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EE: History - British Policy in mandate Palestine


IBtookmylife

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Hey guys, 

So my topic is about British policy in mandate Palestine and how that resulted in the establishment of the State of Israel. Currently I'm not sure as to what my main arguments would be because I'm not sure if I have to take a side (for/against) or if I'm meant to show both sides. So I was wondering if you guys could help me figure that part out. And in addition to that would I be talking about any of the following;

- 1917 Balfour Declaration

- Britain's migration policy to Palestine (if there was one)

- White papers that may have been written as a method of solving the issue 

- UN partition plan/vote

As you can tell my knowledge on the matter is where I just understand what the issue is and what the outcome was but as for researching the depths of the topic I don't know where I could start looking for the British policy in mandate Palestine.

Thanks in advance! 

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You really have to do both. i.e. you have to have a "sustained argument", but at the same side evaluate both sides of the case and point out their merits and consequences. So it is likely you will lean towards one side of the argument, although admit that it is not perfect/ other arguments also have valid aspects which are worthy of consideration. However it is possible to go hard line or completely fence sit (decide it is impossible to tell), but unless you can do it well it is generally difficult. This argument/thesis should thread throughout your essay and hold it together. Whilst you examine aspects of you case.

All of the topics you mentioned seem reasonable, however it might be best to just focus on one. 4000 words turns out to be much fewer words than it orignially seems. What you could do is decide whether you are able to make the essay about which ever topic most interests you and just do it on that, once you have done some preliminary research.

 

In terms of research, it really depends on what you have access to and what is relevant for your study. For example, I used newspapers from the NSW state library quite a bit, but you might be able to get access to the British Parliament Hansard (or whatever it is called there), of the time, the white papers or UN declarations that are relevant. And then secondary sources which are written about it, which would probably give you the best idea about the issues, before you delve into the primary sources.

 

Hope this helped

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Hi, 

Thanks for all the information. I'll probably avoid trying to sit on the fence as it means I'll have to constantly ensure that I do not say anything which would show that I am arguing for or against it. Like you, my history teacher told me that even if I take one side, I should still consider valid points against what I'm arguing so that it shows a broad understanding of the topic. And I'll pick the argument that will give me the highest possibility of writing 4000 words on. Probably stick to the white papers considering the RQ is about the British policy and I could also talk about the influence they had on the British policy in mandate Palestine. I'll go to the State Library of Victoria and hopefully I'll be able to find sources from there. 

 

Thank you. This helped tremendously. 

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