Al Jazeera English
PROGRAMMES GENERAL
Balfour to Blair
The Israeli-Arab conflict is arguably the most intractable and the most explosive issue in the world today.
Though there may be no end in sight, it does have a beginning. For nearly a century, there have been British public figures who mixed politics with Christianity, seeking to impose their own ‘messianic’ vision on the Middle East, with disastrous consequences for those who live there.
Tony Blair is only the latest in a long list of British political figures who have made the Middle East their business
Britain’s modern association with the Holy Land goes back to the First World War, and a time when it was looking for new allies against Germany.
The Arabian Sherif of Mecca was an obvious choice. He promised to unite the Arabs and rise against Germany’s allies, the Ottoman Turks.
In return, Britain officially promised in 1915 to assist him realise his dream: to be the supreme Arab ruler of an independent Arab kingdom.
Britain sent troops to fight with him, and paid him the equivalent in today’s money of half a billion dollars.
But at the same time, the British, in conjunction with the French, were busy re-drawing the map of the region, dividing it into ‘spheres of influence’.
Britain would have Iraq and Jordan, France would have Syria and Lebanon.
Contrary to earlier promises, there would be no independent Arab state – though no one told this to the Arabs.
Balfour to Blair, a special 30 minute film, investigates the promises made, the motivations of British policy in the Middle East at the time and the impact of the Zionist lobby on this policy.
Al Jazeera asks whether the same underlying principles that directed the policies in the beginning of the 20th century are still at play in the beginning of the 21st.
Watch part one of Balfour to Blair
Watch part two of Balfour to Blair
Balfour to Blair aired from Friday, May 17, 2008
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/02EAE651-4AD7-4097-ADCB- 8BD59F885E6B.htm?FRAMELESS=true&NRNODEGUID=%7b02EAE651-4AD7-4097
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Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American business consultant, writer, and commentator based in Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Palestine. He is the principal of Applied Information Management (AIM), a consultancy specializing in business development and startup advisory services.
Bahour played a foundational role in establishing two of Palestine’s publicly traded companies: the Palestine Telecommunications Company (PALTEL) and the Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers (APSC). He co-founded Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (A4VPE), of which he is now an emeritus member, and served as an independent director on the board of Arab Islamic Bank P.L.C. from 2004 to 2025. He currently serves on the board of Just Vision and The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS).
He frequently gives talks to delegations visiting Palestine on the subjects of Palestine’s political economy, Palestinian Politics 101, and a general orientation to the state of affairs under Israeli military occupation.
A prolific writer on Palestinian affairs, Bahour has been published in major international outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera America, Le Monde diplomatique, Al-Monitor, +972 Magazine, The Hill, and Arab News. He has appeared as a commentator on NPR, CNN, BBC, and other broadcast media.
Bahour is the co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians (Olive Branch Press, 1993) and was profiled in the bestselling anthology Kingdom of Olives and Ash, edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, in a chapter authored by Chabon titled “The Tallest Man in Ramallah.” He holds an Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree in Computer Technology from Youngstown State University, and a Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA — a joint program of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University.
He tweets at @SamBahour, blogs at www.epalestine.ps, and may be reached at sbahour[AT]gmail[DOT]com.
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