Nadene Goldfoot 
Hussein ibn Ali, King of Saudi Arabia, father of Abdullah, who wanted Transjordan and got it.
The presentation started off with the history of this period from the viewpoint of the Arabs. I was able to see how much they omitted that were important elements to the history. Of course i felt it was all one-sided. One thing CNN had correct was how both the Arabs and the Jews viewed Britain's part; all for Britain. How they saw it was different from the Jewish point of view. Britain played both the Arabs and the Jews, making promises to both.
The fact that bothers me and was not brought out was that the Jerusalem and this part of Palestine had once been the Jewish nation over 3,000 years ago, lost to them in 70 CE with Jews yearning and praying 3 times a day for a return. What they needed were leaders to pull it off, which finally took place in 1918. It was part and parcel to their religion of following the laws of Moses who told them that G-d said they were to live in this land. None of the following was mentioned.
The Palestinians had no great reason other than in 632 Mohammad had said that he flew to Jerusalem on his special flying horse and back. It was the Ottoman Turks who held the land for 400 years up to WWI, not the Arabs. At the time, it was both Jews and Arabs, Arabs who had 4 wives if they wanted, with plenty of children, who managed to live there.
I disagree with the population figures given, flatly saying the Arabs were far greater in numbers than the Jews. According to the Romans in 70 CE, Jews who managed to be alive were not allowed to ever return, though some remained where they were not found, but the numbers were small, indeed. We remember entering Canaan with Moses with 601,730, having lost 1,820 after the 40 year Exodus from Egypt.
The Arabs had the chance to create a state when the Ottomans were there and afterwards, but it was the Jews who were frantic to gain their ancient land back and had been talking to the British since WWI had developed, hoping and expecting them to win and gain back their land which was an integral part of the war. The Ottomans were on the wrong side; the German side of the war. Jews had waited 2,000 years for this chance. Jews fought on the Allied side. One had created an element for ammunition that made it superior, helping to win the war for the British and that was Chaim Weizmann.
In 1914, there were 94,000 Jews to 595,000 Non-Jews with 13.67% Jews. Groups of Jews had been migrating to Palestine since 1881 called Aliyahs, with 5 in all. They were breaking ground there, pioneers.
In 1918, there were 60,000 Jews to 600,000 Non-Jews with 8.1% Jews; Pogroms were going on in Russia, killing Jews, making life unbearable. Zionism and plans to return were happening.
By 1931 there were 174,610 Jews to 861,211 Non-Jews with 16.9% Jews.
By 1939 there were 449,000 Jews. Jews were going through terrible times in Germany, elsewhere. Arabs were being allowed to enter Palestine while Jews were kept out by British.
By 1947 there were 630,000 Jews to 1,324 Non-Jews with 32.0% Jews
By 1948 there were 716,700 Jews to 156,000 Non-Jews with 82.1% Jews.
What was mentioned was that in 1948, the Arabs wanted to push the Jews into the sea, and that was true. Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was then brought into the story as a major player.
It was said that Abdulla took the West Bank. My understanding was that the British gave him 80% of the Jewish Homeland. He wanted this West Bank, the original Judea and Samaria, when he asked for it, and that was done against the understanding given to the Jews originally. This happened because of who he was, son of the leader of Saudi Arabia and that he wanted land. He brought a few of his people with him to rule over. Britain was planning to have the land or be involved themselves.
David ben Gurion then was brought into the story. He was a major Zionist whose visions for the land was that it would be a light unto the nations as mentioned that the Jews were to be that in the bible.
Golda Meir was then mentioned, the future 1st woman prime minister. The War of Independence was talked about, not mentioning that it started on 29 November 1947 when the Arabs responded to the UN idea of partitioning the land into 3 parts; one for Arabs, one for Jews, and one for Jerusalem. The Arabs refused, Jews accepted, and the war was on. Both felt tricked but Jews were desperate for that chance of even a little teeny piece of the land at this point. The war lasted until the signing of the armistice Agreements in 1949.
If I were watching this presentation and had no prior knowledge, I might think that Jews somehow, a small group, didn't deserve the land, even though the original section in reality was a very small piece. Jews have been painted as undeserving and the Arabs, the good guys, cheated out of the land they had been living on by both the Jews and the British. It never was discussed that the majority of Arabs had come into the land at the same time as the Jews had made aliyah in 1880-81 looking for work from all over the Middle East. They were Arabs, but not a people; coming from all sorts of countries. Jews had been a scattered people, a people sharing their religion, language, foods, etc.; finding they were even related to each other up to 5th cousins and more. They were coming together as prophesized in the Bible, surprisingly. Both Jews and Arabs had been living in the land since 70 CE, even the Arabs who may have come in later when Rome was gone.
Jews were kept out of Palestine by the British who allowed Arabs to enter at the same time.
In the late 30s, Jews were frantic to enter their promised Homeland, so had to be smuggled in by Haganah. David ben Gurion felt even more determined to help the land become their country.
The Irgun Tzevaileumi (National Military Organization) aka Etzel, a Jewish Palestinian underground organization was created. It's aim was retaliation against Arab attacks on Jews, but on the publication of the 1939 White Paper, it's target became the British authorities in Palestine, by attacking administrative personnel and executing acts of sabotage. They were outlawed by the mandatory government of the British.
Avraham Stern b: 1907 d: 1942 at age 35
Not mentioned was that an outgrowth of that was the Stern Group (Lohame Herut Israel) , of which my 3rd cousin, Stanley Goldfoot, was the Chief of Intelligence. Abraham Stern was the leader who had left the Irgun Tzevai Leumi of which he had been a leader because of its refusal to continue anti-British activities in Palestine during world War II. They were known by the British as the Stern Gang which carried out acts of sabotage, etc. Stern was killed by the British police while being arrested. Born in 1907, he would have been my father's age. He died in 1942. The Stern Group planned the attack on the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, but it was the leader, Stern, who planned that job. They told that 91 were killed in the explosion on the hotel. They didn't mention that the Stern group warned the hotel of what they were doing and told them to get everyone out. Evidently they didn't believe the phone call. I had the opportunity to meet my cousin in 1981 at the very same King David Hotel, and talk to him about his experiences. Stanley was a writer, who wrote the famous Letter to the World, telling how he felt about the land and Jerusalem. Stanley corrected me, saying it wasn't the Stern Gang but the Stern Group!
Arabs went through the defeat. They saw Jews as a machine taking over the land. Golda had gone to the USA and Jews had donated money for arms to help the Jews win the battle. Israel was born after the British left their 30 year term on May 14, 1948. Arabs felt that Great Britain had betrayed the Palestinian Arab ambitions. I reiterate; their ambitions only developed when they saw that Jews were returning and were buying up the land from Arabs who were tired of paying high taxes for the land to the Ottomans. They had no ambitions before that.
Jordan's Arab Legion took control of territory on the western side of the Jordan River, including the cities of Jericho, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and eastern Jerusalem, including the Old City. Following the end of hostilities, the area that remained under Jordanian control became known as the West Bank. The program had only mentioned Jerusalem.
They did mention that Golda had disguised herself as an Arab woman to meet with Abdullah in Jordan to talk over the situation. He, however, was one of the first to attack Israel as he wanted Jerusalem for himself. She had asked him not to attack. Abdullah took over Jerusalem and Jews were evacuated out. They were prisoners of war.
As an aside, a wonderful movie was made of this period in 1966, called CAST A GIANT SHADOW, with Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Frank Sinatra, Yul Brynner, Angie Dickinson, that tells more about the War of Independence. The film is a fictionalized account of the experiences of a real-life Jewish-American military officer, Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus, who commanded units of the fledgling Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
For the Arabs, they remember Israel's birth as a disaster while we celebrate its birthday.
The 1967 war was mentioned. That was the end. One more presentation coming up next week.
Stanley Goldfoot's Letter to the World
Resource:
CNN program on Jerusalem part 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordanian_annexation_of_the_West_Bank
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