British & Zionist “Shared Colonialism” Myth

Claim: Zionism was a European settler-colonial project backed and facilitated by the British Empire to control the Middle East.

Truth: The British repeatedly blocked, betrayed, and fought against Zionist aspirations—politically, militarily, and diplomatically.

Zionism vs. Empire: Why the British Fought the Jewish State

Zionism was a refugee-led movement for Jewish self-determination—not an imperial project—and the British Empire actively opposed it. From the 1939 White Paper blocking Jewish immigration during the Holocaust to imprisoning Zionist fighters, Britain betrayed and violently suppressed Zionist efforts. Far from being collaborators, Zionists fought British colonial rule to achieve independence.

FACTUAL DEBUNKING

Zionist Migration Preceded British Rule

The First Aliyah (1882–1903) and Second Aliyah (1904–1914) brought tens of thousands of Jews to Ottoman Palestine—decades before Britain assumed control in 1917.
These early pioneers built agricultural settlements, revived Hebrew as a spoken language, and laid the cultural and logistical groundwork for a future Jewish homeland.
Zionism was thus not a British creation, but a grassroots Jewish movement rooted in historical, religious, and cultural ties to the land.

Source: Anita Shapira, Israel: A History (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012), Ch. 1–2

Details: First and Second Aliyot (1882–1914) occurred under Ottoman rule, with no British involvement. Pioneers built settlements like Rishon LeZion and Petah Tikva.

Jewish Immigration Was Not an Imperial Project

Jews were not sent by the British Empire; they came fleeing persecution:
- Pogroms in Eastern Europe.
- Nazi extermination.
- Expulsions from Arab lands post-1948.

📌 Zionism was a refugee-driven movement, not a colonial export.

Source: Walter Laqueur, A History of Zionism (Schocken, 2003), pp. 203–250

Details: Jewish migration was propelled by pogroms (e.g., Kishinev 1903), Nazi genocide, and later expulsions from Arab countries (1948–1970s).

Zionists Weren’t Acting on Behalf of a Mother Country

There was no “metropole” directing Zionists.
Jews came from dozens of countries — not one empire.
In fact, the British were the ones with imperial interests in the region (oil, trade routes), and Jewish self-determination threatened that.

⚖️ Colonizers don’t ask for independence from the empire funding them.

Source: Walter Laqueur, A History of Zionism

Details: Zionism emerged independently across Europe; Herzl appealed to the Ottomans, British, and others—not as an imperial agent but seeking recognition.

Jews Bought Land — They Didn’t Seize It

Jewish land in Mandatory Palestine was acquired legally, often at high prices, mostly from wealthy absentee Arab landlords.
Many early purchases were marshes and wastelands (e.g., Jezreel Valley).

💡 Colonizers don’t buy the land they conquer.

Source: Kenneth Stein, The Land Question in Palestine, 1917–1939 (UNC Press, 1984)

Details: Most land was bought from wealthy absentee Arab landlords; Zionist organizations paid above-market prices.

The British Reneged on Their Promise:

Balfour Declaration (1917): Britain promised to support a “Jewish national home” in Palestine without prejudice to existing non-Jewish communities.
But… starting in the 1920s, Britain began limiting Jewish immigration under Arab pressure.
By 1939, the White Paper essentially nullified Balfour by:
- Limiting Jewish immigration to 75,000 over 5 years.
- Blocking land sales to Jews.
- Explicitly rejecting the creation of a Jewish state.

📌 This policy came while Jews were fleeing Nazi Germany — many were turned away and died in the Holocaust.

Source: The Balfour Declaration (Nov. 2, 1917), British Foreign Office

Source: 1939 White Paper: UK Parliamentary Archives

Details: The White Paper capped Jewish immigration and blocked Jewish land purchases, abandoning the Balfour promise during the Holocaust.

Britain Blocked Survivors and Battled Statehood

1945–1948: Britain imprisoned, deported, and killed Jews trying to flee Europe and settle in Palestine.
Britain:
- Ran internment camps in Cyprus and Mauritius for Holocaust survivors.
- Turned away ships of desperate refugees (e.g., Exodus 1947).
- Hunted and fought Jewish underground groups like Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi.
- Hanged members of Zionist militias.

📌 No colonial power does this to its supposed partners.

Source: Martin Gilbert, Churchill and the Jews (2007); Exodus 1947 incident covered in numerous historical accounts

Source: Benny Morris, Righteous Victims (Knopf, 1999), pp. 181–195

Details: Britain ran detention camps in Cyprus and Mauritius, turned back refugee ships, and executed Irgun members in the 1940s.

Zionists Fought British Rule

Zionist groups (esp. Irgun & Lehi) considered the British as occupiers and fought them.
- Bombed British military and administrative targets.
- Engaged in sabotage and assassinations (e.g., Lord Moyne).
- 1946: King David Hotel bombing—targeted British military HQ.

📌 This was an anti-colonial revolt, not collaboration.

Source: Yehuda Bauer, From Diplomacy to Resistance (1970); Jabotinsky Institute Archives

Example: 1946 King David Hotel bombing by Irgun targeting British command; Lord Moyne assassination by Lehi in 1944.

U.N Vote for Partition Was Not a British Plot

1947: The British handed the Palestine question to the United Nations.
Britain abstained from the UN vote to partition Palestine.
Zionists accepted the two-state solution.
Arabs rejected it and launched a war.

🗳 Britain didn’t “give” the land to the Jews — the Jews earned statehood through diplomacy and war.

Source: UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (Nov. 29, 1947)

Details: Britain abstained from the vote. The Zionist leadership accepted it. Arab states and Palestinian leadership rejected and launched a war.

Zionism = Self-Determination, Not Domination

Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people.
Jews were indigenous to the land and maintained presence for millennia.
The Zionist movement sought a homeland, not an empire.

✊ Unlike colonial projects, Zionism is about return, not conquest.

Source: Yossi Klein Halevi, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor (2018)

Details: Zionism aimed at Jewish national rebirth in ancestral land, not domination of others. This aligns with indigenous liberation movements, not colonialism.

Anti-Zionist Arab Leaders Rejected Jewish Presence on Racial/Religious Grounds

Haj Amin al-Husseini (Mufti of Jerusalem) aligned with Nazi Germany and said:

“The Jews have no historical connection to Palestine.”

📌 That’s not anti-colonialism — that’s denial of indigenous rights.

Source: U.S. National Archives; Berlin radio broadcasts, 1942–44

Source: Klaus Gensicke, The Mufti of Jerusalem and the Nazis (Vallentine Mitchell, 2011)

Details: Met with Hitler, promoted antisemitic propaganda, blocked Jewish refugees from escaping to Palestine.

Comparison to Actual Colonialism is Absurd

Let’s compare:

Trait	Colonialism (e.g., British Raj)	Zionism
Origin	Imperial conquest	Indigenous return after exile/persecution
Motivation	Resource extraction, territorial control	Self-determination, refuge from persecution
Driven by Empire?	Yes – state-sponsored	No – grassroots, often opposed by empires
Mother Country / Metropole	Operated on behalf of a home empire	No central state; Jews came from dozens of nations
Population Source	Settlers backed by empire	Refugees escaping pogroms, Nazis, expulsions
Early Aliyah (1st–2nd)	Not state-sponsored; grassroots Jewish return	Included socialists, farmers, intellectuals
Relation to Britain	Supported by empire	Opposed by Britain; restricted & deported by them
Land Acquisition	Seizure or expropriation from natives	Legal purchases from Arab landlords
Treatment of Local Populace	Displacement, forced labor	Coexistence; offered mutual development
Use of Force	Military suppression of natives	Zionists fought British imperial rule
Administrative Structure	Colonial governors	Voluntary institutions (e.g., Jewish Agency)
End Goal	Empire expansion	National independence
UN Position	Colonies rejected by UN decolonization efforts	Zionism endorsed by UN in 1947 partition plan

This synthesis is drawn from:

Gershon Shafir, Land, Labor and the Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1882–1914
Efraim Karsh, Palestine Betrayed
UN Resolution 181
Colonial comparison frameworks in postcolonial studies (see Edward Said vs. critical rebuttals from Karsh and Shapira)

Summary: Zionism is NOT Colonialism

Zionism was a refugee-led movement for Jewish self-determination—not an imperial project—and the British Empire actively opposed it. From the 1939 White Paper blocking Jewish immigration during the Holocaust to imprisoning Zionist fighters and turning away refugee ships, Britain betrayed and violently suppressed Zionist efforts. Far from being collaborators, Zionists fought British colonial rule to achieve independence.

Calling Zionism “colonial” is:

A distortion of Jewish history and trauma.
A projection of European models onto a non-European story.
A political smear that erases Jewish indigeneity and suffering.

Zionism wasn’t Britain’s tool. It was Britain’s problem.