A History of the Jews in England

Albert M. Hyamson (1875-1954) was born in London. After attending Beaufort College, he started working for the post office in 1895. Once World War I broke out, Hyamson began writing a great deal in support of Zionism, much of it published by the British Palestine Committee and media outlets like the New Statesman. By 1917, Hyamson became the editor of The Zionist Review. Then Hyamson he became active in Department of Information’s Jewish Bureau, and among other things, wrote for The American Hebrew and American Jewish Chronicle, to drum up interest in Zionism. Hyamson began working for the Administration of Palestine and was in charge of immigration applications. However, since he refused to let anyone else assist with the work, he single-handedly created a backlog of nearly a year, until he was replaced. Hyamson moved into making policy and working with the tenuous position that Jews, Arabs and others in Palestine found themselves in. He helped created the Hyamson-Newcome proposal in 1937 which proposed a independent Palestinian state which gave full autonomy to all citizens, recognized Arab ownership of the area, and allowed for Jewish immigration to rise to 50% of the total population. This was rejected by some Zionist leaders, but Hymanson went on to write and advocate against political Zionism and was one of the seven founders of The Jewish Fellowship. He continued to seek out Jewish-Arab co-operation for a unified Palestine, but his efforts were continually rebuffed. He wrote a great deal on other topics, including: A Dictionary of Artists and Art Terms (1906), The Humour of the Post Office (1909), Palestine Old and New (1928), and A Dictionary of International Affairs (1946). This new edition is dedicated to the memory of Seymour Martin Lipset, great scholar and teacher.