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====Balfour Declaration and the state of Israel====
Zionists during the Ottoman period had begun to emigrate to Palestine, in what is known as the Aliyah or the return. In general, the Jewish emigrants had co-existed with their neighbors. The two communities tended to live separate existences with little interactions between them and even less understanding. This changed with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1918.<ref> Ben-Ami, Shlomo. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195181581/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195181581&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=b80741167eead8709b029671b7c0b443 Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy ]</i> (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005), p 201</ref> The British under the mandate from the League of Nations established the political entity of Palestine that corresponds to the modern state of Israel. This aroused Arab fears. The British established a political and bureaucratic system in the region and it became part of their Empire.
In general, the British officials were sympathetic to the Jews and were biased in their favor. The Balfour Declaration meant that the British administration in Palestine had to support the Jewish community and any Jewish emigrants who wanted to settle in the area. Because of the Balfour Declaration, any Jew who wished could come from any area of the globe and settle in Palestine. As a result, many Muslim areas such as Haifa came to have a predominantly Jewish population.<ref> Goren, Tamir (2004) "The Judaization of Haifa at the Time of the Arab Revolt," <i>Middle Eastern Studies</i>, Volume 40, Issue 4 July, pp. 135–152 </ref>.
