A01=Yehoshua Porath
Abd Al Hadi
Abd Al Illah
al-hashimi
Ali Mahir
Amin Al Husayni
Arab Federation
Arab League formation analysis
Arab Unity
Author_Yehoshua Porath
British imperial policy
Category=JPSD
Category=NH
crescent
Dr Chaim Weizmann
Dr Weizmann
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Faris Al Khuri
federation
fertile
Firoz Khan Noon
Greater Syria
ibn
Ibn Saud
interwar diplomacy
Jamal Al Husayni
Jamil Mardam
King Faysal
Lord Moyne
Middle Eastern politics
movement
national
palestine
Palestine Arabs
pan-Arab nationalism
Philby Plan
Preparatory Committee
saud
Second World War Middle East
Shukri Al Quwatli
Sir Harold MacMichael
Syrian Throne
taha
Taha Al Hashimi
Tawfiq Abu Al Huda
Yasin Al Hashimi
Zionist relations
Product details
- ISBN 9780714640518
- Weight: 710g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 10 Apr 1986
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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First Published in 1986. The Arab League, founded in 1945, was regarded by many as a ploy of the British to secure the cooperation and goodwill of the Arabs during the Second World War and as an instrument to ensure the British presence in the Middle East after the war. This book presents a different picture. The British policy was a far cry from supporting the Arab unity movement. On the contrary, the British Government tried to forestall that movement or, at least, to postpone its implementation until after the end of the Second World War. Anthony Eden's famous Mansion House speech of May 1941 was not intended to signal a drastic change in the British Middle Eastern policy, but rather to fore stall a strongly pro-Zionist proposal which had been put forward by Winston Churchill. It is true that there were some British personalities (mainly unofficial) who supported the Arab unity trend, but the thrust of their positive argument was that a broader framework of Arab federation would be instrumental in helping to solve the intractable problem of Palestine. What might surprise some readers is the fact that some highly important Zionist leaders were the main protagonists of that idea, believing that if the Arabs were to obtain satisfaction of their national aspirations through unity they {the Arabs) would adopt a much more moderate attitude towards the Zionist movement in Palestine. The Arab leaders and rulers tried to bring about a higher degree of cooperation or even a federation of their countries, either for dynastic or political reasons. But the British negative reaction was not always crystal clear, owing to the more favourable attitude typical of many, including the top, British representatives in the Middle East.
Yehoshua Porath is professor of Middle Eastern History at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem
