Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [‎190v] (380/544)

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express an opinion, but I am not much impressed by the argument that in order to
defend Egypt we had to go to Palestine, because in order to defend Palestine we should
have to go to Aleppo or some such place. You always have to go forward; at least, I
gather so. You could not stand still in Palestine any more than you could anywhere
else. As to that, 1 think our policy ought to be to say that, as far as we can do so
decently, we think we are the best people to do it fur the League of Nations, but that
if they will not let us do it we would rather the Americans did it than anybody else.
I do not believe the French will allow us to do it.
LORD CURZON : I do not feel at all clear that the Americans would be willing
to do it.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : That is a different matter. They may wish us to do it
under the pressure of the Arabs and the Jews.
LORD CURZON : I think Republican sentiment, which is setting against the
President, and will do so increasingly as the election draws near, is averse from a
Democratic President drawing the country into foreign responsibilities, and if we talk
of America taking over Palestine, the Caucasus, or Armenia
LORD ROBERT CECIL : They will not do the Caucasus and Armenia ; they
would be mad to do it, but there is an off-chance that they would take Constantinople
or Palestine, one or the other, because of the great swagger of it. They might like the
idea of it, and in a way they have a great interest in Palestine, of course. I do not
think there is any great doubt what our policy should be. As to boundaries, I agree
the boundaries, as put in the map, will not do, but I think that is a small matter,
because all the boundaries will have to be settled by boundary commissions.
GENERAL WILSON : If we do think that we would be the best people there,
I think we had better go there. It lies between us and the Americans.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : There is not going to be any great catch about it.
GENERAL WILSON : No.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: Because we shall simply keep the peace between the
Arabs and the Jews. We are not going to get anything out of it. Whoever goes
there will have a poor time.
GENERAL SMUTS : It would affect Jewish national opinion, and nationally they
are a great people.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: They are likely to quarrel with the protecting Powers.
GENERAL WILSON : If well handled I do not think so.
GENERAL MACDONOGH : I suggest the most important thing in the con
sideration of the position of Palestine is not its topographical relation to Syria or anything
else, but its being, as Mr. Balfour says, the home of the Jewish people, and therefore
interesting the whole of the Jews nil over the world. I see a good many of the Zionists,
and one suggested to me the day before yesterday that if the Jewish people did not get
what they were asking for in Palestine we should have the whole of Jewry turning
Bolsheviks and supporting Bolshevism in all the other countries as they have done in
Russia.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: Yes. I can conceive the Rothschilds leading a
Bolshevist mob !
LORD CURZON : General Macdonogh, are you in favour of the general line
of argument that I developed ?
GENERAL MACDONOGH : Certainly I am.
LORD CURZON : We have the remainder of the Caucasus to take up. We are
going to resume Syria, so far as your paper bears upon it, General Wilson. When shall
we do that ?