 1948, but Jewish rights to Palestine under the Mandate never expired and have remained embedded in U.S. public law to this very day. Under the doctrine of estoppel, which applies in all democratic legal systems, the U.S. is estopped from denying or impugning Jewish legal rights to former Mandated Palestine and transferring those rights to Arabs in the Land of Israel. The U.S. can no more do that than Britain can revoke U.S. independence under the 1783 Treaty of Paris or revoke the creation of Canada under the U.K. statute known as the British North America Act of 1867.(This British Act that unified several Canadian provinces into the Dominion of Canada was renamed and superseded by the Canada Act (or Constitutional Act) of 1982 giving Canada the right to amend its own constitution without reference to the U.K. Parliament, thus removing the last vestige of Canadian constitutional dependence on Great Britain.)It is a rule of international law as well as a legal norm that rights that emanate from a treaty or international agreement and are subsequently implemented to create a new state as in the case of Israel cannot thereafter be revoked by the party which granted those rights or by any party that recognized them in return for due consideration as happened in the case of the 1924 treaty. The matter has already been decided and it becomes a closed chapter. If it were otherwise, international chaos would result and there would be no legal order in the world. The principle that rights survive the expiry of a treaty has been codified in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, specifically in Article 70(1)(b).
The U.S. is evidently ignoring the earlier legal recognition it gave to Jewish legal rights to all of Palestine. We in Israel must remind the U.S. that it is still legally bound to honor our rights to the land in its entirety and that it cannot transfer them to other parties. Legally, it is estopped from insisting on a settlement freeze or protesting new Israeli building projects in Jerusalem, as demanded by President Obama. Since diplomacy does not appear to work in this particular matter the only way to enforce Jewish legal rights to the land is to resort to a legal action in a U.S. District Court to require the U.S. Government to honor these rights. In my opinion, there is a sound legal basis for this proposed action, which I first proposed in an article I wrote in 2003 and verbally even earlier. Steps are presently underway to take this action in the months and days ahead. It will be taken in the name of U.S. citizens who live in eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, whose right to live there has been recognized in U.S. public law, but is now openly challenged by the Obama Administration.
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A few concluding remarks about the UN Partition Plan of November 29, 1947 and the 2003 Road Map Peace Plan for a Permanent Two-State Solution. Neither of these plans has legally abrogated or rescinded Jewish legal rights to all of the Land of Israel, although that was their intended effect in the regions where an Arab state was to be established.
The UN Partition Plan embodied in General Assembly Resolution 181(II) was adopted at a time when the Mandate was still in force. This Plan awarded national and political rights to Arabs of the Land of Israel that were never contemplated in the Mandate. Article 5 of the Mandate prohibited the partitioning of the land and bringing it under the rule of a foreign government. The UN General Assembly Resolution violated Article 5 and was therefore illegal. In addition, the UN Partition Plan also violated Article 80 of the UN Charter itself, which preserved from alteration all Jewish rights to Palestine accorded under the Mandate. Separate and apart from that, Resolution 181 (II) became a dead letter when the neighboring Arab states, in cooperation with and at the instigation of the local Arab leadership, invaded the fledgling Jewish State of Israel. Once the war erupted, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion rightly no longer considered Israel bound by the Partition Plan and annexed areas of the Land of Israel beyond the UN-recommended borders, areas that had been re-captured by Jewish military forces, subsequently united as the Israel Defense Forces. This is how cities such as Beersheba, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Nahariya, Nazareth, Acco, Lod and Ramla became part of the State of Israel in 1948. Under the illegal UN Partition Plan they were to be part of an Arab state that never came into being.
Curiously enough, the real reason the United States Government and other countries still refuse to recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and treat Judea and Samaria as "occupied territories" is because they still base their policy on the invalid UN General Assembly Resolution of November 29, 1947 that never had the force of law.
The U.S., in cooperation with Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, is now seeking to put an end to what it declares is the Israeli occupation of eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, as set out in the Road Map Peace Plan. I wish to point out that this plan is neither a treaty nor a signed international agreement. Israel accepted this plan conditionally, subject to 14 reservations that are of critical importance, including inter alia an end to Arab terror, violence and incitement against Israel, the dissolution of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations, the recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish State, the rejection of any alleged "right of return" for so-called Arab refugees to the State of Israel and the absolute necessity that each step of the plan be fulfilled before moving on to the next one. Since none of the 14 Israeli reservations was accepted either by the Arab side or by the Quartet, with the exception that the U.S. has recognized the fact that Israel is a Jewish State, there was therefore no meeting of minds on essential points, so necessary for the formation of a valid and binding contract or agreement. Israel's previous consent to the plan has thus been rendered null and void or simply meaningless. As a result, the Road Map Peace Plan remains only what it says it is, i.e., a plan to achieve peace that has no legal force and does not entail, as is often said, legal obligations on the part of Israel. The plan was supposed to be implemented by no later than 2005, and that year has passed without the execution of the plan. In sum, this non-binding plan is no longer in force and in no way does it diminish Jewish legal rights to all parts of the Land of Israel, including Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Over and above that, the plan which purports to freeze all Israeli settlement activity in the so-called "occupied territories" is a violation of Israeli law, U.S. law and international law and therefore has no validity, nor would it be valid even if there were a signed document. Israeli law does not sanction the cession of any areas of Eretz-Israel to anybody, but assumes that they shall be incorporated into the State of Israel.
To gain a fuller understanding of the depth and strength of Israel's iron-clad legal case to the Land of Israel, I can only suggest that those here tonight read my book on the Legal Foundation and Borders of Israel under International Law, obtainable from Mazo Publishers, Jerusalem, and other outlets.
_______________________________
Attorney Howard Grief is the Founder of the Office for Israeli Constitutional Law and the author of "The Legal Foundation and Borders of Israel under International Law"
Introduction to the 1924 Anglo American Convention on the Mandate for Palestine
The United States was neither one of the Principal Allied Powers of World War I nor was the U.S. a member of the League of Nations. Therefore, the American Government was not initially obligated to recognize and guarantee the rights protected in the Mandate for Palestine. However, the American Administration signed a treaty on December 3, 1924 (ratified by the Senate February 20, 1925; proclaimed December 5, 1925) thus making the obligations of the Mandate for Palestine Treaty law for both the British and Americans!
This imposed a solemn obligation on the U.S. Government to protest any British violation of this treaty, which had repeated every word of the Mandate Charter in the preamble of the Convention, regardless of whether the violation affected American rights, those of the Jewish people, or any non-Jewish resident of Palestine.
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution labels treaties as the "Supreme Law of the Land" and instructs judges to enforce the performance of the specific obligations of the Nation's treaties:"…all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby…"Though the 1924 Anglo-American Convention expired when the Mandate for Palestine was terminated midnight May14/15, 1948, the principle of "Acquired Legal Rights," as defined in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 70(1)(b), dictates that rights recognized and protected under a treaty do not expire or terminate when the legal instrument recognizing the rights is terminated. In other words, rights continue without end.
The Anglo American Treaty of 1924
The UN Partition Plan embodied in General Assembly Resolution 181(II) was adopted at a time when the Mandate was still in force. This Plan awarded national and political rights to Arabs of the Land of Israel that were never contemplated in the Mandate. Article 5 of the Mandate prohibited the partitioning of the land and bringing it under the rule of a foreign government. The UN General Assembly Resolution violated Article 5 and was therefore illegal. In addition, the UN Partition Plan also violated Article 80 of the UN Charter itself, which preserved from alteration all Jewish rights to Palestine accorded under the Mandate. Separate and apart from that, Resolution 181 (II) became a dead letter when the neighboring Arab states, in cooperation with and at the instigation of the local Arab leadership, invaded the fledgling Jewish State of Israel. Once the war erupted, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion rightly no longer considered Israel bound by the Partition Plan and annexed areas of the Land of Israel beyond the UN-recommended borders, areas that had been re-captured by Jewish military forces, subsequently united as the Israel Defense Forces. This is how cities such as Beersheba, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Nahariya, Nazareth, Acco, Lod and Ramla became part of the State of Israel in 1948. Under the illegal UN Partition Plan they were to be part of an Arab state that never came into being.
Curiously enough, the real reason the United States Government and other countries still refuse to recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and treat Judea and Samaria as "occupied territories" is because they still base their policy on the invalid UN General Assembly Resolution of November 29, 1947 that never had the force of law.
The U.S., in cooperation with Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, is now seeking to put an end to what it declares is the Israeli occupation of eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, as set out in the Road Map Peace Plan. I wish to point out that this plan is neither a treaty nor a signed international agreement. Israel accepted this plan conditionally, subject to 14 reservations that are of critical importance, including inter alia an end to Arab terror, violence and incitement against Israel, the dissolution of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations, the recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish State, the rejection of any alleged "right of return" for so-called Arab refugees to the State of Israel and the absolute necessity that each step of the plan be fulfilled before moving on to the next one. Since none of the 14 Israeli reservations was accepted either by the Arab side or by the Quartet, with the exception that the U.S. has recognized the fact that Israel is a Jewish State, there was therefore no meeting of minds on essential points, so necessary for the formation of a valid and binding contract or agreement. Israel's previous consent to the plan has thus been rendered null and void or simply meaningless. As a result, the Road Map Peace Plan remains only what it says it is, i.e., a plan to achieve peace that has no legal force and does not entail, as is often said, legal obligations on the part of Israel. The plan was supposed to be implemented by no later than 2005, and that year has passed without the execution of the plan. In sum, this non-binding plan is no longer in force and in no way does it diminish Jewish legal rights to all parts of the Land of Israel, including Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Over and above that, the plan which purports to freeze all Israeli settlement activity in the so-called "occupied territories" is a violation of Israeli law, U.S. law and international law and therefore has no validity, nor would it be valid even if there were a signed document. Israeli law does not sanction the cession of any areas of Eretz-Israel to anybody, but assumes that they shall be incorporated into the State of Israel.
To gain a fuller understanding of the depth and strength of Israel's iron-clad legal case to the Land of Israel, I can only suggest that those here tonight read my book on the Legal Foundation and Borders of Israel under International Law, obtainable from Mazo Publishers, Jerusalem, and other outlets.
_______________________________
Attorney Howard Grief is the Founder of the Office for Israeli Constitutional Law and the author of "The Legal Foundation and Borders of Israel under International Law"
Introduction to the 1924 Anglo American Convention on the Mandate for Palestine
The United States was neither one of the Principal Allied Powers of World War I nor was the U.S. a member of the League of Nations. Therefore, the American Government was not initially obligated to recognize and guarantee the rights protected in the Mandate for Palestine. However, the American Administration signed a treaty on December 3, 1924 (ratified by the Senate February 20, 1925; proclaimed December 5, 1925) thus making the obligations of the Mandate for Palestine Treaty law for both the British and Americans!
This imposed a solemn obligation on the U.S. Government to protest any British violation of this treaty, which had repeated every word of the Mandate Charter in the preamble of the Convention, regardless of whether the violation affected American rights, those of the Jewish people, or any non-Jewish resident of Palestine.
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution labels treaties as the "Supreme Law of the Land" and instructs judges to enforce the performance of the specific obligations of the Nation's treaties:"…all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby…"Though the 1924 Anglo-American Convention expired when the Mandate for Palestine was terminated midnight May14/15, 1948, the principle of "Acquired Legal Rights," as defined in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 70(1)(b), dictates that rights recognized and protected under a treaty do not expire or terminate when the legal instrument recognizing the rights is terminated. In other words, rights continue without end.
The Anglo American Treaty of 1924
44 Stat.2184; Treaty Series 728
WHEREAS by the Treaty of Peace concluded with the Allied Powers, Turkey renounces all her rights and titles over Palestine; and
Whereas article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations in the Treaty of Versailles provides that in the case of certain territories which, as a consequence of the late war, ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them, mandates should be issued, and that the terms of the mandate should be explicitly defined in each case by the Council of the League; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed to entrust the Mandate for Palestine to His Britannic Majesty; and
Whereas the terms of the said mandate have been defined by the Council of the League of Nations, as follows:
"The Council of the League of Nations:
"Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the administration of the territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixed by them; and
"Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country; and
"Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country; and
"Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Britannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine; and
"Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been formulated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the League for approval; and
"Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in respect of Palestine and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of Nations in conformity with the following provisions; and
"Whereas by the aforementioned Article 22 (paragraph 8), it is provided that the degree of authority, control or administration to be exercised by the Mandatory, not having been previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, shall be explicitly defined by the Council of the League Of Nations;
"Confirming the said mandate, defines its terms as follows:
WHEREAS by the Treaty of Peace concluded with the Allied Powers, Turkey renounces all her rights and titles over Palestine; and
Whereas article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations in the Treaty of Versailles provides that in the case of certain territories which, as a consequence of the late war, ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them, mandates should be issued, and that the terms of the mandate should be explicitly defined in each case by the Council of the League; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed to entrust the Mandate for Palestine to His Britannic Majesty; and
Whereas the terms of the said mandate have been defined by the Council of the League of Nations, as follows:
"The Council of the League of Nations:
"Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the administration of the territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixed by them; and
"Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country; and
"Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country; and
"Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Britannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine; and
"Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been formulated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the League for approval; and
"Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in respect of Palestine and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of Nations in conformity with the following provisions; and
"Whereas by the aforementioned Article 22 (paragraph 8), it is provided that the degree of authority, control or administration to be exercised by the Mandatory, not having been previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, shall be explicitly defined by the Council of the League Of Nations;
"Confirming the said mandate, defines its terms as follows:
"Article 1
"The Mandatory shall have full powers of legislation and of administration, save as they may be limited by the terms of this mandate.
"Article 2
"The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and the development of self-governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.
"Article 3
"The Mandatory shall, so far as circumstances permit, encourage local autonomy.
"Article 4
"An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognized as a public body for the purpose of advising and co-operating with the Administration of Palestine in such economic, social and other matters as may affect the establishment of the Jewish national home and the interests of the Jewish population in Palestine, and, subject always to the control of the Administration, to assist and take part in the development of the country.
"The Zionist organization, so long as its organization and constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall be recognized as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His Britannic Majesty's Government to secure the co-operation of all Jews who are willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.
"The Zionist organization, so long as its organization and constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall be recognized as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His Britannic Majesty's Government to secure the co-operation of all Jews who are willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.
"Article 5
"The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Palestine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of, the Government of any foreign Power.
"Article 6
"The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in cooperation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.
"Article 7
"The Administration of Palestine shall be responsible for enacting a nationality law. There shall be included in this law provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine.
"Article 8
"The privileges and immunities of foreigners, including the benefits of consular jurisdiction and protection as formerly enjoyed by Capitulation or usage in the Ottoman Empire, shall not be applicable in Palestine.
"Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the aforementioned privileges and immunities on the 1st August, 1914, shall have previously renounced the right to their re-establishment, or shall have agreed to their non-application for a specified period, these privileges and immunities shall, at the expiration of the mandate, be immediately re-established in their entirety or with such modifications as may have been agreed upon between the Powers concerned.
"Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the aforementioned privileges and immunities on the 1st August, 1914, shall have previously renounced the right to their re-establishment, or shall have agreed to their non-application for a specified period, these privileges and immunities shall, at the expiration of the mandate, be immediately re-established in their entirety or with such modifications as may have been agreed upon between the Powers concerned.
"Article 9
"The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that the judicial system established in Palestine shall assure to foreigners, as well as to natives, a complete guarantee of their rights.
"Respect for the personal status of the various peoples and communities and for their religious interests shall be fully guaranteed. In particular, the control and administration of Wakfs shall be exercised in accordance with religious law and the dispositions of the founders.
"Respect for the personal status of the various peoples and communities and for their religious interests shall be fully guaranteed. In particular, the control and administration of Wakfs shall be exercised in accordance with religious law and the dispositions of the founders.
"Article 10
"Pending the making of special extradition agreements relating to Palestine, the extradition treaties in force between the Mandatory and other foreign Powers shall apply to Palestine.
"Article 11
"The Administration of Palestine shall take all necessary measures to safeguard the interests of the community in connection with the development of the
country, and, subject to any international obligations accepted by the Mandatory, shall have full power to provide for public ownership or control of any of the natural resources of the country or of the public works, services and utilities established or to be established therein. It shall introduce a land system appropriate to the needs of the country, having regard, among other things, to the desirability of promoting the close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land.
"The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency mentioned in Article 4 to construct or operate, upon fair and equitable terms, any public works, services and utilities, and to develop any of the natural resources of the country, in so far as these matters are not directly undertaken by the Administration. Any such arrangements shall provide that no profits distributed by such agency, directly or indirectly, shall exceed a reasonable rate of interest on the capital, and any further profits shall be utilized by it for the benefit of the country in a manner approved by the Administration.
country, and, subject to any international obligations accepted by the Mandatory, shall have full power to provide for public ownership or control of any of the natural resources of the country or of the public works, services and utilities established or to be established therein. It shall introduce a land system appropriate to the needs of the country, having regard, among other things, to the desirability of promoting the close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land.
"The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency mentioned in Article 4 to construct or operate, upon fair and equitable terms, any public works, services and utilities, and to develop any of the natural resources of the country, in so far as these matters are not directly undertaken by the Administration. Any such arrangements shall provide that no profits distributed by such agency, directly or indirectly, shall exceed a reasonable rate of interest on the capital, and any further profits shall be utilized by it for the benefit of the country in a manner approved by the Administration.
"Article12
"The Mandatory shall be entrusted with the control of the foreign relations of Palestine and the right to issue exequaturs to consuls appointed by foreign Powers. He shall also be entitled to afford diplomatic and consular protection to citizens of Palestine when outside its territorial limits.
"Article 13
"All responsibility in connection with the Holy Places and religious buildings or sites in Palestine, including that of preserving existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy Places, religious buildings and sites and the free exercise of worship, while ensuring the requirements of public order and decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who shall be responsible solely to the League of Nations in all matters connected herewith, provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the Mandatory from entering into such arrangements as he may deem reasonable with the Administration for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this article into effect; and provided also that nothing in this mandate shall be construed as conferring upon the Mandatory authority to interfere with the fabric or the management of purely Muslim sacred shrines, the immunities of which are guaranteed.
"Article 14
"A special commission shall be appointed by the Mandatory to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relating to the different religious communities in Palestine. The method of nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commission shall be submitted to the Council of the League for its approval, and the Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon its functions without the approval of the Council.
"Article 15
"The Mandatory shall see that complete freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals, are ensured to all. No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the ground of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his religious belief.
"The right of each community to maintain its own schools for the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such educational requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose, shall not be denied or impaired.
"The right of each community to maintain its own schools for the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such educational requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose, shall not be denied or impaired.
"Article 16
"The Mandatory shall be responsible for exercising such supervision over religious or eleemosynary bodies of all faiths in Palestine as may be required for the maintenance of public order and good government. Subject to such supervision, no measures shall be taken in Palestine to obstruct or interfere with the enterprise of such bodies or to discriminate against any representative or member of them on the ground of his religion or nationality.
"Article 17
"The Administration of Palestine may organize on a voluntary basis the forces necessary for the preservation of peace and order, and also for the defence of the country, subject, however, to the supervision of the Mandatory, but shall not use them for purposes other than those above specified save with the consent of the Mandatory. Except for such purposes, no military, naval or air forces shall be raised or maintained by the Administration of Palestine.
"Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration of Palestine from contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the forces of the Mandatory in Palestine.
"The Mandatory shall be entitled at all times to use the roads, railways and ports of Palestine for the movement of armed forces and the carriage of fuel and supplies.
"Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration of Palestine from contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the forces of the Mandatory in Palestine.
"The Mandatory shall be entitled at all times to use the roads, railways and ports of Palestine for the movement of armed forces and the carriage of fuel and supplies.
"Article 18
"The Mandatory shall see that there is no discrimination in Palestine against the nationals of any State Member of the League of Nations (including companies incorporated under its laws) as compared with those of the Mandatory or of any foreign State in matters concerning taxation, commerce or navigation, the exercise of industries or professions, or in the treatment of merchant vessels or civil aircraft. Similarly, there shall be no discrimination in Palestine against goods originating in or destined for any of the said States, and there shall be freedom of transit under equitable conditions across the mandated area.
"Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this mandate, the Administration of Palestine may, on the advice of the Mandatory, impose such taxes
and customs duties as it may consider necessary, and take such steps as it may think best to promote the development of the natural resources of the country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It may also, on the advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs agreement with any State the territory of which in 1914 was wholly included in Asiatic Turkey or Arabia.
"Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this mandate, the Administration of Palestine may, on the advice of the Mandatory, impose such taxes
and customs duties as it may consider necessary, and take such steps as it may think best to promote the development of the natural resources of the country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It may also, on the advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs agreement with any State the territory of which in 1914 was wholly included in Asiatic Turkey or Arabia.
"Article 19
"The Mandatory shall adhere on behalf of the Administration of Palestine to any general international conventions already existing, or which may be concluded hereafter with the approval of the League of Nations, respecting the slave traffic, the traffic in arms and ammunition, or the traffic in drugs, or relating to commercial equality, freedom of transit and navigation, aerial navigation and postal, telegraphic and wireless communication or literary, artistic or industrial property.
"Article 20
"The Mandatory shall co-operate on behalf of the Administration of Palestine, so far as religious, social and other conditions may permit, in the execution of any common policy adopted by the League of Nations for preventing and combating disease, including diseases of plants and animals.
"Article 21
"The Mandatory shall secure the enactment within twelve months from this date, and shall ensure the execution of a Law of Antiquities based on the following rules. This law shall ensure equality of treatment in the matter of excavations and archaeological research to the nationals of all States Members of the League of Nations.
"(1)
"'Antiquity means any construction or any product of human activity earlier than the year A.D.
"(2)
"The law for the protection of antiquities shall proceed by encouragement rather than by threat.
"Any person who, having discovered an antiquity without being furnished with the authorization referred to in paragraph 5, reports the same to an official of the competent Department, shall be rewarded according to the value of the discovery.
"Any person who, having discovered an antiquity without being furnished with the authorization referred to in paragraph 5, reports the same to an official of the competent Department, shall be rewarded according to the value of the discovery.
"(3)
"No antiquity may be disposed of except to the competent Department, unless this Department renounces the acquisition of any such antiquity.
"No antiquity may leave the country without an export licence from the said Department.
"No antiquity may leave the country without an export licence from the said Department.
"(4)
"Any person who maliciously or negligently destroys or damages an antiquity shall be liable to a penalty to be fixed.
"(5)
"No clearing of ground or digging with the object of finding antiquities shall be permitted, under penalty of fine, except to persons authorized by the competent Department.
"(6)
"Equitable terms shall be fixed for expropriation, temporary or permanent, of lands which might be of historical or archaeological interest.
"(7)
"Authorization to excavate shall only be granted to persons who show sufficient guarantees of archaeological experience. The Administration of Palestine shall not, in granting these authorizations, act in such a way as to exclude scholars of any nation without good grounds.
"(8)
"The proceeds of excavations may be divided between the excavator and the competent Department in a proportion fixed by that Department. If division seems impossible for scientific reasons, the excavator shall receive a fair indemnity in lieu of a part of the find.
"Article 22
"English, Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official languages of Palestine. Any statement or inscription in Arabic on stamps or money in Palestine shall be repeated in Hebrew and any statement or inscription in Hebrew shall be repeated in Arabic.
"Article 23
"The Administration of Palestine shall recognize the holy days of the respective communities in Palestine as legal days of rest for the members of such communities.
The Anglo American Treaty of 1924Part 2 of 2
"Article 24
"The Mandatory shall make to the Council of the League of Nations an annual report to the satisfaction of the Council as to the measures taken during the year to carry out the provisions of the mandate. Copies of all laws and regulations promulgated or issued during the year shall be communicated with the report.
"Article 25
"In the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate as he may consider inapplicable to the existing local conditions, and to make such provision for the administration of the territories as he may consider suitable to those conditions, provided that no action shall be taken which is inconsistent with the provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18.
"Article 26
"The Mandatory agrees that, if any dispute whatever should arise between the Mandatory and another member of the League of Nations relating to the interpretation or the application of the provisions of the mandate, such dispute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation, shall be submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice provided for by Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
"Article 27
"The consent of the Council of the League of Nations is required for any modification of the terms of this mandate.
"Article 28
"In the event of the termination of the mandate hereby conferred upon the Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations shall make such arrangements as may be deemed necessary for safeguarding in perpetuity, under guarantee of the League, the rights secured by Articles 13 and 14, and shall use its influence for securing, under the guarantee of the League, that the Government of Palestine will fully honor the financial obligations legitimately incurred by the Administration of Palestine during the period of the mandate, including the rights of public servants to pensions or gratuities.
"The present instrument shall be deposited in original in the archives of the League of Nations, and certified copies shall be forwarded by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations to all members of the League.
"Done at London, the 24th day of July, 1922; and
Whereas the mandate in the above terms came into force on the 29th of September, 1923; and
Whereas the United States of America, by participating in the war against Germany, contributed to he defeat and the defeat of her allies, and to the renunciation of the rights and titles of her Allies in the territory transferred by them but has not ratified the Covenant of the League of Nations embodied in the Treaty of Versailles; and
Whereas the Government of the United States and the Government of His Britannic Majesty desire to reach a definite understanding with respect to the rights of the two Governments and their respective nationals in Palestine;
The President of the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty have decided to conclude a convention to this effect, and have named as their plenipotentiaries:
The President of the United States of America:
His Excellency the Honorable Frank B. Kellogg, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Sates at London:
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India:
The Right Honorable Joseph Austen Chamberlain, M.P., His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs:
"The present instrument shall be deposited in original in the archives of the League of Nations, and certified copies shall be forwarded by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations to all members of the League.
"Done at London, the 24th day of July, 1922; and
Whereas the mandate in the above terms came into force on the 29th of September, 1923; and
Whereas the United States of America, by participating in the war against Germany, contributed to he defeat and the defeat of her allies, and to the renunciation of the rights and titles of her Allies in the territory transferred by them but has not ratified the Covenant of the League of Nations embodied in the Treaty of Versailles; and
Whereas the Government of the United States and the Government of His Britannic Majesty desire to reach a definite understanding with respect to the rights of the two Governments and their respective nationals in Palestine;
The President of the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty have decided to conclude a convention to this effect, and have named as their plenipotentiaries:
The President of the United States of America:
His Excellency the Honorable Frank B. Kellogg, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Sates at London:
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India:
The Right Honorable Joseph Austen Chamberlain, M.P., His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs:
Article 1
Subject to the provisions of the present convention the United States consents to the administration of Palestine by His Britannic Majesty, pursuant to the mandate recited above.
Article 2
The United States and its nationals shall have and enjoy all the rights and benefits secured under the terms of the mandate to members of the League of Nations and their nationals, notwithstanding the fact that the United States is not a member of the League of Nations.
Article 3
Vested American property rights in the mandated territory shall be respected and in no way impaired.
Article 4
A duplicate of the annual report to be made by the Mandatory under asrticle 24 of the mandate shall be furnished to the United States.
Article 5
Subject to the provisions of any local laws for the maintenance of public order and public morals, the nationals of the United States will be permitted freely to establish and maintain educational, philanthropic and religious institutions and the mandated territory, to receive voluntary applicants to teach in the English language.
Article 6
The extradition treaties and conventions which are, or may be, in force between the United States and Great Britain, and the provisions of any treaties which are, or may be, in force between the two countries which relate to extradition or consular rights shall apply to the mandated territory.
Article 7
Nothing contained in the present convention shall be affected by any modification which may be made in terms of the mandate, as recited above, unless such modification shall have been assented to by the United States.
Article 8
The present convention shall be ratified in accordance with the respective constitutional methods of the High Contracting Parties. The ratifications shall be exchanged in London as soon as practicable. The present convention shall take effect on the date of the exchange of ratifications.
In witness whereof, the undersigned have signed the present convention, and have thereunto affixed their seals.
Done in duplicate at London, this 3rd day of December, 1924.
In witness whereof, the undersigned have signed the present convention, and have thereunto affixed their seals.
Done in duplicate at London, this 3rd day of December, 1924.
FRANK B. KELLOGG [SEAL]
AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN [SEAL]
AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN [SEAL]
The Mandate for Palestine(July 24, 1922)
The Council of the League of Nations:Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the administration of the territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixed by them; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing nonJewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country; and
Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Britannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine; and
Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been formulated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the League for approval; and
Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in respect of Palestine and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of Nations in conformity with the following provisions; and
Whereas by the aforementioned Article 22 (paragraph 8), it is provided that the degree of authority, control or administration to be exercised by the Mandatory, not having been previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, shall be explicitly defined by the Council of the League Of Nations; confirming the said Mandate, defines its terms as follows:ARTICLE 1. The Mandatory shall have full powers of legislation and of administration, save as they may be limited by the terms of this mandate.
ARTICLE 2. The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and the development of selfgoverning institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.
ARTICLE 3. The Mandatory shall, so far as circumstances permit, encourage local autonomy.
ARTICLE 4. An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognised as a public body for the purpose of advising and cooperating with the Administration of Palestine in such economic, social and other matters as may affect the establishment of the Jewish national home and the interests of the Jewish population in Palestine, and, subject always to the control of the Administration to assist and take part in the development of the country.
The Zionist organization, so long as its organization and constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall be recognised as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His Britannic Majesty's Government to secure the cooperation of all Jews who are willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.
ARTICLE 5. The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Palestine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of the Government of any foreign Power.
ARTICLE 6. The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in cooperation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.
ARTICLE 7. The Administration of Palestine shall be responsible for enacting a nationality law. There shall be included in this law provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine.
ARTICLE 8. The privileges and immunities of foreigners, including the benefits of consular jurisdiction and protection as formerly enjoyed by Capitulation or usage in the Ottoman Empire, shall not be applicable in Palestine.
Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the aforementioned privileges and immunities on August 1st, 1914, shall have previously renounced the right to their reestablishment, or shall have agreed to their nonapplication for a specified period, these privileges and immunities shall, at the expiration of the mandate, be immediately reestablished in their entirety or with such modifications as may have been agreed upon between the Powers concerned.
ARTICLE 9. The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that the judicial system established in Palestine shall assure to foreigners, as well as to natives, a complete guarantee of their rights.
Respect for the personal status of the various peoples and communities and for their religious interests shall be fully guaranteed. In particular, the control and administration of Wakfs shall be exercised in accordance with religious law and the dispositions of the founders.
ARTICLE 10. Pending the making of special extradition agreements relating to Palestine, the extradition treaties in force between the Mandatory and other foreign Powers shall apply to Palestine.
ARTICLE 11. The Administration of Palestine shall take all necessary measures to safeguard the interests of the community in connection with the development of the country, and, subject to any international obligations accepted by the Mandatory, shall have full power to provide for public ownership or control of any of the natural resources of the country or of the public works, services and utilities established or to be established therein. It shall introduce a land system appropriate to the needs of the country, having regard, among other things, to the desirability of promoting the close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land.
The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency mentioned in Article 4 to construct or operate, upon fair and equitable terms, any public works, services and utilities, and to develop any of the natural resources of the country, in so far as these matters are not directly undertaken by the Administration. Any such arrangements shall provide that no profits distributed by such agency, directly or indirectly, shall exceed a reasonable rate of interest on the capital, and any further profits shall be utilised by it for the benefit of the country in a manner approved by the Administration.
ARTICLE 12. The Mandatory shall be entrusted with the control of the foreign relations of Palestine and the right to issue exequaturs to consuls appointed by foreign Powers. He shall also be entitled to afford diplomatic and consular protection to citizens of Palestine when outside its territorial limits.
ARTICLE 13. All responsibility in connection with the Holy Places and religious buildings or sites in Palestine, including that of preserving existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy Places, religious buildings and sites and the free exercise of worship, while ensuring the requirements of public order and decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who shall be responsible solely to the League of Nations in all matters connected herewith, provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the Mandatory from entering into such arrangements as he may deem reasonable with the Administration for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this article into effect; and provided also that nothing in this mandate shall be construed as conferring upon the Mandatory authority to interfere with the fabric or the management of purely Moslem sacred shrines, the immunities of which are guaranteed.
ARTICLE 14. A special commission shall be appointed by the Mandatory to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relating to the different religious communities in Palestine. The method of nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commission shall be submitted to the Council of the League for its approval, and the Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon its functions without the approval of the Council.
ARTICLE 15. The Mandatory shall see that complete freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals, are ensured to all. No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the ground of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his religious belief.
The right of each community to maintain its own schools for the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such educational requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose, shall not be denied or impaired.
ARTICLE 16. The Mandatory shall be responsible for exercising such supervision over religious or eleemosynary bodies of all faiths in Palestine as may be required for the maintenance of public order and good government. Subject to such supervision, no measures shall be taken in Palestine to obstruct or interfere with the enterprise of such bodies or to discriminate against any representative or member of them on the ground of his religion or nationality.
ARTICLE 17. The Administration of Palestine may organise on a voluntary basis the forces necessary for the preservation of peace and order, and also for the defence of the country, subject, however, to the supervision of the Mandatory, but shall not use them for purposes other than those above specified save with the consent of the Mandatory. Except for such purposes, no military, naval or air forces shall be raised or maintained by the Administration of Palestine.
Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration of Palestine from contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the forces of the Mandatory in Palestine.
The Mandatory shall be entitled at all times to use the roads, railways and ports of Palestine for the movement of armed forces and the carriage of fuel and supplies.
ARTICLE 18. The Mandatory shall see that there is no discrimination in Palestine against the nationals of any State Member of the League of Nations (including companies incorporated under its laws) as compared with those of the Mandatory or of any foreign State in matters concerning taxation, commerce or navigation, the exercise of industries or professions, or in the treatment of merchant vessels or civil aircraft. Similarly, there shall be no discrimination in Palestine against goods originating in or destined for any of the said States, and there shall be freedom of transit under equitable conditions across the mandated area.
Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this mandate, the Administration of Palestine may, on the advice of the Mandatory, impose such taxes and customs duties as it may consider necessary, and take such steps as it may think best to promote the development of the natural resources of the country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It may also, on the advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs agreement with any State the territory of which in 1914 was wholly included in Asiatic Turkey or Arabia.
ARTICLE 19. The Mandatory shall adhere on behalf of the Administration of Palestine to any general international conventions already existing, or which may be concluded hereafter with the approval of the League of Nations, respecting the slave traffic, the traffic in arms and ammunition, or the traffic in drugs, or relating to commercial equality, freedom of transit and navigation, aerial navigation and postal, telegraphic and wireless communication or literary, artistic or industrial property.
ARTICLE 20. The Mandatory shall cooperate on behalf of the Administration of Palestine, so far as religious, social and other conditions may permit, in the execution of any common policy adopted by the League of Nations for preventing and combating disease, including diseases of plants and animals.
ARTICLE 21. The Mandatory shall secure the enactment within twelve months from this date, and shall ensure the execution of a Law of Antiquities based on the following rules. This law shall ensure equality of treatment in the matter of excavations and archaeological research to the nationals of all States Members of the League of Nations.
(1) "Antiquity" means any construction or any product of human activity earlier than the year 1700 A. D.
(2) The law for the protection of antiquities shall proceed by encouragement rather than by threat.
Any person who, having discovered an antiquity without being furnished with the authorization referred to in paragraph 5, reports the same to an official of the competent Department, shall be rewarded according to the value of the discovery.
(3) No antiquity may be disposed of except to the competent Department, unless this Department renounces the acquisition of any such antiquity.
No antiquity may leave the country without an export licence from the said Department.
(4) Any person who maliciously or negligently destroys or damages an antiquity shall be liable to a penalty to be fixed.
(5) No clearing of ground or digging with the object of finding antiquities shall be permitted, under penalty of fine, except to persons authorised by the competent Department.
(6) Equitable terms shall be fixed for expropriation, temporary or permanent, of lands which might be of historical or archaeological interest.
(7) Authorization to excavate shall only be granted to persons who show sufficient guarantees of archaeological experience. The Administration of Palestine shall not, in granting these authorizations, act in such a way as to exclude scholars of any nation without good grounds.
(8) The proceeds of excavations may be divided between the excavator and the competent Department in a proportion fixed by that Department. If division seems impossible for scientific reasons, the excavator shall receive a fair indemnity in lieu of a part of the find.
ARTICLE 22. English, Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official languages of Palestine. Any statement or inscription in Arabic on stamps or money in Palestine shall be repeated in Hebrew and any statement or inscription in Hebrew shall be repeated in Arabic.
ARTICLE 23. The Administration of Palestine shall recognise the holy days of the respective communities in Palestine as legal days of rest for the members of such communities.
ARTICLE 24. The Mandatory shall make to the Council of the League of Nations an annual report to the satisfaction of the Council as to the measures taken during the year to carry out the provisions of the mandate. Copies of all laws and regulations promulgated or issued during the year shall be communicated with the report.
ARTICLE 25. In the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate as he may consider inapplicable to the existing local conditions, and to make such provision for the administration of the territories as he may consider suitable to those conditions, provided that no action shall be taken which is inconsistent with the provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18.
ARTICLE 26. The Mandatory agrees that, if any dispute whatever should arise between the Mandatory and another member of the League of Nations relating to the interpretation or the application of the provisions of the mandate, such dispute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation, shall be submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice provided for by Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
ARTICLE 27. The consent of the Council of the League of Nations is required for any modification of the terms of this mandate.
ARTICLE 28. In the event of the termination of the mandate hereby conferred upon the Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations shall make such arrangements as may be deemed necessary for safeguarding in perpetuity, under guarantee of the League, the rights secured by Articles 13 and 14, and shall use its influence for securing, under the guarantee of the League, that the Government of Palestine will fully honour the financial obligations legitimately incurred by the Administration of Palestine during the period of the mandate, including the rights of public servants to pensions or gratuities.
The present instrument shall be deposited in original in the archives of the League of Nations and certified copies shall be forwarded by the SecretaryGeneral of the League of Nations to all members of the League.
Done at London the twentyfourth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and twentytwo.
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing nonJewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country; and
Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Britannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine; and
Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been formulated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the League for approval; and
Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in respect of Palestine and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of Nations in conformity with the following provisions; and
Whereas by the aforementioned Article 22 (paragraph 8), it is provided that the degree of authority, control or administration to be exercised by the Mandatory, not having been previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, shall be explicitly defined by the Council of the League Of Nations; confirming the said Mandate, defines its terms as follows:ARTICLE 1. The Mandatory shall have full powers of legislation and of administration, save as they may be limited by the terms of this mandate.
ARTICLE 2. The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and the development of selfgoverning institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.
ARTICLE 3. The Mandatory shall, so far as circumstances permit, encourage local autonomy.
ARTICLE 4. An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognised as a public body for the purpose of advising and cooperating with the Administration of Palestine in such economic, social and other matters as may affect the establishment of the Jewish national home and the interests of the Jewish population in Palestine, and, subject always to the control of the Administration to assist and take part in the development of the country.
The Zionist organization, so long as its organization and constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall be recognised as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His Britannic Majesty's Government to secure the cooperation of all Jews who are willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.
ARTICLE 5. The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Palestine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of the Government of any foreign Power.
ARTICLE 6. The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in cooperation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.
ARTICLE 7. The Administration of Palestine shall be responsible for enacting a nationality law. There shall be included in this law provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine.
ARTICLE 8. The privileges and immunities of foreigners, including the benefits of consular jurisdiction and protection as formerly enjoyed by Capitulation or usage in the Ottoman Empire, shall not be applicable in Palestine.
Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the aforementioned privileges and immunities on August 1st, 1914, shall have previously renounced the right to their reestablishment, or shall have agreed to their nonapplication for a specified period, these privileges and immunities shall, at the expiration of the mandate, be immediately reestablished in their entirety or with such modifications as may have been agreed upon between the Powers concerned.
ARTICLE 9. The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that the judicial system established in Palestine shall assure to foreigners, as well as to natives, a complete guarantee of their rights.
Respect for the personal status of the various peoples and communities and for their religious interests shall be fully guaranteed. In particular, the control and administration of Wakfs shall be exercised in accordance with religious law and the dispositions of the founders.
ARTICLE 10. Pending the making of special extradition agreements relating to Palestine, the extradition treaties in force between the Mandatory and other foreign Powers shall apply to Palestine.
ARTICLE 11. The Administration of Palestine shall take all necessary measures to safeguard the interests of the community in connection with the development of the country, and, subject to any international obligations accepted by the Mandatory, shall have full power to provide for public ownership or control of any of the natural resources of the country or of the public works, services and utilities established or to be established therein. It shall introduce a land system appropriate to the needs of the country, having regard, among other things, to the desirability of promoting the close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land.
The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency mentioned in Article 4 to construct or operate, upon fair and equitable terms, any public works, services and utilities, and to develop any of the natural resources of the country, in so far as these matters are not directly undertaken by the Administration. Any such arrangements shall provide that no profits distributed by such agency, directly or indirectly, shall exceed a reasonable rate of interest on the capital, and any further profits shall be utilised by it for the benefit of the country in a manner approved by the Administration.
ARTICLE 12. The Mandatory shall be entrusted with the control of the foreign relations of Palestine and the right to issue exequaturs to consuls appointed by foreign Powers. He shall also be entitled to afford diplomatic and consular protection to citizens of Palestine when outside its territorial limits.
ARTICLE 13. All responsibility in connection with the Holy Places and religious buildings or sites in Palestine, including that of preserving existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy Places, religious buildings and sites and the free exercise of worship, while ensuring the requirements of public order and decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who shall be responsible solely to the League of Nations in all matters connected herewith, provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the Mandatory from entering into such arrangements as he may deem reasonable with the Administration for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this article into effect; and provided also that nothing in this mandate shall be construed as conferring upon the Mandatory authority to interfere with the fabric or the management of purely Moslem sacred shrines, the immunities of which are guaranteed.
ARTICLE 14. A special commission shall be appointed by the Mandatory to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relating to the different religious communities in Palestine. The method of nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commission shall be submitted to the Council of the League for its approval, and the Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon its functions without the approval of the Council.
ARTICLE 15. The Mandatory shall see that complete freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals, are ensured to all. No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the ground of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his religious belief.
The right of each community to maintain its own schools for the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such educational requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose, shall not be denied or impaired.
ARTICLE 16. The Mandatory shall be responsible for exercising such supervision over religious or eleemosynary bodies of all faiths in Palestine as may be required for the maintenance of public order and good government. Subject to such supervision, no measures shall be taken in Palestine to obstruct or interfere with the enterprise of such bodies or to discriminate against any representative or member of them on the ground of his religion or nationality.
ARTICLE 17. The Administration of Palestine may organise on a voluntary basis the forces necessary for the preservation of peace and order, and also for the defence of the country, subject, however, to the supervision of the Mandatory, but shall not use them for purposes other than those above specified save with the consent of the Mandatory. Except for such purposes, no military, naval or air forces shall be raised or maintained by the Administration of Palestine.
Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration of Palestine from contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the forces of the Mandatory in Palestine.
The Mandatory shall be entitled at all times to use the roads, railways and ports of Palestine for the movement of armed forces and the carriage of fuel and supplies.
ARTICLE 18. The Mandatory shall see that there is no discrimination in Palestine against the nationals of any State Member of the League of Nations (including companies incorporated under its laws) as compared with those of the Mandatory or of any foreign State in matters concerning taxation, commerce or navigation, the exercise of industries or professions, or in the treatment of merchant vessels or civil aircraft. Similarly, there shall be no discrimination in Palestine against goods originating in or destined for any of the said States, and there shall be freedom of transit under equitable conditions across the mandated area.
Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this mandate, the Administration of Palestine may, on the advice of the Mandatory, impose such taxes and customs duties as it may consider necessary, and take such steps as it may think best to promote the development of the natural resources of the country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It may also, on the advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs agreement with any State the territory of which in 1914 was wholly included in Asiatic Turkey or Arabia.
ARTICLE 19. The Mandatory shall adhere on behalf of the Administration of Palestine to any general international conventions already existing, or which may be concluded hereafter with the approval of the League of Nations, respecting the slave traffic, the traffic in arms and ammunition, or the traffic in drugs, or relating to commercial equality, freedom of transit and navigation, aerial navigation and postal, telegraphic and wireless communication or literary, artistic or industrial property.
ARTICLE 20. The Mandatory shall cooperate on behalf of the Administration of Palestine, so far as religious, social and other conditions may permit, in the execution of any common policy adopted by the League of Nations for preventing and combating disease, including diseases of plants and animals.
ARTICLE 21. The Mandatory shall secure the enactment within twelve months from this date, and shall ensure the execution of a Law of Antiquities based on the following rules. This law shall ensure equality of treatment in the matter of excavations and archaeological research to the nationals of all States Members of the League of Nations.
(1) "Antiquity" means any construction or any product of human activity earlier than the year 1700 A. D.
(2) The law for the protection of antiquities shall proceed by encouragement rather than by threat.
Any person who, having discovered an antiquity without being furnished with the authorization referred to in paragraph 5, reports the same to an official of the competent Department, shall be rewarded according to the value of the discovery.
(3) No antiquity may be disposed of except to the competent Department, unless this Department renounces the acquisition of any such antiquity.
No antiquity may leave the country without an export licence from the said Department.
(4) Any person who maliciously or negligently destroys or damages an antiquity shall be liable to a penalty to be fixed.
(5) No clearing of ground or digging with the object of finding antiquities shall be permitted, under penalty of fine, except to persons authorised by the competent Department.
(6) Equitable terms shall be fixed for expropriation, temporary or permanent, of lands which might be of historical or archaeological interest.
(7) Authorization to excavate shall only be granted to persons who show sufficient guarantees of archaeological experience. The Administration of Palestine shall not, in granting these authorizations, act in such a way as to exclude scholars of any nation without good grounds.
(8) The proceeds of excavations may be divided between the excavator and the competent Department in a proportion fixed by that Department. If division seems impossible for scientific reasons, the excavator shall receive a fair indemnity in lieu of a part of the find.
ARTICLE 22. English, Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official languages of Palestine. Any statement or inscription in Arabic on stamps or money in Palestine shall be repeated in Hebrew and any statement or inscription in Hebrew shall be repeated in Arabic.
ARTICLE 23. The Administration of Palestine shall recognise the holy days of the respective communities in Palestine as legal days of rest for the members of such communities.
ARTICLE 24. The Mandatory shall make to the Council of the League of Nations an annual report to the satisfaction of the Council as to the measures taken during the year to carry out the provisions of the mandate. Copies of all laws and regulations promulgated or issued during the year shall be communicated with the report.
ARTICLE 25. In the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate as he may consider inapplicable to the existing local conditions, and to make such provision for the administration of the territories as he may consider suitable to those conditions, provided that no action shall be taken which is inconsistent with the provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18.
ARTICLE 26. The Mandatory agrees that, if any dispute whatever should arise between the Mandatory and another member of the League of Nations relating to the interpretation or the application of the provisions of the mandate, such dispute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation, shall be submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice provided for by Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
ARTICLE 27. The consent of the Council of the League of Nations is required for any modification of the terms of this mandate.
ARTICLE 28. In the event of the termination of the mandate hereby conferred upon the Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations shall make such arrangements as may be deemed necessary for safeguarding in perpetuity, under guarantee of the League, the rights secured by Articles 13 and 14, and shall use its influence for securing, under the guarantee of the League, that the Government of Palestine will fully honour the financial obligations legitimately incurred by the Administration of Palestine during the period of the mandate, including the rights of public servants to pensions or gratuities.
The present instrument shall be deposited in original in the archives of the League of Nations and certified copies shall be forwarded by the SecretaryGeneral of the League of Nations to all members of the League.
Done at London the twentyfourth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and twentytwo.
American Proposal for Jewish Homeland, January 21, 1919
ReplyDeleteOutline of Tentative Report and Recommendations of the Intelligence Section of the American Delegation to the Peace Conference, in accordance with instructions, for the President and the Plenipotentiaries, January 21, 1919*
26. Palestine.
It is recommended: 1) That there be established a separate state of Palestine.
2) That this state be placed under Great Britain as a mandatory of the League of Nations.
3) That the Jews be invited to return to Palestine and settle there being assured by the Conference of an proper assistance in so doing that may be consistent with the protection of the personal (especially the religious) and the property rights of the non-Jewish population, and being further assured that it will be the policy of the League of Nations to recognize Palestine as a Jewish state as soon as it is a Jewish state in fact.
4) That the holy places and religious rights of all creeds in Palestine are placed under the protection of the League of Nations and it’s mandatory.
Discussion.
1) It is recommended that there be established a separate state of Palestine.
The separation of the Palestinian area from Syria finds justification in the religious experience of mankind. The Jewish and Christian churches were born in Palestine, and Jerusalem was for long years, at different periods, the capital of each. And while the relation of the Mohammedans to Palestine is not so intimate, from the beginning they have regarded Jerusalem as a holy place. Only by establishing Palestine as a separate state can justice be done to these great facts.
As drawn upon the map, the new state would control *Quoted in David Hunter Miller, My Diary at the Conference of Paris, Vol. iv, pp. 263-264.
Its own source of water power and irrigation, on Mount Hermon in the east to the Jordan; a feature of great importance since the success of the new state would depend upon the possibilities of agricultural development.
2) It is recommended that this state be placed under Great Britain as a mandatory of the League of Nations.
Palestine would obviously need wise and firm guidance. Its population is without political experience, is racially composite, and could easily become distracted by fanaticism and bitter religious differences.
The success of Great Britain in dealing with similar situations, her relation to Egypt, and her administrative achievements since General Allenby freed Palestine from the Turk; all indicate her as the logical mandatory.
3) It is recommended that the Jews be invited to return to Palestine and settle there, being assured by the Conference of all proper assistance in so doing that may be consistent with the protection of the personal (especially the religious) and the property rights of the non-Jewish population, and being further assured that it will be the policy of the League of Nations to recognize Palestine as a Jewish state as soon as it is a Jewish state in fact.
It is right that Palestine should become a Jewish state, if the Jews, being given the full opportunity, make it such. It was the cradle and home of their vital race, which has made large spiritual contributions to mankind, and is the only land in which they can hope to find a home of their own; they being in this last respect unique among significant peoples.
At present, however, the Jews form barely twenty percent of the total population of 450,000 in Palestine, and whether they are to form a majority, or even a plurality, of the population in the future state remains uncertain. Palestine, in short, is far from being a Jewish country now. England, as mandatory, can be relied on to give the Jews the privileged position they should have without sacrificing the rights of non-Jews.
4) It is recommended that the holy places and religious rights of all creeds in Palestine be placed under the protection of the League of Nations and it’s mandatory.
The basis for this recommendation is self-evident.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSovereignty of Israel with no safety and security is a hollow sovereignty
ReplyDeleteThe State of Israel must always keep in mind its own sovereign obligations and be careful not to risk its capacity to perform the vital task of defending itself, its people, and its interests. Israel even under the most adverse conditions, it shall not capitulate to world pressure whereby its citizen’s safety and security is compromised.
Israel has faced over 23,190 terror attacks since September 2000, when a wave of terror started against Israeli citizen’s right after Arafat was offered a second independent Arab/Palestinian state.
To date Israel's concessions and appeasement to the Arabs has decreased the safety and security of Israel's population. It is time to change direction and not worry about world opinion. Do not wait for the world at large to condemn these terrorist attacks, they did not care in the past when Jewish blood was spilled and they do not care now. The security and safety of the people of Israel must be first and foremost above any other consideration. That is the duty and obligation of a responsible government. Deliberating at time of National crisis without a previous set plan borders on dereliction of duty, based on Israel's experience with terror, they should know better. Meanwhile, Israelis are being killed and injured on a daily basis throughout Israel, the people in Israel feel unsafe and the economy is suffering. Get your act together, act immediately and forcefully with no compromise, now that is the only way, it has to be Israel's way or the highway. Any delay in implementation will increase terror and violence and escalate the death and injury of Jewish lives in Israel. Israel must face the bold facts. The Arabs do not want peace, they never did, they only want the destruction of Israel, Israel must act accordingly with no illusion and fantasy or false promises that the Arabs are partners for peace, it is perfectly clear that they are not interested in peace at all. Their Charter and actions confirm it.
The Arabs educate and train their children and the masses to commit terror and violence, celebrate and glorify suicide bombers, Need I say anymore. Stop bickering among yourselves, unify, and face the enemy with vigor and determination and do not stop until the enemy is totally vanquished and peace and tranquility returns to Israel.
YJ Draiman
The “Jewish National Home” was a part of a two step process. The Jews did not want immediate statehood because of their small number in 1917. They wanted the unrestricted right to settle in Palestine until they became a majority and had the capability of exercising sovereignty. The Palestine Mandate was a trust. Trusts do not expire when the trustee resigns. The Palestine Mandate was a self executing document in which the trust vested when the standards were met. I can put in trust a Ming Dynasty vase for my young daughter who is to get it when she is 35 years old if she avoids drugs. If she meets those standards, no further action by any tribunal is required for her to obtain legal dominion over them. Recognition of a state may be tacit under the 1933 Montevideo Convention. Approval of the intention of statehood at a later time is sufficient for tacit recognition of a state. Confirmation of the Palestine Mandate by at least 52 states met that requirement.
ReplyDeleteThe rights granted to the Jewish people in the Mandate for Palestine were to be given effect in all of Palestine. It thus follows that the legal rights of the claimants to sovereignty over the Old City of Jerusalem derive from the decisions of the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers in 1920 San Remo (which also gave the Arabs over 12 million sq. km. of territory) and from the terms of the Mandate for Palestine to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in their historical land and approved by the Council of the League of Nations.
ReplyDeleteIn March 1921, in Cairo, Great Britain decided to partition the mandated territory of Palestine aka The Land of Israel, for selfish political reasons of its own. Article 25 of the Mandate gave the Mandatory Power permission to postpone terms of the Mandate in the area of land east of the Jordan River (“Trans-Jordan”), but not to give it away and prohibit Jews from living there. Great Britain, as Mandatory Power, abused its powers. It also violated many of the other terms which caused the deaths of millions of Jews and are a major cause of today’s Arab Israeli conflict. Prior to the dissolution of the League of Nations; there was a motion to bring charges against Britain for its violations of the terms of the mandate.
For former UN Ambassador, Professor Yehuda Zvi Blum, the rights vested in the Arab people of Palestine with respect to the principle of self-determination were fulfilled by violating the rights of the Jews and as a result of this initial partition of Palestine approved by the Council of the League of Nations in 1922 contrary to international agreement. According to Professor Blum: “The Arab Palestinians have long enjoyed self-determination in their own state – the Arab Palestinian State of Jordan”. (Worth mentioning here, in a letter apparently written on 17 January 1921 to Churchill’s Private Secretary, Col. T.E. Lawrence (“of Arabia”) had reported that, in return for Arab sovereignty in Iraq, Trans-Jordan and Syria, King Hussein’s eldest son, Emir Feisal—a man said by Lawrence to be known for keeping his word—had “agreed to abandon all claims of his father to Palestine”.) In favor of the Jewish people.
YJ Draiman
ReplyDeleteMedia accuracy and unbiased reporting must be enforced r3
It seems the Media cannot regulate itself to present a true and honest reporting.
Responsible and honest reporting has been replaced with ambiguous confusing and illusory news reports, with no regard to the consequences. Facts and sources are not properly verified and an inaccurate unsubstantiated news story gets released to the public, and that may cause substantial harm.
Why is the Media not charged with incitement?
Why is the Media not punished for staging a scene?
They pay some individuals to throw stones at soldiers in order to film a reaction and sensationalize the episode with distorted fabricated reports. There are numerous staging of events by the Media that incite hatred and violence. Should the reporters and their management not be charged with incitement?
Where is the professionalism, neutral and unbiased reporting?
What has happened to ethics in Journalism?
Has Social Media added a new dimension to honest reporting?
Can we overcome distorted Social Media for accuracy?
How can we verify instant Social Media images from being
photo-shopped?
Can we impose responsible Social Media without affecting the freedom of speech?
Whether we like it or not, the masses are influenced by the Media, could you imagine how children and young adults absorb the Media hype, regardless weather it is truth or illusion. The damage is long term and may not be reversible.
Children are very impressionable, they think what they see on TV emulate real life, which we know is distorted and make believe, they carry these illusions as reality which affects their future adversely.
The Media reporting must be neutral, unbiased, balanced, objective and impartial. Violators should be subject to fines and criminal charges if people suffer due to intentional distortion of reports or intentionally slanted news to deceive or promote favoritism that escalates into violence and or cause harm and or financial loss.
When a Media outlet intentionally distorts and misinforms the news and events, it should forfeit the right to free speech and free press and face the music. It is a form of incitement.
In the past decades Media outlets have expanded the creation of sensationalism to promote readership and revenues. These types of reports are many times intentionally distort the facts and true dimension of the report. Thus, it creates more unwarranted dissension and crisis that leads to violence and death.
It seems that the Media today has no emotion, no compassion. Much of the news is choreographed for the sake of sensationalism and rating. Which comes down to increased revenues and financial gain? Society today is so hungry for money, power, instant gratification and glamour, that it crosses the line of honesty and integrity on a regular basis.
Is there a chance of going back to honor, honesty, integrity and fighting for truth and justice the old American way?
Can the Media Overcome false showmanship, artificial presentation and insincerity.
Broadcasting truth and reality, thereby regaining public trust in the Media?
This very same rebuke and standards must be applied to our elected government officials, who will promise you anything to get elected. Getting them to live up to their promises is another thing altogether.
A change for the better must be initiated and it must start at the top.
YJ Draiman
P.S. “The biases the media has are much bigger than conservative or liberal. They’re about getting ratings not informing the public about the true facts; it’s about making money, about doing stories that are easy to cover and keeping us in an uproar.”
Jewish roots and rights to all the land of Greater Israel are stronger than ever!
ReplyDelete“If I am turned out of hearth and home and remain outside one night, I am legally entitled to return the following day. If I suffer for ten, twenty, five thousand or fifty thousand nights, does my right of return stand in inverse relationship to the length of my exile? Quite the contrary; my right to return and recover my freedom becomes stronger in direct proportion to what I have endured, not by virtue of some abstract arithmetic, but because of the nights spent in exile, and because I want my children, to be spared a similar experience.”
YJ Draiman
I am an American! I am not a republican, democrat, right wing, left wing, conservative, liberal, progressive, socialist, neoconservative, atheist, American Indian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, redneck, hillbilly, white, black, tan, etc. what have you. I am an American!
ReplyDeleteIf you agree with me I think that’s great. If you do not agree with me I don’t care.
I am your neighbor. I am the one who stands with you against harm, the one who helps you when you are in need, who laughs when you fall, the one who helps you up.
Your suffering is my suffering, your joy mine too. I am your friend. I am an American!
"A unified nation is a strong nation."
Yj Draiman
“I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore”
ReplyDeleteHow many Jewish lives have to be lost before the Israeli government takes a decisive action, no holds barred and zero tolerance? Israel must practice “Death to all the terrorists”, and no restraint to terror and violence. A terrorist is a terrorist; the age or gender of the terrorist does not mitigate an act of terrorism, or the consequences thereof. Israel must execute mandatory eviction and demolition of homes, confiscation of property to compensate for the damage and barring Arabs in those areas. Let the Arabs know that if this terror and violence continues, the price will be high and non-negotiable. Stop talking; let’s see some serious action on the ground. This situation is spiraling out of control and the government and its security forces are deliberating and hesitating to take forceful and uncompromising actions. The Israeli government must consider first and foremost the safety and security of its people and not the biased world nations, who throughout history stood idle while Jews were killed, tortured, terrorized and persecuted. Israeli people are trained soldiers; they know how to defend themselves. If the government is not able to stop this wave of terror, it is the Job of the Israelis to defend themselves. This is not Nazi Germany; this is Israel, our own historical land with our own government and a strong defense force, that has the capacity to accomplish its task, provided it is not restricted, use it and stop the ghetto mentality. “Death to the terrorists”, nothing less will suffice. May the lord support you in defending yourselves, but G-d helps those who help themselves. Israel must take a strong initiative once and for all.
YJ Draiman
P.S.
Israel should give a 90 day notice the UN and the world at large that it intends to exercise its historical and international rights under the international law and treaties post WWI and the Faisal Weizmann Agreement, which are still in effect and have not been superseded. Under those treaties all of Palestine aka “The Land of Israel” is in effect belongs to Israel and the Jewish people. Israel will no longer tolerate the deceptive term of occupation by Israel; it is internationally guaranteed Jewish land liberated by Israel. It is the Arabs who are the occupiers of Jewish territory.
YJ Draiman
We shall consider: ”Anyone in Israel considering the surrender of Jewish territory is treason and must be prosecuted”
ReplyDeleteClipping from Saint Petersburg Times (approximately 1946)
Washington - (UP) - Britain's treaty grafting independence to Trans-Jordan violates agreements with the United States, the United Nations and the Old League, as well as the rights of the people of Palestine, Senator Francis J. Myers, Pennsylvania democrat, charged yesterday.
Echoing the words of Senator Claude Pepper, Democrat, Florida, who flayed U.S. foreign policy, Thursday, Myers asserted that Trans-Jordan is not ready for the statehood and "illegally granted". And in offering that goal of all dependencies, he added Britain has acted "in contempt of the senate of the United States."
* * *
"WHY THIS HASTE and Stealth?" he asked in a floor speech. "The British government which has fought all attempts at freedom, all movements for independence in the Middle East, is now discovered in the gracious role of liberator.
"Are there perhaps some hidden resources, mineral wealth or oil which are involved?"
He demanded that the state department explain its failure to protest the treaty violation, and urged that the senate demand all the facts.
Pepper charged that the United States had become a guarantor of British Imperialism, and that the British-Trans-Jordan agreement was but a "subterfuge" so long as his majesty's troops are allowed to remain in that country. He also asserted that the United States and Britain were ganging up on Russia, and added:
"WHAT I DECRY is the international hypocrisy, sham and pretense. If the British people want the Russians to get their troops out of Iraq, let them get their troops out of Trans-Jordan. Let them get their troops out of Lebanon and Syria, and let them get their troops out of Palestine."
Myers picked up that tune, changing only the words. In angry mood, the dark-haired Pennsylvanian told his colleagues that:
1. The territory of Trans-Jordan is contained in the original mandate for Palestine, and under its terms, the mandate could not be unilaterally altered.
2. Under the Anglo-American Convention of 1924, Britain could not change the mandate's terms without the consent of the United States.
3. This violation of the treaty with the United States also "strikes at the charter of the United Nations adopted at San Francisco" which "specifically states that no change can be made in the status of mandated territories without the approval of the UNO's general assembly."
Myers asserted that there was no more justification for separating Trans-Jordan from Palestine then there was for "the separation of the United States into two nations: Trans-Mississippi and Cis-Mississippi."
"Aaron Burr tried to do that to our nation" he said. "He was tried for treason".
We shall consider: ”Anyone in Israel considering the surrender of Jewish territory is treason and must be prosecuted”
YJ Draiman
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