Letter to the Editor
I stand corrected, having said in my recent Levy Report article that two-thirds of the British Mandate was lopped off to create a new country called Trans-Jordan, corrected not only by the Don James article of Nov. 6th in the WJR, but also by my friend in Jerusalem who keeps me on my toes. The actual amount taken away was 77%, over three-quarters. My figure was taken from an entry in Middle East Diary: 1917-1956, a daily record kept by Col. Richard Meinertzhagen of the British Colonial Office. In 1917 Col Meinertzhagen was put in charge of General Allenby's Intelligence Station in Cairo. After the capture of Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in January 1918 he was transferred to the War Office in Rafa. In January, 1919, he became part of the British Delegation at the Paris Peace Conference.
His daily entries make fascinating reading: 22nd August 1922 from London (p.119): "Today is a great day for the Zionists. The Palestine Mandate was passed by the League of Nations sitting in St. James’ Palace. Weizmann and his wife asked Annie and me to celebrate the event by dining with them at the Carlton…"; 19th November 1921 (p.112) "I have drafted a Cabinet Paper 3328 under which we remove the War Office from Palestine…. The effect will be beneficial as it will remove the anti-Zionist influence.……from Palestine politics. The whole of the staff……from Lord Allenby and General Cosgrove downwards, have consistently worked against Zionism…"
Here's the entry I used for the ‘two thirds’: 21st June 1921 (p,99) "I exploded on hearing that Churchill had severed Transjordan (sic) from Palestine in an interview in Jerusalem between him and Abdullah on March 27th this year. Apparently Abdullah was moving through Transjordan (sic) on his way to help Feisal's adherents in Damascus and (to) make trouble for the French who turned Feisal out last year. Abdullah had to be placated and met Churchill in Jerusalem; Abdullah was placated at the expense of the Jewish National Home which embraces the whole of Biblical (sic) Palestine. (T.E.) Lawrence was of course with Churchill and influenced him. So Abdullah was made Emir of Transjordan (sic), was given a British advisor and a subsidy. Of course the man accepted at once. This reduces the Jewish National Home to one-third of Biblical (sic) Palestine.” Later in the same entry Meinhertzhagen writes: “…..I went foaming at the mouth with anger and indignation. Churchill heard me out; I told him it was grossly unfair to the Jews, that it was yet another promise broken and that it was a most dishonest act….”
Just setting the record straight.
Simone I. Cohen