Winston Churchill and the Jews

While Winston Churchill’s attitudes toward Jews, and Zionism, were complicated, and changed over the course of his long career, he tended to be supportive of both—even during the 1930s and 40s, when many leading British statemen felt differently. During a visit to Germany in 1932, Churchill—then out of office—confronted Hitler’s press secretary about Nazi anti-Semitism, and rejected his apologetic response. Crowds in Tel Aviv cheered when Churchill became prime minister in 1940; yet, despite some moving rhetoric, he did little to help Jews caught in the grip of the Third Reich. Lee Pollock delves into all this and more. (Audio with pictures, about one hour.)

Read more at Sir Martin Gilbert Learning Center

More about: History of Zionism, Mandate Palestine, Philo-Semitism, Winston Churchill, World War II

 

Syria’s Druze Uprising, and What It Means for the Region

When the Arab Spring came to Syria in 2011, the Druze for the most part remained loyal to the regime—which has generally depended on the support of religious minorities such as the Druze and thus afforded them a modicum of protection. But in the past several weeks that has changed, with sustained anti-government protests in the Druze-dominated southwestern province of Suwayda. Ehud Yaari evaluates the implications of this shift:

The disillusionment of the Druze with Bashar al-Assad, their suspicion of militias backed by Iran and Hizballah on the outskirts of their region, and growing economic hardships are fanning the flames of revolt. In Syrian Druze circles, there is now open discussion of “self-rule,” for example replacing government offices and services with local Druze alternative bodies.

Is there a politically acceptable way to assist the Druze and prevent the regime from the violent reoccupation of Jebel al-Druze, [as they call the area in which they live]? The answer is yes. It would require Jordan to open a short humanitarian corridor through the village of al-Anat, the southernmost point of the Druze community, less than three kilometers from the Syrian-Jordanian border.

Setting up a corridor to the Druze would require a broad consensus among Western and Gulf Arab states, which have currently suspended the process of normalization with Assad. . . . The cost of such an operation would not be high compared to the humanitarian corridors currently operating in northern Syria. It could be developed in stages, and perhaps ultimately include, if necessary, providing the Druze with weapons to defend their territory. A quick reminder: during the Islamic State attack on Suwayda province in 2018, the Druze demonstrated an ability to assemble close to 50,000 militia men almost overnight.

Read more at Jerusalem Strategic Tribune

More about: Druze, Iran, Israeli Security, Syrian civil war, U.S. Foreign policy