Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Accepting the Jews' Right to a State: The San Remo Conference of 1920
The following article, on the acceptance of the principle of a Jewish State by world leaders, is by Hillel Fender and entitled "91 Years Ago: At San Remo, Allies Accepted Jews' Right to Land." It first appeared athttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143490:
The 91st anniversary of the first international recognition of Jewish national rights in the Land of Israel – namely, the San Remo Conference – will be commemorated in two weeks.
The San Remo Conference was an international meeting of four of the leading Allied powers of World War I, known as the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council. It was held in San Remo, Italy, and was attended by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French PM Alexandre Millerand, Italy’s Prime Minister Francesco Nitti and Japanese Ambassador K. Matsui.
Its resolution that a Jewish nation must be established in Palestine was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922.
Background:
Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire as a result of World War I, it became necessary to determine how the lands formerly governed by the Ottoman Turks would be ruled. The precise borders of the territories were not specified, but regarding the Holy Land, known then as Palestine, the plan was clear, and the appropriate San Remo resolution read as follows:
The international community thus officially recognized – the Alllies in 1920, and the League of Nations in 1922 – the national legal rights of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel. Even more importantly, these rights for the Arabs were specifically not recognized.
Yes, the resolution stated that the “civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine” must be upheld – but specifically left out any mention of “political” or “national” Arab rights. Clearly, these were not a factor in the equation.
Furthermore, the resolution did mention “rights” and “political status” – but only of “Jews in any other country,” emphasizing that they must be upheld. In addition, the parallel League of Nations granted the Arabs political rights in four other mandates – Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and later Trans-Jordan.
Last year at this time, the European Coalition for Israel marked the date with educational seminars and a ceremony in the very house in San Remo where the resolution was signed in 1920. It noted that San Remo essentially gave birth to the League of Nations’ "British Mandate for Palestine,” which laid down the Jewish legal right to settle anywhere in western Palestine between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Later, the 51 member countries of the League of Nations unanimously approved the Jews’ historical connection with the Holy Land.
The San Remo Conference was an international meeting of four of the leading Allied powers of World War I, known as the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council. It was held in San Remo, Italy, and was attended by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French PM Alexandre Millerand, Italy’s Prime Minister Francesco Nitti and Japanese Ambassador K. Matsui.
Its resolution that a Jewish nation must be established in Palestine was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922.
Background:
Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire as a result of World War I, it became necessary to determine how the lands formerly governed by the Ottoman Turks would be ruled. The precise borders of the territories were not specified, but regarding the Holy Land, known then as Palestine, the plan was clear, and the appropriate San Remo resolution read as follows:
“The High Contracting Parties agree to entrust… the administration of Palestine, within such boundaries as may be determined by the Principal Allied Powers, to a Mandatory, to be selected by the said Powers.
The Mandatory will be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 8, 1917, by the British Government, and adopted by the other Allied Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
Yes, the resolution stated that the “civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine” must be upheld – but specifically left out any mention of “political” or “national” Arab rights. Clearly, these were not a factor in the equation.
Furthermore, the resolution did mention “rights” and “political status” – but only of “Jews in any other country,” emphasizing that they must be upheld. In addition, the parallel League of Nations granted the Arabs political rights in four other mandates – Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and later Trans-Jordan.
Last year at this time, the European Coalition for Israel marked the date with educational seminars and a ceremony in the very house in San Remo where the resolution was signed in 1920. It noted that San Remo essentially gave birth to the League of Nations’ "British Mandate for Palestine,” which laid down the Jewish legal right to settle anywhere in western Palestine between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Later, the 51 member countries of the League of Nations unanimously approved the Jews’ historical connection with the Holy Land.
NGO explains to Clinton why Israeli settlements are legal
The Arab world and the international media have today convinced most people that Israeli towns and villages located in Judea and Samaria - more commonly referred to as "settlements" - are illegal and the primary obstacle to peace in the Middle East.
But in a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week, the Office for Israeli Constitutional Law, a non-governmental legal action group, explained why that view is flawed and perhaps even illegal, especially as far as the US is concerned.
OFICL direct Mark Kaplan told The Jerusalem Post that there is a little-known treaty called the Anglo-American Convention that was signed between Britain and the US in 1924. The treaty more or less made the US a partner with Britain in upholding and maintaining the British Mandate for Palestine - which included all of what is today Israel and the "West Bank."
Kaplan noted that even though the UN's 1947 partition plan and subsequent recognition of Israel lopped off the West Bank as an Arab territory, that decision was non-binding since the UN General Assembly does not have the authority to change borders or create nations.
By contrast, the Anglo-American Convention remains in force, as there is no statute of limitations on treaties.
Furthermore, the Anglo-American Convention and the British Mandate for Palestine were based on the 1920 League of Nation's decision in San Remo, where the precursor to the UN determined that the entire area encompassed by the British Mandate was to become a Jewish state and fully open to Jewish settlement.
Also unlike the 1947 partition plan, the San Remo declaration was and remains legally binding.
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=20051
The problem is I have so much saved, that I can't find what I am looking for
I have folders, within folders, within folders. !!!
Don't laugh please !!!