Tomorrow, November 2nd, is a significant anniversary in world history.
1. The territory to which we refer as "The Middle East" had been that of the Ottoman Empire, prior to World War I, the Ottoman territory of Palestine, part of the province of Greater Syria. Anticipating victory over the Ottomans, the French and the British had already staked their claims to those territories in which they had particular interests, whether strategic, commercial, or both, in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of May 16, 1916. Britain was to administer Palestine.
2. May 9, 1916 The Sykes-Picot secret treaty signed, by which the French and British intended to carve up the Arab territories- after having made promises to Sharif Husain, head of the Hashemite clan of the Hejaz sector of the Arabian Peninsula so as to have him lead an Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Turks, and ignoring aspirations of both Arabs and Jews.
Now, the backstory.
3. Chaim Weizmann lectured in chemistry at the University of Geneva between 1901 and 1903, and later taught at the University of Manchester. He became a British subject in 1910, and while a lecturer at Manchester he became famous for discovering how to use bacterial fermentation to produce large quantities of desired substances. He is considered to be the father of industrial fermentation. He used the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum (the Weizmann organism) to produce acetone.
a. After the Shell Crisis of 1915 during World War I, he was director of the British Admiralty laboratories from 1916 until 1919. During World War II, he was an honorary adviser to the British Ministry of Supply and did research on synthetic rubber and high-octane gasoline. (Formerly Allied-controlled sources of rubber were largely inaccessible owing to Japanese occupation during World War II, giving rise to heightened interest in such innovations).
Chaim Weizmann: Biography from Answers.com
4. As a chemist, Weizmann had invented a process to produce cordite without using calcium acetate, which Germany possessed and Britain did not. Without cordite, Britain may have lost World War I, so Weizmann's process was necessary for the war effort. Chaim Weizmann - New World Encyclopedia
5. When Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, asked what payment Weizmann required for the use of his process, Weizmann responded, "There is only one thing I want: A national home for my people." He eventually received both payments for his discovery and a role in the history of the origins of the state of Israel. Chaim Weizmann - New World Encyclopedia
6. On 2 November 1917, the British government stated a commitment by the British Government to "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People". This was the first time that the Government had firmly declared its support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
a. November 2,1917 Balfour Declaration: Sent by Arthur Balfour to Lord
Rothschild, stating that the British government would view with
favor the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people.
The text of the letter as follows:
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majestys
government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which
has been submitted to, and approved by, the cabinet.
His Majestys 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 achievementof this object, 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.
Following the defeat of the Ottoman in Palestine, General Allenby led his triumphant troops through the Jaffa Gate into Jerusalem on December 11, 1917.
{Under the UK, the Palestinian mandate was based on the Balfour Declaration; initially Arab leaders were prepared to give Palestine to the Jews if the rest of the Arab lands in the Middle East remained free. This soon changed}
Chaim Weizmann: Biography from Answers.com
One can only imagine how different contemporary history would be if the Arab leaders had maintained their original position.
7. Clearly there was more to the establishment of Israel than the fortuitous discovery of a process for making acetone, but Weizmann's research gave him direct access to the most influential figures in British politics, and he continued to lobby and rally support for the next three decades. The State of Israel was founded in 1948, and 50 [now 65] years ago this spring the Knesset elected Chaim Weizmann as its first President.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/serendipity-the-creation-of-israel-1091107.html
1. The territory to which we refer as "The Middle East" had been that of the Ottoman Empire, prior to World War I, the Ottoman territory of Palestine, part of the province of Greater Syria. Anticipating victory over the Ottomans, the French and the British had already staked their claims to those territories in which they had particular interests, whether strategic, commercial, or both, in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of May 16, 1916. Britain was to administer Palestine.
2. May 9, 1916 The Sykes-Picot secret treaty signed, by which the French and British intended to carve up the Arab territories- after having made promises to Sharif Husain, head of the Hashemite clan of the Hejaz sector of the Arabian Peninsula so as to have him lead an Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Turks, and ignoring aspirations of both Arabs and Jews.
Now, the backstory.
3. Chaim Weizmann lectured in chemistry at the University of Geneva between 1901 and 1903, and later taught at the University of Manchester. He became a British subject in 1910, and while a lecturer at Manchester he became famous for discovering how to use bacterial fermentation to produce large quantities of desired substances. He is considered to be the father of industrial fermentation. He used the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum (the Weizmann organism) to produce acetone.
a. After the Shell Crisis of 1915 during World War I, he was director of the British Admiralty laboratories from 1916 until 1919. During World War II, he was an honorary adviser to the British Ministry of Supply and did research on synthetic rubber and high-octane gasoline. (Formerly Allied-controlled sources of rubber were largely inaccessible owing to Japanese occupation during World War II, giving rise to heightened interest in such innovations).
Chaim Weizmann: Biography from Answers.com
4. As a chemist, Weizmann had invented a process to produce cordite without using calcium acetate, which Germany possessed and Britain did not. Without cordite, Britain may have lost World War I, so Weizmann's process was necessary for the war effort. Chaim Weizmann - New World Encyclopedia
5. When Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, asked what payment Weizmann required for the use of his process, Weizmann responded, "There is only one thing I want: A national home for my people." He eventually received both payments for his discovery and a role in the history of the origins of the state of Israel. Chaim Weizmann - New World Encyclopedia
6. On 2 November 1917, the British government stated a commitment by the British Government to "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People". This was the first time that the Government had firmly declared its support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
a. November 2,1917 Balfour Declaration: Sent by Arthur Balfour to Lord
Rothschild, stating that the British government would view with
favor the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people.
The text of the letter as follows:
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majestys
government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which
has been submitted to, and approved by, the cabinet.
His Majestys 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 achievementof this object, 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.
Following the defeat of the Ottoman in Palestine, General Allenby led his triumphant troops through the Jaffa Gate into Jerusalem on December 11, 1917.
{Under the UK, the Palestinian mandate was based on the Balfour Declaration; initially Arab leaders were prepared to give Palestine to the Jews if the rest of the Arab lands in the Middle East remained free. This soon changed}
Chaim Weizmann: Biography from Answers.com
One can only imagine how different contemporary history would be if the Arab leaders had maintained their original position.
7. Clearly there was more to the establishment of Israel than the fortuitous discovery of a process for making acetone, but Weizmann's research gave him direct access to the most influential figures in British politics, and he continued to lobby and rally support for the next three decades. The State of Israel was founded in 1948, and 50 [now 65] years ago this spring the Knesset elected Chaim Weizmann as its first President.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/serendipity-the-creation-of-israel-1091107.html
