Jewish People Homecoming to Their Promised Land After 2500 Years by YJ Draiman

Jewish People Homecoming to Their Promised Land After 2500 Years

On Nov. 5, 1914, Britain declared war on Turkey, the home of the Ottoman Empire. The Turks were allies of Germany. Neither the British, nor its allies in France, were in a position to send troops into the Middle East. Britain already had strong interests in the region, controlling Egypt and key points at the southern end of the Arab peninsula, including the Suez Canal. Britain wanted to keep this route open, it was the gateway to Britain's most valued colony, India. Much of the Middle East was in Ottoman hands and had been for centuries.

The British realized that if they were to have any success at all, they needed to cultivate a new ally, the Arabs. An agreement was drawn up between the British High Commissioner in Cairo, Sir Henry McMahon, and Hussein ibn Ali, the Sharif of Mecca. Ali hoped to be the first leader of an independent Arab state.

A letter from McMahon dated Oct. 24, 1915 was clearly written and excluded from any agreement "portions of Syria lying to the west of Damascus, as they cannot be said to be purely Arab, but it did promise the Arabs their own state. Subject to the above modifications, the letter stated, Great Britain is prepared to recognize and support all regions within the limits demanded by the Sharif of Mecca.

By this letter, the British promised away Turkish lands in exchange for Arab aid in defeating Turkey. Through this and subsequent letters, the areas that are today Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were included in the promise. Not mentioned in any exchange were the areas of Palestine, which at that time extended from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest across to the Euphrates River in the Northwest corner of what is today Iraq.

In 1916, Britain and France began negotiating about what they would do with the Ottoman Empire when they won the war. A secret plan, known as the Sykes Picot agreement, divided the Ottoman Arab lands in 5 categories. Some were to be under direct French or British rule, others merely under French or British influence.

Finally, a region containing the "holy places, roughly corresponding to Palestine, was to be under the joint control of both. There was no mention of a separate homeland for the Jews. Neither was there any attempt to honor the understanding given to Hussein. And a third promise made the following year would complicate the situation ever further.

During WW1, a British scientist, Dr. Chaim Weitzmann, developed a synthetic acetone and showed how it could be used to create a new kind of smokeless gun powder called "cordite".  This helped the British significantly shortened the war. In gratitude, the British  government offered to grant Weitzmann a "boon". Weitzmann, a Zionist leader, asked for the return of the Jewish ancestral homeland for his people.  The problem was turned over to Lord Arthur Balfour. Balfour saw several advantages for Britain in acceding to Weitzmann's request.

First, he needed the support of the wealthy Jews inside Britain, especially Lord Lionel Rothschild, a wealthy Jew and prominent banker. Secondly, it would be in Britain's interests to have a state friendly to Britain in the eastern Mediterranean region. Thirdly, largely as a result of the growing sympathy for a Jewish state brought on thanks to Darby, there was public support for the concept in Parliament. Lord Balfour then sent his famous letter, known to history as "The Balfour Declaration," that promised a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

His request resulted in the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, which in part said: "His majesty's government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object.

Lord Balfour had become an avid believer in the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy, through the influence of John Darby's. As a result, he believed that God could not lie to the Jewish people when He promised to return them to their own ancestral homeland and reestablish the Jewish State of Israel. Lord Balfour, with the assistance of another Member of Parliament named Lord Lindsay, who also believed in the literal promises of Bible, had exerted considerable influence on their colleagues for the sake of seeking to help reestablish the Jewish homeland in its ancestral territory and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

In December 1917, at the height of WW1, Britain found itself in a position to implement the Balfour Declaration. In the providence of God, General Allenby captured Palestine from the Ottoman Empire, ending 400 years of Turkish Muslim rule. At the end of the war, there was the April 1920 San Remo Conference by the victorious Allied Powers, whereby The Balfour Declaration was incorporated into the international Treaty to divide the Ottoman Empire. The Allied Powers dictates from the 1920 San Remo resolution assigned the League of Nations to dismantled the Ottoman Empire and divided the Middle East as delineated by the 1920 San Remo Conference between two peoples, the Arabs and the Jews. Of the land legally apportioned to the Jews by the Balfour Declaration in 1917, only some 20% was actually given the Jews by 1921 in violation of International treaties. The remainder of the promised Jewish homeland was awarded to the Arabs. This was due to an unexpected furor among the Muslims, who suddenly found the neglected and desolate land of Palestine to be of infinite value.

By the end of the Great War, Britain found itself in the position of having promised all things to all people, and now it was time to deliver. The McMahon Hussein Agreement gave the land east of Damascus to Hussein of Mecca. The Sikes Picot Agreement divided it up between Britain and France. And, the Balfour Declaration gave Palestine to the Jews. The French & British solved their differences by the simple expedient of dividing up the territory by drawing borders, freehand, over the map of the Middle East.

The French created Syria and Lebanon. The British carved Iraq and Transjordan out of what had been Mesopotamia. But when it came to Palestine, the Arabs dug in their heels and demanded that as well. Arab hopes had been raised by McMahon's declaration of support for Arab independence, which the Arabs now claimed encompassed the whole Middle East.

The lack of historical understanding on the part of the British and French diplomats involved is staggering. They drew boundary lines that artificially divided ancient tribal lands and divided tribes into nation states. The legacy of these "diplomats" to future generations was a Middle East in a perpetual state of war. Now, that's diplomacy!! The Balfour Declaration and the support it received in the British government greatly annoyed the Arabs. Even Winston Churchill had spoken Eloquently in favor of keeping Lord Balfour's commitment: "It is manifestly right that the Jews, who are scattered all over the world, should have their national home back where some of them might be reunited. He went on to say it will be good for the world, good for the Jews, and good for Britain.

But it was not good for the Arabs. And they, as it so happens, have most of the proven oil reserves. In 1921, at the April 1920 San Remo conference, the British said they intended for Palestine to become a Jewish State. Prior to the establishment of the League of Nations. (The San Remo Agreement was confirmed by the 1920 Treaty of Sevres and Lausanne). The British realized the economic value of the oil reserves in the Middle East, and due to Arab pressure. The British revised the allocation of Palestine and proposed instead to divide Palestine into Two states, one Arab, and one Jewish. This was an outright violation of International agreement and marked the beginning of constant concessions to the Arabs' increasing demands. (Which I might state continues until today).

The British proposal to divide the area into two states East of the Jordan river for the Arabs and West of the Jordan river for the Jews (in violation of International Treaties), this proposal was accepted by the Jews. Chaim Weitzmann who went on to be Israel's first president, enthusiastically discussed the plan with King Faisal Hussein of Iraq, who initially gave his blessing, then withdrew his support in 1929. But if the Arabs had accepted the 1919 plan, the Jewish minority may well have been "absorbed" into an Arab Palestinian State. And that was not God's plan for His people.

The Peel Commission in 1937 offered a similar 2 nations, one state, proposal. Again, it was accepted by the Jews and rejected by the Arabs. Again, the irony is, had the Arabs accepted it, they would have won the battle for land over which they are currently fighting. And, they would have won without firing a shot and with the enthusiastic support of the Jews. The Woodhead Report of 1938 proposed an even smaller region of Jewish autonomy. Again, the Arabs rejected it; the Jews supported it, although very reluctantly.

The White Paper of 1939, offered by the British, was much more pro Arab than any previous offer. At the time, the British were trying to win Arab sympathies away from the Nazi Party. The White Paper in violation of the Mandate curtailed Jewish immigration, cut back Jewish settlements, in fact, it was little more than a tacit recognition that Jews actually physically existed on the land. Amazingly, the Arabs rejected even this plan, which gives insight into what they really want. And what they really want is the total obliteration of any Jewish presence in what they continue to call Palestine.

In March 1939, the British government actually asked the Germans to "discourage travel" by Jews to the Holy Land. According to official documents, Sir Neville Henderson sent a cable to the Nazi Foreign Office. It stated that a large movement from Germany of Jewish refugees, who without visas or any arrangements for their reception, were attempting to land in any territory that saw to present the slightest possibility of accepting them. This is a cause of great embarrassment to His Majesty's government, and as it appears, to the American government and the latter have expressed a wish you should join the American charge d'affairs in Berlin in bringing the situation to the attention of the appropriate German Authorities and requesting them to discourage such travel on German ships. After WW2 the British went as far as blowing-up Holocaust refugee ships destined for Palestine, under operation Embarrass.

The Partition Plan of 1947 offered by the UN gave a tiny portion of the land to Israel, the remainder to the Arabs, and declared Jerusalem an open city. This too, was rejected by the Arabs. The first time any partition plan ever offered by anyone was even looked at seriously by the Arab side was in 1970. That was after they had lost the West Bank aka Judea and Samaria and the old city of Jerusalem to Israel following their most recent attempt to wipe the Jewish State off the face of the earth.

The British immigration policy for Palestine in violation of the terms of the Mandate for Palestine, underwent several modifications during the years between wars. As the Arabs objected to the influx of Jewish refugees fleeing the Middle East after WW1 and from 1935 Europe, Britain changed the rules to curtail Jewish immigration into Palestine. Britain's need for Arab oil became more important than keeping its promise to the Jews and adhering to International agreements. In 1930, the White Paper was formally passed through Parliament, effectively banning further Jewish immigration to Palestine, again in violation of International Treaties and the Mandate for Palestine.

Certain elements within the British Foreign Ministry became hostile toward the Jews, especially some of the personnel working in Palestine. Because of this attitude and violations of International laws by the British, many millions of Jews who could have escaped the Nazis perished in the Nazi SS extermination camps. This kind of action not only sealed the fate of the Jews but of the British Empire. God warned the gentile world 4,000 years ago of what He would do to the people or nation who harmed His people simply for being Israelites.

He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob concerning their descendants, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse the one who curses you." The rise and fall of many great gentile empires of history can be traced to how they blessed or mistreated the Israelites. The Jews suffered through the Holocaust where 6 million men, women and children were forced marched to their deaths.

A note on this: After WW2, the Empire "on whose flag the sun never set" found itself being progressively destroyed. Today, the UK is only a shadow of what it was.

The survivors emerged from the Nazis Holocaust a different people. The nations were shocked. For some, the shock quickly wore off and began to see them as "problem refugees." Everything they owned, homes, property and bank accounts, had been confiscated before the war. The new owners agreed it was a shame, but did nothing to right the wrong. Greed proved once again to be a universal human weakness.

Many of the Jews of Europe became the Israelis of Palestine. Tough, disciplined and courageous in the face of overwhelming odds. They fought against British immigration restrictions to sneak themselves into Palestine by any means. They fought against a hostile Muslim population that was being flooded with hundreds of thousands of new Muslim residents from all over the Muslim world. When the British disarmed the Jews and heavily armed the Muslims, they smuggled weapons in with incredible cunning and audacity. They organized freedom fighting cell groups that gave the British more than they could handle.

The British withdrew, and Israel claimed the land of Palestine to be the  reborn Jewish homeland on May 14, 1948. They proclaimed in its ancestral homeland a new State and providentially named it Israel. The next day, they were invaded on all sides by the combined might of the Muslim world. Humanly speaking, there is no way to explain how the Israelis defeated the well-trained, heavily armed Muslim army that outnumbered them 10 to 1.

Twelve hours before the document had to be signed and turned in, Israel's declaration of Independence, Ben Gurion decided the name of their new nation would be. He knew the Arabs would have but one answer, Jihad, a holy war.

Ben Gurion was born as David Grein in 1886 in Czarist Poland. But he decided to give himself a new Hebrew name. He chose Ben Gurion, which means "son of a lion." Then he smiled as his thoughts returned to the momentous event about to happen. "My country" he muttered. Then he unknowingly fulfilled many ancient prophecies by writing in the name "Israel" at the top of the document

Never in history has such a thing happened. From being scattered across the face of the earth for over 2,400 years, they returned to the same piece of real estate from which they were driven. They brought with them their culture, preserved through the centuries, their religious laws, their dietary laws, their customs. They kept alive a sense of nationhood that somehow survived in their hearts. The empires of the Assyrians and the Babylonians of this world all rose and fell. Israel alone, scattered, without friend, land or flag, has endured to become a nation again. There are no Jebusite people in the world today, no Babylonians, no Medes, no Amalekites, no Caananites or Philistines. But Israel exists, as it did before Nebuchadnezzar!

The cold war enabled the USSR to build the most formidable arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in history. That arsenal is now equipping the Muslim confederacy for their predicted war with Israel.

On May 15, 1948, five well equipped Muslim armies attacked the tiny new fledging State of Israel from all sides. The British trained and equipped Arab Legion of Jordan attacked and captured the power station at Naharayim. An Iraqi expeditionary force tried to ford the Jordan River in the area of Gesher. They were held back for a full week by the poorly armed settlers of Gesher. The Iraqis finally withdrew, choosing to cross the river at a ford held by the Jordanians. The Syrians actually began their attack on the night of May 14. They unleashed a devastating barrage of heavy artillery against the poorly armed settlements south of the Sea of Galilee.

Arab radios announced with euphoric glee that the "War of Annihilation" had begun! The Arab Legions numbered more than 650,000 men. British mercenary officers of great renown led some of the Arab armies. All Arab armies were armed with the most modern of weapons and air power of the time. The Jews, on the other hand, had only 45,000 "troops", most of whom were guerrilla fighters from the Haganah, Palmach, or members of the Irgun and Stern groups. Under the British mandate, it was a crime punishable by death for a Jew to carry a firearm, although Arabs carried weapons openly.

As a result, the new Jewish army had very little with which to defend itself. Chaim Herzog, the Jewish historian, estimates the total armament at the Haganah's disposal was 10,500 rifles, 3,500 light submachine guns, 775 light machine guns, 34 3" mortars, and 670 2" mortars. And, worst of all, they only had sufficient ammunition for 3 days' fighting. The Palmach, the "Israeli Army," for want of a more descriptive term, was able to arm only 2 out of 3 of its fighters. Against the Arab Legion's modern air force, Israel had 20 unarmed Piper Cubs. The Arabs also controlled the only landing stripes in Palestine.

The Arabs fought a very different Jew than those who went meekly into Hitler's death camps, or lined up naked in front of ditches to be machine gunned by members of the SS Einsatzgruppen. Outnumbered by more than 100 to 1, and hopelessly outgunned, these survivors of the death camps, of countless persecutions in the Muslim countries, and of the hardships that life in Palestine had to offer shocked not just the Arab armies, but the entire world. Many Israelis charged into battle without a weapon to take one from the dead body of a fallen enemy.

A few Jews from outside the country flew in on a wing and a prayer with obsolete German Messerschmitt fighters purchased from Czechoslovakia. With these planes and some cavalier volunteer pilots, they cleared the skies of enemy planes and turned back an Egyptian armored corps in the Southern Gaza Strip. With a determination rarely seen in any war before or since, the Jews met every onslaught. 10% of the total population of the new Israeli State fell in battle. But when the dust cleared, the Israelis controlled all the land set aside for them by the original Mandate plus half the city of Jerusalem, 20 per cent which is much less than what was assigned to them under the 1920 International Treaties. On June 11, 1949, the Arabs withdrew and armistice line was set, and the Israeli State became a fact.

At the beginning, it looked hopeless for the outnumbered and outgunned Jews. The Arabs were justified in their conviction of an easy victory. But some of the rabbis proclaimed God's promises from the Torah to the beleaguered men, "Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword" (Leviticus 26 v.8)

The land of Israel became the land of the Jews, by providence if you please. Their victory is inexplicable apart from the unseen intervention of the Hand of God. God has a Plan for the last days. A restored land of Israel, homeland to the Jewish people, is the key element in His plan, and the very existence of Israel bears testimony to it. The old rabbis remembered, and even the atheist immigrants from Russia took heed to the words of the prophet Isaiah: "Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure" (Isaiah 46 v.8-10)

God wants the world to know that His promises concerning His chosen people are His promises, not merely legends in an old Book. By their very survival, the Jews prove God is exactly who He says He is, and, His counsel shall indeed stand, and He will do all His pleasure. The birth of Israel sets a pattern that is drawing us toward the end of days and the Day of the Lord. Israel fought 5 defensive wars in its short 50 years: The War of Independence, the Sinai Wars, the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. In each war, Israel ended up with just a little bit more of the territory God promised to "Abraham's seed forever.

Who Really Caused the Palestinian Refugees - Weeks before the 1948 war, Arab families were encouraged to abandon their homes and flee to the Arab countries. They were assured that within a matter of weeks, they would be allowed to return and reclaim their homes - and also the homes and property of the massacred Jews. Although the new Israeli government pleaded with them to stay and fight together for a common homeland, all but a handful crossed over into Jordan to wait for total victory against the Jews. They expected to return home as soon as the hated Jew was slaughtered. Instead, after the war was lost, their "brother" hosts kept them intentionally in miserable refugee camps and did nothing to help them.

What happened to the million expelled Jewish refugees from Arab countries - the Arab countries had persecuted and expelled about a million Jewish families and their children from their countries, confiscated their assets, businesses, homes and Real estate property. Many of the Jews persecuted and expelled from Arab countries died while their forced departure from Arab countries, due to attacks by the Arabs, hardship, famine and starvation. About 650,00 - 700,000 Jewish families and their children of these expelled Jewish families and their children were resettled in Greater Israel, the balance went to other western countries. The Land the Arab countries confiscated from the Jewish people is: 120,440 sq. km. or 75,000 sq. miles, which is over 5-6 times the size of Israel, and its value today is in the trillions of dollars.

The Jewish people and their children during the over 2,500 years living in Arab countries have suffered Pogroms, Libel claims, beheadings, beatings, false imprisonment, slavery and extreme hardship as a second class citizens. They had their businesses and homes pillaged, their wives and daughters raped, sold them as slaves, their houses of worship pillaged and burned, forced conversion to Islam and many were beheaded.

Today over half of Israel's population are Jewish families expelled from Arab countries and their children and grandchildren. With natural growth the Jewish population expelled from Arab countries number over 7 million.

The Death of Colonialism - For most of the past 200 years, the major European powers invaded, subjugated and set up colonies in many places around the world. The legacies of colonialism are still apparent on the map. The Dutch Antilles, The US Virgin Island, the British West Indies, the French Mexico and so on. It was colonialism that gave rise to the saying "the sun never sets on the British Empire." Before the Revolution, The US was itself a colony of Great Britain and it displaced the Indians and the Mexicans to become a country. At the close of WW2, the cost of maintaining colonial empires became too high for the colonial powers.

The British had been bombed out of business; their only option available was to begin to divest it from foreign obligations. As the various colonial empires were granted independence, a new spirit of ethnic pride was rekindled in nations who had lived for generations under a sort of "national schizophrenia." Countries previously held together by colonial powers splintered into smaller countries better suited to their ethnic makeup. In 1948, the UN was composed of 67 nations and since at least an additional 134 countries came into existence.

One of the biggest problems for the planners of the coming one world order is what to do with Palestine. The 7 million plus Jews there are not about to surrender their sovereignty to the UN or the US or anyone else. They have made their last move. To this day that is more than apparent.  The significance of Jerusalem's end time prominence is clear that the Holy City of Jerusalem will be in the center of world events in the end time.

The conflict between Israel and the Arab Palestinians will focus more and more attention on Jerusalem. The total world situation may be expected more and more to be cast into the mold that prophecy indicates the stage is set and the actors are ready for the final drama in which Jerusalem will be the key! Many ancient prophecies are unfolding before our eyes but they could not be fulfilled until Israel was back in her land as she is today.

Here is the amazing events which took place. In 1916 the war was going adversely for England. German machine guns and other advanced weaponry was cutting down their soldiers. Desperate to find a rapid method of manufacturing TNT and a smokeless gun powder, they turned to a brilliant Jew named Chaim Weitzmann who invented such a formula that made possible the rapid production of those vital materials thus changing the course of the war. In return, David Lloyd George, representing the British government, told Dr. Weitzmann to name his price. Rejecting personal reward, he requested that Palestine be returned to the Jewish people and declared the homeland for the Jewish people. Consequently the Balfour Declaration was drawn up and signed on Nov. 2, 1917.

Gradually the Jews began to gather (bone to his bone) and in 1917, it is estimated that less than 50,000 Jews lived in that land. By 1922 there was 93,000; 1932-180,000; 1935-300,000; 1937-430,000 and by 1945 more than 520,000. In 2004 there are over 7 million and growing. But while God blessed Israel, Britain reneged on her 1917 treaty and violated International treaties and the terms of the Mandate for Palestine. In 1939, after much deliberation over the growing conflicts between the Arabs and Jews, Britain withdrew from Palestine; shortly thereafter the Nat'l Council and the General Zionist Council proclaimed from Tel Aviv the reestablishment of the sovereign state of Israel. The date was May 14, 1948. David Ben Gurion was appointed Prime Minister. Both the US and Russia recognized the new nation which, after much debate, was accepted as a member nation of the UN by a vote of 37 to 12.

In 1967 for the first time since the Babylonian and Roman captivity, Jews liberated and took back ancient Jerusalem from the Jordanians. That has to be the most impressive fulfillment of Bible prophecy in 20 centuries. After planting the Israeli flag on the Dome of the Rock, Moshe Dayan did a strange thing, he decided to be conciliatory toward his Muslim captives and instead of keeping the site, he returned control back over to the Muslims (this was a big mistake). As a secularist Jew, Dayan thought it would help make friends of the Arabs, he succeeded only in making his friends angry. As the Arab neighbors outnumbered Israel 50 to 1, he knew that to not have done so would ignite a holy war. Some religious Jews still have not forgiven Dayan for his actions and rightly so.

Since 1993, Israel and the Arab-Palestinians entered into various agreements utilizing land for peace. To date non of those land for peace agreements bore any fruits. If anything it increased more terror and violence and reduced the safety and security of Israel's population. The Arab-Palestinians are of the opinion that one way or another they will get what they want, and that is all of Israel. We hope that sound minds will prevail and cooler heads shall win the day to bring about at least some kind of permanent truce.

As impossible as it may seem in the light of the present crises, we can expect Israel and the Palestinians to hammer out some kind of peace accord they can all live with, one that is for their mutual good. After all, peace, even an undesirable peace should be in both countries' best interest.

That brings up the possibility that the agreement suggested by several of the leaders in the Arab world and seemingly endorsed by the various Presidents of the United States, to establish two sovereign states in Israel with governments committed to halt the bombing and violence and the agreement to live in peace, just might work. And it might be a fulfillment of prophecy. Whether we will live to see that happen is anyone's guess.

A true and lasting peace utilizing Israeli technology and know-how combined with Arab manpower and natural resources would bring about one of the most flourishing economy in the world. It would raise the Arabs standard of living substantially and bring about an enormous economic book. It would take time, patience and the building of trust. Hopefully this economic prosperity would occupy the Arabs in employment and advancement of their economic future. This should occupy them to such an extent, that there will be very little thought of conflict if any.

What we need is that world nations stay out of this conflict and let the Jews and the Arabs work their differences without the nations of the world taking sides and meddling in the relations between the Arabs and Jews.

Given my own personal experience in the Middle East. I know that the majority of Jews and Arabs want to live in peace. The key is to keep the extremists and troublemakers out, Stop inciting conflict and look for common goals.