Zionism’s history: Marks & Spencer executives’ lobbying efforts.
At the end of the 19th century, just as Palestine was on the verge of a new era, Zionism emerged. Zionism was a foreign and alien phenomenon that had emerged in Europe in the 16th century as an evangelical Christian project. A significant number of Protestant Christians believed that the return of the Jews to “Zion” was the fulfillment of the promises that God had made to the Jews in the Old Testament. This would pave the way for the second coming of Christ and the beginning of the end of time.
They were the first to consider Jews not as followers of a religion, but as members of a nation or race. These people were especially active in the United States and Britain, and some of them held high positions.
In his book, “Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic,” Israeli historian Ilan Pappe shows how more than a century of lobbying has convinced British and American politicians to turn a blind eye to the regime’s flagrant violations of international law, grant it unprecedented military aid, and deny Palestinian rights.
Pappe is known for his critical views, particularly on the “Day of the Catastrophe” and the displacement of Palestinians. He taught at the University of Haifa for many years before emigrating to Britain due to political pressure. He is now a professor of history at the University of Exeter and director of the “European Centre for Palestine Studies.”
We have previously published the translation of chapters one, two, and three of Pappe’s book for the first time in Iran. Parts one, three, four, and five of chapter four of this book, titled “Lobbying in Britain during the Mandate,” were previously published. Part Six of this chapter continues:
The Palestinians Still Resist
One fine day in April 1930, two old women watched anxiously as trains pulled into Victoria Station. One of the old women held a flag that none of the passengers in the station recognized: the flag of the small army of the Sharif of Mecca, which had fought alongside the British during World War I under the legendary Thomas Edward Lawrence. The same Lawrence who had hoped that Britain would give the Hashemite dynasty a fair share of the spoils of the defeated Ottoman Empire.
The old women were waiting for the unofficial leader of the Palestinian community, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem and chairman of the Supreme Council of Muslims, who had traveled to London to discuss the future of Palestine with the British government. This relatively simple and restrained welcome reflects the weakness of the pro-Palestinian lobby in London at the time. They took their guest to the Café Royal near Piccadilly Circus and waited for several hours for an interview at the Colonial Office on British policy in Palestine.
Hajj Amin al-Husseini’s visit coincided with the presence of another important guest from Palestine, Chaim Weizmann, head of the Jewish Agency, who was welcomed by an official delegation and interviewed almost anyone in the government he liked before ending his day at Zionist headquarters.