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In the autumn of 1917, the British government committed itself to the "Formation of Battalions for the Reception of friendly Alien Jews," an announcement that was followed just 7 weeks later, by the Balfour Declaration. In this article, which builds on the author's previous research into the Jewish Legion, the link between Britain and Zionism, in the context of the First World War, is reconsidered. By taking into account further secondary works, some written since the publication of The Jewish Legion and the First World War in 2004, combined with a re-examination of archival sources, the roles of geopolitics, national interest, and anti-Semitism are assessed for their relative importance. The influence of prominent personalities is also included, especially as personal relationships were exploited in the pursuit of policy, perhaps accounting for the ambiguities of the Balfour Declaration. Historians continue to debate the repercussions of the Declaration, whilst its consequences continue to influence contemporary events and international relations in the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Sally Cowling, William F. Mitchell, Martin J. Watts Since the mid-1970s, restrictive monetary and fiscal policy have led to persistently high unemployment and rising underemployment in Australia. This paper compares two policy responses to income insecurity resulting from these trends, in the form of a universal Basic Income (BI) and a state-provided Job Guarantee (JG). The paper examines how the problem of income insecurity is constructed in each model and the consistency of each approach with an effective and sustainable full employment strategy. While the BI model views unemployment as the inevitable product of market imperfections, the JG model sources its persistence in the failure of macroeconomic policy to maintain full employment. We argue that a more efficacious response is to understand why people are being deprived of the opportunity to undertake paid work. The JG is a means to alter the conduct of macroeconomic policy so that it provides employment opportunities and secure incomes for all.