After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, devastating pogroms swept through the Jewish communities of southern Russia. These events would trigger panic and unrest throughout Eastern Europe, and ultimately see in the years to come a large Jewish migration as a result. Initially the vast amounts of Jewish refugees settled in America, but Great Britain also took in many Jews with only a minority of Jews choosing to settle in Palestine. Thus in 1882, as a result of the Russian pogroms, Judah Leib Pinsker published a pamphlet called Auto-Emancipation which argued that Jews could only be truly free in a country of their own. These movements of Jewish migrations and political activism would ultimately birth the establishment of the Zionist movement in 1897, led by the Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl.
The Zionist movement sought to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine, but in 1903 the British East Africa Protectorate offered land to the Zionist movement in the territory we know today as the country of Uganda. However, the Foreign Office was unable to attract white settlers to East Africa, but after the track of the Uganda railway reached Nairobi in 1899, the East Africa Protectorate became more appealing. It was projected that with a hard working population the railway would cause the economy of East Africa to prosper. But with the idea to settle poor Jews in the country, the European community was disappointed. Now the European community had placed its faith in Joseph Chamberlain, the colonial secretary. For Chamberlain was the man who put new meaning into the Colonial Office. So, the story of the Zionist Project for Africa begins with a visit Chamberlain made to the East African Protectorate in December, 1902.
While touring the East Africa Protectorate, Chamberlain noted that the climate was perfect. It was a vast country with unlimited possibilities. Seeing that the settlers had the railway, all that was needed was people and commerce to secure their future. Now negotiations between high level government officials including Chamberlain and representatives of the Zionist movement had been carried out at the beginning of the fall in 1902. Inspired by deteriorating conditions in the Jewish areas of eastern Europe, the Zionist leaders began exploring for colonization possibilities. The majority of these territories were in British-controlled areas. El Arish in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt was discussed, investigated and then dropped. But in August of 1903, just before the Sixth Zionist congress was to meet in Basel, Switzerland the negotiations with Chamberlain proved to be a success.
The proposal of making East Africa a settlement for Jews is a mysterious and complex story. Zionists and East African settlers both felt threatened by the idea, which sparked much debate in both camps. From its inception there had been much confusion surrounding the subject, mostly because of its controversial make up and due to the emotional backlash that the proposal created. To add to this confusion, the Eastern Provence of Uganda was transferred to the East African Protectorate on April 1, 1902. Naivasha and Kisumu were two new provinces formed from the new additions made by the suggestion of Sir Charles Eliot. Areas for proposed Jewish settlements fell within the boarders of the transferred land. However, with the transfer of this land to the East Africa Protectorate, Uganda lost its territories which offered the most incitements for European colonization and settlement.
The meeting of the Zionist movement and East Africa's white settlers transpired in the later half of the nineteenth century, when modern Zionism was in its infancy. It was at this time that the scramble for Africa took place, which initiated European expansion into Uganda and East Africa. Britain's role in the scramble for Africa was for commercial advantages, to suppress the slave trade, to control territory on the rout to India, and to compete with the French and German governments. On the Zionist front, Theodor Herzl went on to write two books: Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) in 1896, and Altneuland (The Old New Land) in 1902. Now the primary objective of Zionism was to seek and establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine, not Africa or anywhere else.
Another element in the British-Zionist relationship in East Africa were the European Christian missionaries who tried to win the souls of the Dark Continent's natives. The fact of how the Europeans mistreated the Africans only complicated things for the missionaries, who's responsibility it was to protect their converts. In response to the Jewish issue Peel, the Bishop of Mombasa, wrote a letter to Sir Charles Eliot explaining the difficult position he found himself in. Peel feared that if the Jews were granted the land along the railway it would cause an economic crisis among the African Christian tribes. At the same time Peel did not totally reject the idea of Jews being placed in East Africa. Peel went on to say that for Christians to bless Jews was to insure blessings for themselves but, to reject the Jews meant bringing a curse upon one's self. This school of thought would ultimately be used by the Zionists as a key factor in developing the Zionist movement overall.
In 1903, at the Sixth Zionist Congress, Herzl announced the possibility of placing Israel in East Africa. The announcement came as a total shock to the Jewish congress. One young woman became so angry that she tore down the map of East Africa which had been placed where usually the map of Zion was hung. However, by no means did all of the delegates who openly opposed the East Africa project see it as an abandonment of Palestine. During the debate on East Africa stronger arguments were made by the opponents of the East Africa scheme, who steadfastly held onto the Zionist vision. Palestine would not be lost from sight. So strong was the fixation on Palestine that at the end of the congress there was a demonstration, with many singing “Hatikvah” a song that expressed the hope of the Zionists for the return to the Land of Israel.
Though an attempt was made to establish a Jewish colony in East Africa, the attempt was not a success. With the exit of Joseph Chamberlain from the government, the project's likelihood for success was now even more unlikely. To Herzl, Zionism meant a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Herzl understood the importance of the British government recognizing the Zionist movement. With an international power like Great Britain as a partner, Herzl's dream of a Jewish State came ever closer to realization. If Palestine was unattainable, then some other place would have to do. But throughout all his work, Herzl never lost sight of Palestine as the ultimate goal. Not once did he deviate from the Zionist ideology which he had helped to build.
Though the East Africa project was abandoned, it was a milestone for the Zionist goal in acquiring Palestine. For through this offer the British government would recognize the Jews as a nation and at the same time acknowledge the Zionist movement as the negotiating agent for the Jews. These negotiations between the Jews and the British government would lead to the signing of the Balfour Declaration in November, 1917. This document stated that the British government viewed with favor “the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.” This document signed during World War I would be the cornerstone in the formation of the State of Israel, which would be officially birthed on May 14, 1948.
References:
Weisbord, R.G. African Zion. (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1968).
