Open Writing

As a member of the elite British Parachute Regiment, I was stationed for two years in Palestine on a tour of duty aimed at enforcing the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate (1922-1948), which restricted the entry of Jewish immigrants to specified numbers. During the 1946/1948 time period, members of three Israeli factions the Hagganah, Irgun Zvia Leumi, and the Stern gang committed daily acts of terrorism against the British Soldiers.

The bombing of the King David Hotel, in Jerusalem, by members of one of the terrorist organizations killed in excess of one hundred people. Incidentally at the time of the bombing I was staying at the nearby YMCA for a couple of days R&R.
Menachem Begin, a future Prime Minister of the State of Palestine, was at the time of my sojourn in Palestine a Commander of the Irgun Svai Leumi a militant extremist terrorist organization.

The British soldiers acted with great restraint and indomitable courage under extreme provocation and continued terrorist actions against them. I can vouch for the fact that the interception and detainment of the illegal boat people was handled humanely and with extreme care.

I was present at the arrival, and boarding, of some of the dilapidated boats, (such as the Star of David and the Exodus), by British Naval personnel and witnessed the subsequent humane treatment of the illegal immigrants by qualified medical personnel.

Apart from the distressing conditions aboard the refugee boats, such as terrible overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, I was somewhat amazed at the large contingent of Asiatic Jews that appeared amongst the people fleeing Europe for the Promised Land.

During my tour of duty I remember myself, and members of my platoon, patrolling every road on a daily basis from Safed in the North to Gaza in the South. I was going to say that we slept on every road from Safed to Gaza during our day and night patrols, but sleep was a great luxury in those troubled times.

One of my most pleasant experiences whilst stationed with my platoon at a small outpost overlooking the Sea of Galilee and the city of Tiberius was the opportunity to visit a number of times a relatively small Kibbutz near the small town of Rosh Pinna, that was located near the Lebanese border, in order to purchase fresh vegetables and fruit etc. This Kibbutz had the romantic name of “The Morning Star Settlement” and during my visits I sat with the head of the settlement on the porch of his chalet drinking Gold Star beer and watching the evening sunset whilst discussing our different roles in the current struggle.

(For whatever reason, I still call the Country Palestine as that is what it was when I was there).

So my question is: “Has anything changed”. The perception by the Jewish people, during the period 1946-1948, that the British soldiers were the oppressors of Jewish Nationals has now turned about face and the Jewish people are now considered by many Islamic nations to be the oppressors of the Arab Nationals. So, it would appear that in the last fifty plus years nothing has really changed, except the players.

When noting the brief history outlined below, what is fifty years in the life of a country that has been occupied for thousands of years by many different nations of this world. One must remember the saying, ”One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist” and that there is a very fine dividing line between the two.

A brief history of Israel.

The Canaanites were the earliest know inhabitants of Palestine and were followed by the Hebrew tribes around 1230 BC who held power until 539 BC until conquered by the Persians. Alexander the Great took over the region in 333 BC and it became a Roman Province.

Muslim Arab Armies invaded Palestine in 638 AD and ruled for 1300 years. In 1880 Arab Palestinians constituted 95% of the population. The Ottoman Turks appeared upon the scene in 1517 and ruled Palestine until 1917 when the British, aided by the Arabs, took over.

The Balfour declaration of 1917 promised the Jews a National Homeland in Palestine and a mandate was created to police and control immigration into Palestine.

The State of Israel was established on the 14th of May 1948.
I am given to understand that Mr. Winston Churchill was a prime supporter of the Jewish Lobby.

I believe that Aldous Huxley, when talking about Jerusalem said, “To understand why men still kill in the name of God, come to Jerusalem, holy of holies, the slaughterhouse of the religions”.

The patriotic English Hymn speaks of building Jerusalem in England’s green and pleasant land. See how lucky you are to have been spared the centuries of religious bias and war—or have you!

A personal story that may interest you.

A number of years ago I was a guest at a dinner party of around a dozen people in Long Beach, California, that was given by my next-door neighbors, who were of the Jewish persuasion.

We imbibed freely over dinner and the conversation, (incidentally not initiated by me, seeing that I was the only Gentile at the table), turned to the subject of the Holocaust and the State of Israel. The guest broaching the subject asked me if I was aware of the Holocaust.

I answered that not only was I was aware of the “Kristal Nacht” purge of the Jews in pre-World War Two Germany, but added that in 1945, I personally visited a concentration camp at Buchenwalde. I also informed the gentleman that although I didn’t have a number tattooed on my forearm I did have the gefangener number: Zwei und Achtsich--Zwei hundert Drie, (sp), (82--203), inscribed upon a nametag which hung around my neck. Incidentally I still have the original nametag.

This sobered the gentleman very quickly, so I then thought why not take the opportunity to expand this conversation a little further, so I asked a question of the assembly. “By the way, how many of the people present have visited the Promised land?''

The answer astounded me—a big fat zero. Then the previous questioner, determined to get his own back, said, “I suppose that you have been there?''

I just nodded my head in the affirmative and smiled, and immediately turned the conversation over to more pleasant topics.

From that moment on I was treated with kid gloves and with much respect.

Disclaimer:
Some of the information gathered for this newsletter was gleaned from American and International media sources, (including the Internet), and as such is quoted as accurately as possible. I try to obtain confirmation on each subject from several outlets so the text is a mixture of composite news items and personal comments and therefore the reader must make his/her own judgment as to the reliability and degree of accuracy of the subjects discussed.

Note: To view the complete January 2002 edition of “View from America” go to the www.huddersfield1.co.uk website.

bill25ca@hotmail.com
June/July. 2006.