Promises & Betrayals: Britain and the Struggle for the Holy Land

Synopsis

A documentary on how British double-dealing during the First World War ignited the conflict between Arab and Jew in the Middle East. The bitter struggle between Arab and Jew for control of the Holy Land has caused untold suffering in the Middle East for generations. It is often claimed that the crisis originated with Jewish emigration to Palestine and the foundation of the state of Israel. Yet the roots of the conflict are to be found much earlier – in British double-dealing during the First World War. This is a story of intrigue among rival empires; of misguided strategies; and of how conflicting promises to Arab and Jew created a legacy of bloodshed which determined the fate of the Middle East.

Cast

Struan Rodger

Narrator

William Wilde

Voice (voice)

Dominic Lieven

Self - Historian

Christopher Coker

Self - Historian

Youssef Choueiri

Self - Historian