Mandatory Palestine Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Allied and Axis activity==== [[File:060 1942 - Tom Beazley's mates (l to r) George Dobner, Norm Grainger ^ Reg Shephard at Tel-Aviv, Pales.jpg|thumb|Australian soldiers in [[Tel Aviv]] in 1942]] On 10 June 1940, during the [[Second World War]], the [[Kingdom of Italy]] declared war on the [[British Empire]] and sided with [[Nazi Germany]]. Within a month, the Italians [[Italian bombings on Palestine in World War II|attacked Palestine from the air]], bombing [[Tel Aviv]] and [[Haifa]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.isracast.com/article.aspx?ID=470&t=Why-Italian-Planes-Bombed-Tel-Aviv?|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921004629/http://www.isracast.com/article.aspx?ID=470&t=Why-Italian-Planes-Bombed-Tel-Aviv%3F|url-status=dead|title=Why Italian Planes Bombed Tel-Aviv?|archivedate=21 September 2011}}</ref> inflicting multiple casualties. In 1942, there was a period of great concern for the ''[[Yishuv]]'', when the German forces of General [[Erwin Rommel]] advanced east across [[North Africa]] towards the [[Suez Canal]], raising a fear that they would conquer Palestine. This period was referred to as the "[[200 days of dread]]". This event was the direct cause for the founding, with British support, of the ''[[Palmach]]''<ref>[http://www.historycentral.com/Israel/1941PalmachFormed.html How the Palmach was formed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212162717/https://www.historycentral.com/Israel/1941PalmachFormed.html |date=12 December 2019 }} (History Central)</ref> – a highly trained regular unit belonging to [[Haganah]] (a paramilitary group composed mostly of reserves). As in most of the Arab world, there was no unanimity amongst the Palestinian Arabs as to their position regarding the belligerents in the Second World War. A number of leaders and public figures saw an [[Axis powers|Axis]] victory as the likely outcome and a way of securing Palestine back from the Zionists and the British. Even though Arabs were not highly regarded by [[Nazism and race|Nazi racial theory]], the [[Nazis]] encouraged Arab support as a counter to British hegemony.<ref>Secret World War II documents released by the UK in July 2001, include documents on [[Operation ATLAS]] (See [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/july2001.pdf References: KV 2/400–402] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402042324/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/july2001.pdf|date=2 April 2014}}. A German task force led by [[Kurt Wieland]] parachuted into Palestine in September 1944. This was one of the last German efforts in the region to attack the Jewish community in Palestine and undermine British rule by supplying local Arabs with cash, arms and sabotage equipment. The team was captured shortly after landing.</ref> On the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration in 1943, ''[[Reichsführer-SS]]'' [[Heinrich Himmler]] and Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] sent telegrams of support for the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]], [[Mohammad Amin al-Husseini]], to read out for a radio broadcast to a rally of supporters in [[Berlin]].{{efn|From Himmler: {{blockquote|The National Socialist movement of Greater Germany has, since its inception, inscribed upon its flag the fight against the world Jewry. It has therefore followed with particular sympathy the struggle of freedom-loving Arabs, especially in Palestine, against Jewish interlopers. In the recognition of this enemy and of the common struggle against it lies the firm foundation of the natural alliance that exists between the National Socialist Greater Germany and the freedom-loving Muslims of the whole world. In this spirit I am sending you on the anniversary of the infamous Balfour declaration my hearty greetings and wishes for the successful pursuit of your struggle until the final victory.}} From Ribbentrop: {{blockquote|I am sending my greetings to your eminence and to the participants of the meeting held today in the Reich capital under your chairmanship. Germany is linked to the Arab nation by old ties of friendship, and today we are united more than ever before. The elimination of the socalled Jewish national home and the liberation of all Arab countries from the oppression and exploitation of the Western powers is an unchangeable part of the Great German Reich policy. Let the hour not be far off when the Arab nation will be able to build its future and find unity in full independence.}}}}<ref>{{cite book|author =Moshe Pearlman|author-link=Moshe Pearlman|title=Mufti of Jerusalem; the story of Haj Amin el Husseini|date=1947|publisher=V. Gollancz|page=50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Rolf Steininger|title=Germany and the Middle East: From Kaiser Wilhelm II to Angela Merkel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wm58DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55|date=17 December 2018|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-78920-039-3|pages=55–}}</ref> On the other hand, as many as 12,000 Palestinian Arabs, with the endorsement of many prominent figures such as the mayors of [[Nablus]] and [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and media such as "Radio Palestine"{{efn|For example, Radio Palestine broadcast the comments of an Egyptian writer who said, "The war is between the lofty and humane values represented by England and the forces of darkness represented by the Nazis."<ref name="Aderet"/>}} and the prominent [[Jaffa]]-based ''[[Falastin]]'' newspaper{{efn|A British recruiting poster in Arabic, published in the ''[[Falastin]]'' newspaper in January 1942, read: "She couldn't stop thinking about contribution and sacrifice, she felt ongoing pride and exaltation of spirit – when she did what she saw as her sacred duty for her nation and its sons. When your country is crying out to you and asking for your service, when your country makes it plain that our Arab men need your love and support, and when your country reminds you of how cruel the enemy is – when your country is calling you, can you stand by and do nothing?"<ref name="Aderet"/>}}, volunteered to join and fight for the British, with many serving in units that also included Jews from Palestine. 120 Palestinian women also served as part of the "Auxiliary Territorial Service". However, this history has been less studied, as Israeli sources put more focus in studying the role played by Jewish soldiers, and Palestinian sources "were not eager to glorify the names of those who cooperated with Britain not so many years after the British put down the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939, and thereby indirectly helped the Jews establish a state."<ref name="Aderet">Aderet, Ofer. "12,000 Palestinians Fought for U.K. in WWII alongside Jewish Volunteers, Historian Finds." Haaretz.com. Haaretz, May 31, 2019. [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-historian-12-000-palestinians-fought-for-u-k-in-wwii-alongside-jewish-volunteers-1.7309369 Link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327131018/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-historian-12-000-palestinians-fought-for-u-k-in-wwii-alongside-jewish-volunteers-1.7309369 |date=27 March 2022 }}.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page