THE HOLY LAND
WITH ECHOES OF BRITISH MANDATE
A doctor travels where the British trod
John Walker-Smith
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| John Walker Smith (Author) |
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This book is a memoir of a doctor’s visits to the Holy Land, in 1964 as a Christian pilgrim, and then as a medical lecturer to Jerusalem in 1987 and 1995 as well as to Amman in 1985. Although he is a retired academic, this is not an academic historical text. The facts mentioned are firstly those that were told to him at the time (he kept careful contemporary records) together with additional facts he learnt by reading from books listed in the bibliography.
He records his own experiences and responses as a contemporary witness of the time. These are contrasted and compared with the experiences of two past British visitors Sir Frederick Treves surgeon in 1912, during Turkish/Ottoman occupation, and H V Morton, the author, in 1934 during the British mandate. These witness accounts of how things were perceived during past times, provide an interesting background to the current situation in the Middle East.
PREFACE
At a time when tensions in the Holy Land continue to resonate around the world, John Walker-Smith’s beautifully written memoir of his visits to Jerusalem, coupled with his historical insights, help to guide modern readers through the rich and complex history of the area. It is impossible to resolve the challenges of the present without understanding the region’s past, and John’s thoughtful memoir provides us with unique insights and reflections to deepen our understanding and enlighten all those who wish to see an enduring peace in the Middle East.
Stephen Hickey British Ambassador to Iraq 2019 to 2021 Director of the Middle East Department at the Foreign Office
BOOK LAUNCH
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| Book Launch Royal College of Physicians |
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Speech Royal College of Physicians
REVIEW
When the Gospel writers described the life of Jesus, they added the time and place of almost every event. It’s as if they were alerted by the insistence of doubting Thomas to be given physical evidence of the Resurrection. The evangelists may not have thought that future generations would believe their accounts without including these details. Such caution may be understandable when narrating the events surrounding the Nativity, Crucifixion and Resurrection (all in Judea). But they also give the locations of most of His miracles and His teachings (many in Galilee). This has meant that future Christians had a topography of the events of Jesus’ life. This knowledge has drawn Christians to the sites from far and wide over the past 2000 years. However, as the author, John Walker-Smith, explains in his highly readable book, Christians have only administered the Holy Land in three periods in that long history: first, for around three centuries from the conversion of the Roman emperor, Constantine, in the early fourth century, to the Moslem capture of Jerusalem in the seventh; second, the Frankish kingdom from 1099 to 1187, with a shrunken coastal state until 1291; and third, from when the League of Nations mandated the British Government to administer Palestine after the fall of Ottoman rule in 1917 to their withdrawal and the creation of new states by the United Nations in 1948. It is this last period that the author focusses on. He points out what distinguishes this short administration from other regimes. At all other times the area has been fought over by Jews, Christians and Moslems, each of whom felt that they had a right to the whole territory. Each has had periods in history where they were the sole rulers. John Walker-Smith, with his careful attention to historical accuracy notes that the only other time when they Holy Land was shared, was in the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederich II (rr 1220-1250) when Christians and Moslems agreed to administer Jerusalem jointly, with having primacy over different sectors. John Walker-Smith describes how the administrators of the Mandate strived to endow the world with a Holy Land where Jews, Christians and Moslems could live in peace and harmony. He uses the travel writing of three Anglican Christians to illustrates the points he wishes to convey. They are the eminent Edwardian surgeon Frederick Treves (in the last years of the Ottoman empire in 1912); HV Morton, a traveller at the time of the Mandate; and his own observations after the Mandate had ended (1964, in the company of pilgrims from the diocese of Gloucester and again after the 1967 war, twice in his capacity as a clinical academic in 1987 and 1995). A great strength of the author is that he stimulates thought and allows the reader to reflect on the significance of the observations that he makes. His written text is supported in this by 95 superb figures, almost all in colour. The text is full of examples of thought-provoking text illustrated by a figure. There are too many to mention in a short review. One simple example is his description and photograph of a Palestinian stamp, issued during the mandate. This is in English, Arabic and Hebrew. He points out that no stamp (unlike other stamps in the British Empire) carried the head of the King (either George V or George VI). This allows the reader to understand why the three official languages still used (as for example on the tram in Jerusalem) are English, Arabic and Hebrew. More important, the lack of a King’s head demonstrates that the British did not regard Palestine as their land, but that they were protecting it for the world and for future generations. This brings us to the central theme of the book: that the British involvement in Palestine was altruistic. The author clearly points out they knew the dangers of administering the hotly contested country in the 1920s and 1930s, but that they had hoped to develop a state where different peoples could live together in peace. That this has not been realised is no fault of the British Administrators of the Mandate, who did everything in their power (which included the loss many British lives, including in the police, the armed forces and civilians) to make this happen. John Walker-Smith, with his instinctive understanding of the Church of England’s tolerance to other faiths (which is reflected in public policy) describes this thinking (so unlike our Medieval ancestors). He writes that the administrators emphasised areas of communality between the faiths, such as each being descended from Abraham. He points out that the rock on which Abraham came close to sacrificing Isaac was considered a physical embodiment of this idea. This again throws up questions as to what constitutes human greatness in members of a governing group. Are Frederick II and the administrators of the Mandate the only people to show greatness in the Holy Land since the life of Jesus Christ, in that they wished to see harmony and equality among peoples from different backgrounds? Was the Mandate, run by people influenced by the Enlightenment, a missed opportunity; or was it an experiment that was doomed from the start? Buying this book is the literary equivalent of purchasing a plant, which in the course of one’s reading grows into something much bigger because of the questions it raises in the reader’s mind. A great strength of the book is the that its information is always linked to the travel writings of one of the three writers. This makes for easy, but fruitful reading. Choosing travellers who span the momentous changes of the Holy Land over the 20th century from the Ottoman Empire, through the Mandate and into modern times, before and after the wars of 1967 and 1973, gives a time dimension to the places described. The book should be read by anyone interested in the Middle East. It is essential reading for anyone who has visited or intends to visit the Holy Land as a Christian. Professor Ian Sanderson |
Books also written by the author
Medical
Diseases of the Small Intestine in Childhood Four Editions 1975-1999 (4th edition S H Murch co-author)
Practical Paediatric Gastroenterology, J A Walker-Smith, J R Hamilton and W A Walker 1st Edition 1983, 2nd Edition 1996
Autobiography
Enduring Memories 1st Edition 2003, 2nd Edition 2012
Poetry
Poems of Love and Death 2007 - Hope, Beauty and Friendship 2023
