“That victory, which was accomplished not only by the Australlian Light Horse, but also by British infantry, as well as New Zealand horsemen, broke the Turkish-German line, and led ultimately to the British-led conquest of all of Palestine and the province of Syria. This in turn led to the collapse of the four hundred year old Turkish Empire.
“Coupled with this great military event was the decision of the British Government on the very same day, 31 October 1917, to favour the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish National Home, which in time became the State of Israel. . . . In other words, what happened in Beersheba on 31 October 1917 had far-reaching historical importance. Without an Allied victory there, the land of Israel may have remained under Turkish Islamic control, and the Jewish people would not have had an internationally recognized legal framework under which to be restored. Also, five independent Arab nations (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia) may not have come into existence.
“So we are not looking here at just an ordinary military victory. We are looking at something that had significant worldwide ramifications.”
Quoted from the Introduction to the book, JOURNEY TO BEERSHEBA, by Kelvin Crombie, 2011
kjcrombie09@bigpond.au
(Here, you can listen to a wonderful sermon by Murray Dixon on The Battle For Beersheba:
http://www.nevereverthesame.com/fridaysermons/the-battle-for-beer-sheba-sermon-murray-dixon-11-11-11-ellel-pierrepont.html )