Britain in Palestine 1917-1948 investigates the contradictory promises and actions which defined British Mandatory rule in Palestine and laid the groundwork for the Nakba (the catastrophe) and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The roots of the contemporary social, political, economic, and environmental landscape of Palestine and Israel can be traced back to this period, making it essential viewing for understanding Britain’s legacy in the region and the situation on the ground today.
To access English, Arabic and Hebrew subtitles click on the CC link on the video. For further analysis of the events outlined in the film see the Companion Guide to Britain in Palestine 1917-1948.
Reviews
“A very useful explanation of how we got to where we are today. Fascinating photos I had not seen before. A great resource to show in any classroom or forum to people who want to learn more about this region, and specifically, Britain’s involvement. Afif Safieh, Former Palestinian Ambassador
“…This film brilliantly puts into perspective the role the United Kingdom played in Mandate Palestine from 1917-1948.” Rabbi Howard Finkelstein, Ontario, Canada
“This is an excellent short 18-min video from @BalfourProject explaining briefly but super-clearly how British colonialism has caused a century of war in Palestine.” Matthew Teller, Journalist and author of Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City (2022)
“Britain in Palestine 1917 – 1948 is a clear, precise and factual explanation of the historical origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. For anyone who wants to develop a real understanding of the issue but is intimidated by it’s complexity, this film is the place to start.” Judah Passow, Photojournalist
The Balkans is a southeastern European region that includes countries located on the Balkan Peninsula, with diverse landscapes and climates:
Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey
The initial Ottoman expansion took place at the expense of Christian lands in western Anatolia and the Balkans, particularly the Byzantine Empire
Countries in the Balkans often share borders with one another, and historical border disputes have influenced regional dynamics. Many Balkan nations were once part of the Ottoman Empire, which has left a significant historical and cultural impact.
The breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s resulted in violent conflicts, with lasting implications for the region.
The Balkans are home to various ethnic groups and religions, with Orthodox Christianity, Islam, and Catholicism being the major faiths.
Some Balkan nations aspire to join the European Union and NATO, which has implications for their political and economic development; while others have already become members.
Let’s compare them by several key attributes relating to their military, size, economy and quality of life.
We will look at the top 3 and bottom 3 in each case.
Military power (Global Fire Power index – 2023) 0 = Super military power and higher the number= less military power
Top 3
Turkey (11th in the world) – 0.2016
Greece (30th in the world) – 0.4621
Romania (47th in the world) – 0.7735
Bottom 3
Bosnia and Herzegovina (133rd in the world) – 3.0788
Montenegro (128th in the world) – 2.8704
North Macedonia (108th in the world) – 2.1717
Population
Top 3
Turkey – 84.78 million (2021)
Romania- 19.12 million (2021)
Greece – 10.64 million (2021)
Bottom 3
Montenegro – 619, 211 (2021)
North Macedonia- 2.065 million (2021)
Slovenia- 2.108 million (2021)
Landmass
Top 3
Turkey – 783, 562 km²
Romania – 238, 397 km²
Greece – 131, 957 km²
Bottom 3
Montenegro – 13, 812 km²
Slovenia – 20, 273 km²
North Macedonia – 25, 713 km²
Education (UN education index – measures the expected years of schooling and mean years of schooling of the population – 0 = no Education at all and 1 = maximum Education)
Top 3
Slovenia – 0.914 (2019)
Greece – 0.855 (2019)
Croatia – 0.805 (2019)
Bottom 3
North Macedonia 0.704 (2019)
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.711 (2019)
Turkey 0.731 (2019)
Democracy Index (The Economists Intelligence Unit – 2022, 10 = super democratic and 0 = dictatorship)
Top 3
Greece – 7.97, Flawed Democracy (25th in the world)
Slovenia – 7.75, Flawed Democracy (31st in the world)
Bulgaria – 6.53, Flawed Democracy (57th in the world)
Bottom 3
Turkey – 4.35, Hybrid regime (103rd in the world)
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 5.00, Hybrid regime (97th in the world)
North Macedonia – 6.10, Flawed Democracy (72nd in the world)
GDP (size of economy)
Top 3
Turkey – $819 billion (2021)
Romania – $284.1 billion (2021)
Greece – $214.9 billion (2021)
Bottom 3
Montenegro – $5.861 billion (2021)
North Macedonia – $13.83 billion (2021)
Albania – $18.26 billion (2021)
GDP per capita (size of economy relative to population)
Top 3
Slovenia – $29, 291.40 (2021)
Greece – $20,192.60 (2021)
Croatia – $17,685.33 (2021)
Bottom3
Albania – $6,492.87 (2021)
North Macedonia – $6,694.64 (2021)
Bosnia and Herzegovina- $7,143.31 (2021)
GDP per capita at Purchasing Power Parity – IMF (how much can people buy with money in a country)
Top 3 (2023)
Slovenia – $52,641
Croatia – $42,531
Romania – $41,634
Bottom 3 (2023)
Albania – $19,197
Bosnia and Herzegovina – $19,604
North Macedonia – $21,111
Exports of goods and services (in millions of $, 2022)
Top 3
Turkey – 343,688
Romania – 129,165
Greece – 105,756
Bottom 3
Montenegro -3,178
Albania – 7,057
North Macedonia – 10,150
Percentage of Population Living in Poverty – Poverty Rate, World Bank
Top 3 (with lowest poverty of population)
Slovenia – 12% (2018)
Albania – 14.3% (2012)
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 16.9% (2018)
Bottom 3 (with highest poverty of population)
Montenegro – 24.5% (2018)
Bulgaria tied with Romania – 23.8% (2018)
Serbia – 23.2% (2018)
Peacefulness (Global Peace Index 2023, 1 – 5 scale, 1 being a super peaceful utopia and 5 being a warzone)
Top 3
Slovenia – 1.334 (8th in the world)
Croatia – 1.450 (14th in the world)
Bulgaria – 1.640 (30th in the world)
Bottom 3
Turkey – 2.389 (121st in the world)
North Macedonia – 2.039 (88th in the world)
Albania – 1.925 (79th in the world)
Happiness (Happiness Index, 2023, 10 being maximum happiness and 0 being totally depressed)
Top 3
Slovenia – 6.63 (22nd in the world)
Romania – 6.48 (27th in the world)
Serbia- 6.18 (43rd in the world)
Bottom 3
Turkey – 4.74 (109th in the world)
Albania – 5.2 (88th in the world)
Bulgaria – 5.37 (84th in the world)
Suicide Rate (suicides per 100,000, WHO, 2019)
Top 3 (has the least suicide)
Turkey – 2.3 (10th in the world)
Greece – 3.6 (27th in the world)
Albania – 3.7 (29th in the world)
Bottom 3 (has the most suicide)
Montenegro – 16.2 (161st in the world)
Slovenia – 14 (150th in the world)
Croatia – 11 (121st in the world)
Homicide rate (murders per 100,000, UN)
Top 3 (with least murders)
Slovenia – 0.4 (2021)
Greece – 0.9 (2021)
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1 (2021)
Bottom 3 (with most murders)
Turkey – 2.5 (2021)
Montenegro – 2.4 (2021)
Albania – 2.3 (2021)
Healthcare Index (100 being amazing quality & universal healthcare and 0 being 0 healthcare, 2023)
Top 3
Turkey – 71.1
Slovenia – 66.4
Croatia – 64.5
Bottom 3
Albania – 49.3
Serbia – 52.2
Bosnia and Herzegovina -54.8
Life expectancy
Top 3
Slovenia – 82.31 Years
Greece – 82 Years
Croatia – 79.4 Years
Bottom 3
Bulgaria – 72.84 Years
Romania – 75.14 Years
Serbia – 75.21 Years
CONCLUSION:
Turkey has the most economic and military power as a whole, due primarily to it’s size.
Why didn’t Russia try to conquer Constantinople and surrounding territories after the Ottoman Empire collapsed?
During the 1768 — 1774 Russian Ottoman war , Russia was close to conquer the Ottoman Empire
Battle of ChesmeAli Bey al Kabir
Russia conquered Crimea and kicked the Ottomans out , defeated them in Caucasus , and totally destroyed the Ottoman navy in 1770 during the battle of Chesme
a revolt occurred in Greece and Russia formed an alliance with the Mamluk of Egypt Ali Bey al Kabir who kicked the Ottomans out of Egypt and marched towards Syria with Russian support
Russia bombed and occupied Beirut , at that time the Ottoman Empire lost all of it’s Arab provinces as Iraq was ruled by Kulmnd Mamluks and Syria was falling as well , Russia had the Ottomans on their knees , but Britain , Austria and Prussia saved the Ottomans and prevented Russia from conquering Constantinople
Russia tried again in 1791 and 1878 and was too close but the Western powers feared a very powerful Russia.
Mount Athos is a peninsula in northern Greece (in the geographical region of Macedonia). It is home to 20 Orthodox Christian monasteries and administratively it is an autonomous polity, governed by a Holy Community consisting of representatives of those monasteries. Civil authority is represented by a Civil Governor appointed by the Foreign Ministry of Greece.
A fresco with Saint Mercurius and Artemius of Antioch.
In terms of culture, however, Mount Athos retains many Byzantine traditions & items and indeed some commentators have stated that it is like a place ‘frozen in time’. The Mount operates under a charter granted by Emperor Ioannes Tzimisces in 972. Byzantine cultural and religious practices are retained in those monasteries, most of which were built between the 10th and 15th centuries and are scattered over the heavily forested, hilly peninsula. They posses many medieval art treasures, including liturgical objects and vestments, Christian texts, Byzantine imperial chrysobulls (decrees), icons and holy relics. As such, one can say that Mount Athos is still Byzantine in a way.
On September 10-13, Russian Vladivostok hosted the Eastern Economic Forum -for the eighth time. This year, the international component of the EEF has come to the fore: Business in Southeast Asia is showing an active interest in any projects and is ready to participate not only in dialogue.
Main focus: new economy, trade and logistics
Politicians, businessmen and journalists from 50 countries came to Russky Island this week. According to the tradition, the Forum started on September,10 with the “Falcon Day,” during which the authorities announce the agenda of a global program for the conservation of gyrfalcon population.
The next day was devoted to the main business program of the Eastern Economic Forum started. One of its key events was a series of sessions entitled “International cooperation in a changed world.” Here Russian business discussed the peculiarities and potential of building relations with colleagues from Southeast Asia. The dialogue between the countries has taken a very serious turn in the recent years: this year, China strengthened its position in Russian market for passenger cars, cell phones and televisions. In general, the volume of trade with China alone jumped by 40% in the first half of 2023. And the total investments of this country in Russia, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, as of May, amounted to $165 billion.
Among the main goals of the Forum was to establish contacts with Eastern partners within specific projects, so the forum became a platform for a dialogue with China and Asian countries.
Much attention was paid to increasing trade turnover with Asian countries and creating favorable conditions for this, including expanding logistics routes, modernizing existing corridors for the movement of goods and creating new ones.
New old friends
Some foreign and Russian sources reported on a possible visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who was supposed to meet with V. Putin and discuss issues of cooperation in the military sphere. But the main purpose of his visit is negotiations with Vladimir Putin on arms supplies. In return, North Korea wants to receive modern technologies for the development of a nuclear submarine fleet.
However, the visit of the North Korean leader was not confirmed.
Just a few days ago BBC World News aired an interview with two Armenian activists. One of them was connected live from Los Angeles, another one from Azerbaijani city of Khankendi.
For those who is not quite enough familiar with the region of South Caucasus, Khankendi is a city within Karabakh Economic Region of Azerbaijan with the majority Armenian population. The city alongside with other parts of Karabakh and now Eastern Zangezur was under occupation of Armenia starting from early 1990s And the whole region was liberated by Azerbaijan during the 44-day war of 2020 provoked by Armenia to capture new lands.
As Azerbaijan managed to end the war with total victory it has offered to local Armenians to stay and live in peace. Those days Armenian population of about 30-40 thousand people was ready for reconciliation. And under the control of the Russian peacekeepers, they started again to live usual life.
Azerbaijan has kept open The Lachin Corridor for the Armenians of Karabakh to be in touch with Armenia as the region being under occupation of Armenia was connected to the latest. Thus, people have ties in Armenia, and they need to be in touch. Azerbaijan instead of being winner of the war, took into consideration this issue as well as a humanitarian need.
But after some times Azerbaijan has discovered that Armenians are using The Lachin Corridor to carry in weapons and heavy army units in order to prepare for the new war. Alongside with this Azerbaijan managed to build completely new road connecting Karabakh’s center Khankendi with Armenia. Afterwards, a year ago the new road was open, and Armenians were happy to use this more suitable connection. But it was misused as well. That’s why Azerbaijan starting from April 23, 2023, installed new checkpoint at the border with Armenia in order to prevent illegal use of the road.
Afterwards Armenians started to spread a propaganda, that Azerbaijan is “killing 120 thousand peaceful Armenians in Karabakh through starvation”. They call it even a new “genocide” again Armenians by Turks…
But during these past months no single Armenian was killed due to starvation. And Azerbaijan did not close the road in full leaving it open for humanitarian needs. And by today as well Armenians are using the road in both directions to connect between Armenia and Azerbaijan Karabakh region. (Plus, Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society has sent 40 tons of wheat flour for Armenians in Karabakh which is still blocked by the Armenians and can’t be delivered to the people in need…)
Instead of this situation Armenians are trying illegally pass through The Lachin Road. And Azerbaijan is preventing them from doing this. Plus, Armenian propaganda machine calls The Lachin Border Checkpoint “illegal installation”. According to their minds Azerbaijan must keep open its border with Armenia with no control. Is it possible? Or is there any country on the world which keeps its borders open with no checkpoints? Does Armenia itself keep its borders open to other countries as well? Not of course! But they demand that Azerbaijan must keep its borders open with no checkpoint for Armenians, even for others from foreign countries whom they wish to see in Karabakh!
Now that was a small portion of the history or some kind of enlightenment for those who is not quite familiar with the region and the issues, which are misused by Armenian propaganda.
As the situation is very clear, BBC World News a couple of days ago has aired and interview with two above mentioned Armenians. Of course, the media is and must be free to cover any issue. But even the BBC’s code of conduct requires to be balanced and impartial while airing any news or commentary.
In BBC’s above-mentioned broadcast under the title “The Context” only one side was interviewed and given an opportunity to speak. And unfortunately, both interviewers were Armenians and both of them failed to speak in a fair manner. What did they do? Of course, they accused Azerbaijan for “killing and genociding 120 thousand Armenians of Karabakh through starvation”.
We have noted that there are not 120 thousand Armenians in Karabakh. This is a small portion of population with a figure of between 30 to 40 thousand people.
What was stranger and more unacceptable, the BBC presented an interviewer from Khankendi, Karabakh as a “Former Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh”!
“Republic of Artsakh”? Where is it? What is that? Does the world know about this so-called republic? Not of course! There is nothing called a “Republic of Artsakh” and no world country, no international organization recognizes such an entity. But the BBC, seems does “recognize” it…
Of course, we could stop a bit on the wordings of the interviewers. But we don’t do that. Because it was alongside with official Armenian fake propaganda and based on the accusations towards Azerbaijan with no base!
We understand Armenian propagandists. But it is not easy to understand the BBC which is to serve the truth and only truth.
That’s why as a career journalist with about 30 years of professional activity and international practice I do accuse the BBC’s this kind of stance and call on this news media to air apology and refutation. Hope, that BBC will find enough courage to do this…
