The theoretical and political reasons for the movement to link Palestine permanently with the British Empire as its Seventh Dominion were stated by the sponsors of the Seventh Dominion League in their appeal entitled “Control of a Vital Corridor,” published in the London “Daily Telegraph.”
The appeal to British public opinion, published over the signatures of Col. Josiah Wedgwood, Sir Martin Conway, Sir Robert Hamilton, Lord Hartington, Major Hills, Dr. Drummor Shiels, Sir Leslie Scott, Lt. Com. Kerworthy, stated:
“The general public regards the Zionist movement as solely concerning Jews. Biased anti-Semites regard Zionism with an uninformed prejudice. This attitude is shared by a portion of the Jewish communities, fearing that the success of Zionism may react against Jewish interests in the countries where they reside and diminish the completeness of their adopted citizenship,” the appeal states. “British sympathizers with Zionism claim that an increasing success in the Zionist movement will simultaneously be of paramount British interest, entirely independent of the Jewish attitude toward the national home.
“The geographical position of Palestine,” the appeal goes on, “lying between the Persian Gulf and the Levant, makes Palestine a great frontier zone, joining Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal has not altered the fundamental fact that the security of the canal depend chiefly upon the power controlling Palestine. This fact has been demonstrated by experience during the World War.
“Our movement is not directed against the Arabs. Our desire is to further Arab development, but we remember the historical fact that Palestine and Syria were not originally Arab countries. It has always been of high (Continued on Page 4)
importance to civilization to maintain a free passage through the corridor uniting the Mediterranean Sea with the Persian Gulf. It is further essential that a peaceful, friendly power command such a gangway. The Suez means more to the British Empire than to any other great empire. Therefore, it is most vital in British interests that the line of British communications remains ever open and protected from the dangers of hostile control. It lies in the general interest of civilization that the Jews realize their ideal of a National Home in Palestine which meets, in particular, the interests of the British,” the appeal states.
“The age long aptitude of the Jewish race to live amongst other races, gives them peculiar qualifications to people and govern the land lying between diverse civilizations which need mutual interpretation. The burden of military defence for the Jews and the British Empire would be minimum because no nation could attack Palestine without shocking the whole world Jewry. Lord Balfour foresaw that the fulfillment of the Zionist aspirations will simultaneously promote and stabilize peace in an area which has been torn by war during the course of centuries,” the appeal declares.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
