Automatically translated from Basque, translation may contain errors. More information here. Elhuyarren itzultzaile automatikoaren logoa

Chestnuts by the State of Israel

  • London, 2 November 1917. Arthur James Balfour, Secretary of Foreign Action of Great Britain, wrote a letter to the Jewish community leader Lionel Wakter Rothschild to send her to the written Federation Sionista.Este, called the Balfour Declaration, is considered the first gesture that a world power recognized the right of the Jews to form a State.
Britainiarrek Lehen Mundu Gerran erabilitako korditazko jaurtigaia. Argazkia: Kanadako gerra museoa
Britainiarrek Lehen Mundu Gerran erabilitako korditazko jaurtigaia. Argazkia: Kanadako gerra museoa

The gesture of Arthur James Balfour had a special influence, since at that time Palestine was British protector. He met with scientist Balfour Chai Weizmann, and some believe that the seed of the declaration was sown at that meeting.

During World War I, a new kind of gunpowder was imposed: the cordita. It had more power, it was more accurate and it didn't produce smoke. But acetone was one of the components of the range, and obsolete production methods allowed a lot of wood to be wasted and a lot of effort into acetone. So Winston Churchill, then British ammunition minister, turned to the young Jewish chemist Chaim Weizmann, who had invented the method of getting acetone by fermenting maize.

But in the war economy, the shortage of maize was becoming more severe and the German submarinists were constantly threatening the supply of maize from the United States. Weizmann then applied his method to an easily accessible indigenous product: chestnuts.

Winston Churchill came to the young Jewish chemist Chaim Weizmann, who had invented the method of obtaining acetone by maize fermentation.

The chestnut collection work was entrusted to the children of the school; in other words, the children were exploited to ensure the supply of chestnuts. But chestnut harvesting worked better than transport and tons of chestnuts accumulated in train wagons began to rot. These complaints came to Parliament and to those who were enriching child labour. But Churchill immediately silenced them because the goal justified the means and the goal was to do anything that would allow the war to win.

Weizmann's work was fundamental for the production of acetone and therefore of cordita. As a token of gratitude, Secretary Balfour met with the scientist and told him he could ask for what he wanted in payment of his help. Weizmann asked him to create a Jewish state.

There is no evidence of this meeting and, of course, many other factors influenced the creation of the State of Israel. But this story is a sign of the interest and attitude of the Western powers towards the state of Israel.


You are interested in the channel: Gerra
2025-01-21 | Julene Flamarique
Talaia Feminist concludes that in 2024 violence has “increased”
The 2024 study revolves around four main axes: machist violence; territory; war and armed conflicts; and the extreme right. Talaia Feminist has underlined the importance of socializing analysis and has underlined the importance of “accumulating resistance” in the Basque... [+]

We're not going to war. No to war, no to our name!

Year of War, year of lie!

That is what the phrase says, and that is what reality confirms.

Given the situation of war in the world and in Europe, its constant upturn and the possible consequences that this has had and will have in Euskal Herria, last December several citizens... [+]


2024-12-30 | Patxi Aznar
Killings, arms escalation and consequences

On 26 December, during an air strike, the Israeli Army killed five Palestinian journalists trying to reach the city. They killed 130 Palestinian journalists. This news has reminded me of a couple of things, the first, the persecution of true journalists in any part of the world,... [+]


2024-12-27 | Leire Ibar
United States and its allies deliver $260,000 million to Ukraine for military assistance
The United States and its Western allies have contributed a total of $260,000 million to Ukraine, mostly in armaments and military support, following the Russian invasion of 2022. Although this aid seeks to strengthen Ukraine ' s defence, the United Nations World Research... [+]

“We are not your monkeys anymore”

The Centre Tricontinental has described the historical resistance of the Congolese in the dossier The Congolese Fight for Their Own Wealth (the Congolese people struggle for their wealth) (July 2024, No. 77). During the colonialism, the panic among the peasants by the Force... [+]


Our body is a battlefield.

On November 25, International Day against Male Violence, the Steilas Feminist Union Feminist Secretariat has published a poster: Our body is a battlefield, and all the schools in Hego Euskal Herria have received it. We wish to denounce the violence suffered by women and children... [+]


Netanyahu stops the Israeli Defense Minister for his "discrepancies" in warfare management
Israel Katz is the new Minister of Defence, who has so far been Minister of Foreign Affairs. The decision has caused the regret of the Israelis, who have come to the streets in tens of thousands. The representatives of the opposition of the Israeli Government will be offering a... [+]

2024-10-24 | Joseba Alvarez
Let's change the glasses

“The time has come for courageous, comprehensive and noble proposals (…) for Euskal Herria to re-enter the world’s revolts,” said friend Hartu López Arana in her opinion article “For an effective aggression” published in ARGIA magazine in July 2018. Six years have... [+]


No peace for hibakush

Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States launched an atomic bomb causing tens of thousands of deaths in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; although there are no precise figures, the most cautious estimates indicate that at least 210,000 people died at the end of that year. But in... [+]


2024-10-01 | Mikel Aramendi
Let's go back to the Cold War routine: tell him about missiles to understand
As you have not told us, nor have you suggested it, we will have to imagine it. It would happen this way, more or less.

Towards a nuclear winter?

The nuclear winter theory Paul J. It was the result of an investigation published in 1982 by Crutzen and John Birks. According to this study, "nuclear explosions and subsequent fires would release large amounts of soot, dust and ash into the atmosphere, causing a notable... [+]


Technology
Thank you

On this rainy Sunday, we are responsible for the fate of people living in disquiet at the various conflicts that exist in the world. By far, it seems that we cannot be freed from the hands of many rulers acting towards power. Many human beings live in the world with the... [+]


2024-08-29 | Gedar
The military expenditure of the Spanish Government is even higher than budgeted
In 2022, military investment was 20% higher than that approved in the annual budget, and in 2023, 30% higher. The military spending of the European countries at the moment is higher than at the end of the Cold War.

2024-08-29 | ARGIA
Real threats... and real opportunities

The following infographic is based on the report number 55 of the Delàs Peace Research Center of Catalonia, published in October 2022. In the report, Xavier Bohigas, Pere Brunet, Teresa de Fortuny, Anna Montull García and Pere Ortega analysed in depth the links between... [+]


2024-08-28 | ARGIA
Israel launches major military attack on the West Bank and encourages the population to "evacuate"
Israel has launched an "anti-terrorist" attack in the West Bank that has not been seen since the Second Intifada (ANC). Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas have been the cities that have been involved through drones, helicopters and military battalions and have already killed at least nine... [+]

Eguneraketa berriak daude