The Arab Leader Who Welcomed Zionism
In 1919, an Arab leader did something almost unimaginable today.
He welcomed the Zionists.
His name was Faisal bin Hussein — later King Faisal I of Iraq.
At the Paris Peace Conference, Faisal met with Chaim Weizmann, the leading figure of political Zionism. He did not describe Jewish return as colonial theft. He saw it as a possible engine of regional renewal.
Knowledge.
Capital.
Science.
Modern institutions.
Faisal understood what many later denied: the Jews were not an alien empire arriving from nowhere. They were an ancient people returning to their historic homeland.
In his words, Zionism was “national, not imperialist.”
That sentence should stop us cold.
Because it reveals a buried truth: the conflict was not inevitable from the beginning.
There was a moment when some Arab leaders saw Jewish sovereignty not as a threat, but as an opportunity.
That moment did not last.
Empires broke promises. Borders were carved badly. Trust collapsed. Radical politics hardened. And over time, cooperation came to be treated as betrayal.
But Faisal’s forgotten vision still matters.
It reminds us that history was never as simple as the slogans.
IMAGE: Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann and Faisal are photographed together.
