Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta) |
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Posted: 16 Dec 2013 03:59 PM PST
The death of actor Peter O'Toole this week reminded many of his remarkable 1962 film "Lawrence of Arabia" depicting the World War I exploits of a British officer, T. E. Lawrence.
Lawrence is credited with uniting Arab tribes in Arabia against the ruling Ottoman Empire and, through the use of guerrilla tactics, assisting the British war effort to defeat the Turks. While the film succeeds in portraying the Arab revolt as an important aspect of World War I, it takes some liberties in the facts, starting with the physical differences of O'Toole (6 feet 3 inches - 190 cm) and Lawrence (a diminutive 5 feet 3 inches - 160 cm). The film also does not present the full extent of Lawrence's diplomatic activities. The secret Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 divided up the Middle East between colonial powers, France and Great Britain, contrary to promises made by Lawrence to his Arab allies. But after World War I, Lawrence became a publicly acclaimed hero, and he successfully pressed for the granting of territories to his Hashemite allies from the Arabian Hedjaz. Syria (and then Iraq), would be ruled by King Feisal, and Transjordan would be ruled by Emir Abdullah.
Gilbert continued: "On January 3, 1919, Feisal and Weizmann met again in London, to sign an 'Agreement between the King of the Hedjaz and the Zionists.' Lawrence, who was once again the guiding hand in this agreement, hoped that it would ensure what he, Lawrence, termed 'the lines of Arab and Zionist policy converging in the not distant future.'" "On March 1, 1919 Lawrence, while in Paris as the senior British representative with the Hedjaz Delegation, drafted and then wrote out in his own hand a letter from Feisal to the American Zionist Felix Frankfurter. In this letter, Feisal declared, 'We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement.'”
Lawrence was a key player in the meeting. One of the photographers at the Amman meeting was John Whiting, a member of the original "American Colony" family and member of the Colony's photographic department. He was also a member of British intelligence and almost certainly had contact with Lawrence. In 1922, the British split off Transjordan from the Mandate of Palestine. In 1946, the Mandate of Transjordan became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In the 1948 war with Israel, Jordan occupied the "West Bank" of the Jordan River and annexed it in 1950. The annexation was not recognized by the vast majority of the world's countries, including the members of the Arab League.  |
