William Tyler
World War II in the Middle East
Summary
In 1939, war returned to Europe, entangling the Middle East. The situation escalated following the fall of France in 1940, when Syria and Lebanon aligned with Vichy France. Iraq sided with Germany, and Palestine remained as volatile and divided as ever. Each of these alliances provoked war with Britain.
William Tyler
William Tyler has spent his entire professional life in adult education, beginning at Kingsgate College in 1969. He has lectured widely for many public bodies, including the University of Cambridge and the WEA, in addition to speaking to many clubs and societies. In 2009, William was awarded the MBE for services to adult education, and he has previously been a scholar in residence at the London Jewish Cultural Centre.
The new British government’s foreign secretary has also come out in the last few days to say there should be a two-nation solution.
Well, that’s like saying that the north of England has incontrovertible evidence that it was inhabited by Scandinavians. You can’t go back. You’ve got to be where you are and where we were at the collapse of the Ottoman Empire is that the Arabs had the majority in Palestine. It may be uncomfortable to reconcile those two irreconcilable things, a majority Arab population and the promise and commitment to a Jewish homeland.