Hi Ivonne, I first about the "Uganda Plan" or "British Uganda Programme" from a Ugandan taxi driver a few years ago, which prompted some quick research. In the early 1900s as a result of pogroms in Russia, the British offered part of their East African territories (actually now in Kenya) as a homeland to fleeing Jews. It was rejected by the Zionist congress, who only viewed this proposal as a stopgap, en route to making a permanent homeland in the biblical land of Zion.Following the Spanish inquisition, many Jews fled to Argentina in the 16th century, with another mass immigration, welcomed by Argentina's open-door policy, of Jews in the late 1800s, where growing numbers fleeing Russia and France settled as farmers. Thus this South American country was also considered an option as a Jewish safe-haven.Due to the growing and geographically widespread Jewish diaspora, many other countries were considered, including Tasmania, Cyprus, part of Egypt and the less likely Fugu plan to settle Jewish refugees escaping Europe in Japanese territories. It is a tragedy therefore that with all these options, the British selected one of the most contentious areas possible, where all faiths had happily co-existed for centuries. The pressure from Zionist groups resulted in the Balfour declaration, which is in fact a letter, which you can view online, from Arthur Balfour to Lord Walter Rothschild, wherein he makes the following statement, tragically ironic in hindsight:"....it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine".
Chantal Blake-Milton ● 2781d