- Welcome to today's virtual tour.
100 years ago, after World War I,
the major powers of the worldtransformed the Middle East.
Their decisions had aprofound impact on the region
and set the stage for the founding
of the modern state ofIsrael after 2,000 years.
Take a look.
- [Chris] It happened on April 25, 1920.
Representatives of the great powers
who triumphed in World WarI, met in the Italian town
of San Remo, to dividethe Middle East lands
they conquered.
100 years later, theleaders of the great powers
who came to San Remo, are long gone,
but their decisions made history
and transformed the Middle East.
For the first time in nearly 2,000 years,
they called for the establishmentof a Jewish homeland
in an area called Palestine.
Before its defeat in World War I,
the 400 year Ottoman Empire
spread throughout the MiddleEast and San Remo, England,
France, Italy, and Japan,along with the United States,
as an observer, divided theempire into three mandates:
Iraq, Syria, and Palestine.
France would oversee Syria,while Iraq and Palestine
fell under Great Britain.
The resolution also includedthe Balfour Declaration,
written by England's Lord Balfour in 1917,
which called for theestablishment in Palestine
of a national home for the Jewish people.
One English diplomat,Lord Curzon called it,
"Israel's magna carta."
Zionist leader Chaim Weizmannconsidered it so important,
he said, "The modern state of Israel
"was born on the 25th ofApril, 1920 in San Remo."
It was adopted by the League of Nations
and signed by 51 countries.
Exclusive legal andpolitical rights in Palestine
went to the Jews, while those rights
and the rest of the MiddleEast, went to the Arabs.
- As it shows, that in fact the creation
of a Jewish nationalhome was widely backed
by the internationalcommunity, way back then.
- [Chris] Former IsraeliAmbassador to the UN, Dore Gold,
told CBN News the historyof San Remo 100 years ago,
has largely been forgotten.
- That's part of Israel's problem.
Why is it that it'sfighting for its legitimacy
all the time?
It's because the internationaltreaties and agreements,
on which the state of Israel'sbased, have been forgotten.
Our role is to remind theinternational community,
what are Israel's legal rights?
What is the basis for the legitimacy
of the modern Jewish state?
And for that, San Remo is pivotal.
- [Chris] Gold says, Israel's adversaries
are trying to rob Israelof its right to exist
by rewriting history.
- I think that now,people will have to learn
this history properly, andnot allow some professor,
or some media figure to distort
what went on 100 years go.
100 years ago, it was clear as day,
that the restoration ofa Jewish national home
was supported by the majorityof countries in the world.
- [Chris] Chris Mitchell,CBN News, Jerusalem.
- Thank you for joining uson today's virtual tour.
Tomorrow we learn aboutthe hundreds of thousands
of Jewish refugees expelledfrom Arab countries
during the rebirth of Israel,
and how they found their way home.
