Educational Media Reviews Online

This video tells the story of British double-dealing and promises to many sides of the conflict during World War I. The origins of the current crisis in the Middle East, and of the conflicts between Jews and Moslems in Palestine, have their origins in this double-dealing. Britain used Arab nationalism during World War I to gain the help of Arabs to bring down the Ottoman Empire, and used Jewish nationalism in America to gain the support of American troops in World War I. When Russia dropped out of World War I in 1917 after the Communist Revolution, Britain desperately needed America to send more troops to Europe. They used Zionism, the movement towards Jewish nationalism, and promised Jews in both America and Britain that they would support Jewish emigration to Palestine. At this time, Jews were a minority (80,000) to about 1 million Arabs in Palestine at this time. Britain's Balfour Declaration of 1917 endorsed a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine and in letters and words Britain also promised Arab leader Shariff Hussein that Palestine would be part of a new Arab state. When World War I was finally won by the Allies, Britain and France carved up most of the spoils of the Middle East, and allowed Jews to begin mass migrations to Palestine, which eventually resulted in the foundation of the State of Israel.

This film is highly recommended, as it shows the real reasons why the current crisis in the Middle East exists. The film is extensively researched and narrated, with interesting footage from the period. The reasons for the extensive conflicts in Damascus and Syria are also discussed. Most enlightening and revealing, will be useful for high school and college history and area studies classes related to this topic.