Dear lord rothschild, i have much pleasure in conveying to you. The hidden history of the balfour declaration on jstor. Balfour declaration of 1917 simple english wikipedia, the. The declaration was written in a world of competing imperial powers, in the midst of the first world war and in the twilight of the ottoman empire. The balfour declaration was discussed at the 1919 paris peace conference and again when the future of the middle east was ratified in the 1920 san remo treaty. The balfour declaration 2 november 1917 hurewitz, j. Dear lord rothschild, i have much pleasure in conveying to you, on. All local newspapers had been shuttered since the beginning of the war. The consequences of that letter, the balfour declaration of 1917, still reverberate around the world 99 years later. The balfour declaration balfour s promise in arabic was a public pledge by britain in 1917 declaring its aim to establish a national home for the jewish people in palestine. Balfour wrote the letter on 2 november 1917, amidst the first world war.
In fact, palestinian president mahmoud abbas would like to sue britain over this letter. Nov, 2016 the balfour declaration posted on november, 2016 by admin it is no exaggeration that the history of israelpalestine for the last hundred years has turned on the seminal balfour declaration of november 1917. Wartime contingency and the balfour declaration of 1917. Eighty years ago, the british governmentthrough international bankersbrokered away the land and the future of the people of palestine in order to create a national home for the jewish people. The making of the balfour declaration palestinian return centre. It was sent in the format of a letter on november 2 nd 1917, written by british foreign secretary lord arthur james balfour and. The balfour declaration was a public statement issued by the british government in 1917 during the first world war announcing support for the establishment of a national home for the jewish people in palestine, then an ottoman region with a small minority jewish population. Just before israel became a state, it was ruled by the british empire. The declaration came in a letter that british foreign secretary arthur james balfour sent to lord rothschild lionel walter rothschild, the honorary president of the zionist federation of great britain and ireland at the time on 2 november 1917. Dear lord rothschild, i have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of his majestys government, the following declaration of sympathy with jewish zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the cabinet. Zionist jews sanction to populate palestine the british government first had contact with the zionist movement 1 in 1902, but the first murmurings about the idea of the restoration of the jews to palestine had surfaced some 60 years earlier. The balfour declaration was the british governments pledge to help the jewish community build a national home in palestine and took the form of a letter penned on 2 november 1917 by british foreign minister lord balfour to lord rothschild, then serving bicom briefing the balfour declaration. Balfour and palestine, a legacy of deceit, by anthony. It can be seen as a starting point for the arabisraeli conflict.
Jun 11, 2018 the balfour declaration was a november 2, 1917 letter from british foreign secretary arthur james balfour to lord rothschild that made public the british support of a jewish homeland in palestine. The balfour declaration and the palestine mandate, 19171923. The balfour declaration was a public statement issued by the british government during world war i announcing support for the establishment of a national home for the jewish people in palestine, then an ottoman region with a minority jewish population around 35% of the total. Which of the following declarations have you heard of. James balfour, the british foreign secretary, conveyed the following pledge in a public letter to a. His majestys government view with favour the establishment in palestine of a national home for the. I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of his majestys government, the. After discussions in the british cabinet, and consultation with zionist leaders, the decision was made known in the form of a letter by arthur james lord balfour to. The balfour declaration dated 2 november 1917 was a letter from the united kingdoms foreign secretary arthur james balfour to baron rothschild walter rothschild, 2nd baron rothschild, a leader of the british jewish community, for transmission to the zionist federation of great britain and ireland.
The balfour declaration was a public statement issued by the british government in 1917. Jun 05, 2017 the forgotten truth about the balfour declaration for 100 years the british statement, which inaugurated zionisms legitimation in the eyes of the world, has been seen as the isolated act of a single nation. Feb 22, 2020 by late 1917, in the lead up to the balfour declaration, the wider war had reached a stalemate, with two of britains allies not fully engaged. As it finally emerged, the balfour declaration was a single paragraph enclosed in a letter to the second baron rothschild, a british member of a prominent banking family who was a supporter of the zionist movement. Library special balfour declaration, 1917 on november 2, 1917, foreign secretary arthur james balfour wrote a letter to britains most illustrious jewish citizen, baron lionel walter rothschild, expressing the british governments support for a jewish homeland in palestine. Balfour declaration 1926 page 4 of 14 defined by the government of india act, 1919. The balfour declaration appeared to be in stark contradiction to american president woodrow wilsons fourteen points, a statement of principles for peace which became the blueprint for postwar peace negotiations, and the joint declaration issued by the british and french governments on 8 november 1918, in which they assured the peoples. The content of the balfour d eclaration seems distant or downright ba. We would, nevertheless, recall that by resolution ix of the imperial war conference, 1917, due recognition was given to the important position held by india in the british commonwealth. And then when the british issued their outline for how palestine would be governed, the contents of the balfour declaration were found in the league of nations july 1922 ratification. The prominent jewish intellectual ar thur koestler, repeating a.
It was made in a letter from the british foreign secretary to a leader of the anglojewish community and was later included in the british mandate over palestine. The balfour declaration, november 1917 the balfour project. The balfour declaration was a letter dated 2 november 1917 from the united kingdoms foreign secretary arthur james balfour to walter rothschild, 2nd baron rothschild, a leader of the british jewish community, for transmission to the zionist federation of great britain and ireland. To be concise, it was a political maneuver by the british, the ottoman empire and the arabs in an attempt to protect their own empires. In this letter of 2 november 1917, britains foreign secretary, arthur balfour, wrote to lord lionel walter rothschild, as a figurehead of the jewish community in. Table of contentscommentarycongressional endorsement the british government decided to endorse the establishment of a jewish home in palestine. The balfour declaration was a november 2, 1917 letter from british foreign secretary arthur james balfour to lord rothschild that made public the british support of a jewish homeland in palestine. The jewish refugees who had to be settled somewhere, sought to make a country for themselves. Oct 30, 2019 the influence of the balfour declaration on the course of postwar events was immediate. We are proud of our role in creating the state of israel. The british government decided to endorse the establishment of a jewish home in palestine. In 1917, the balfour declaration committed the british to the it all sounds like such a wonderful and beneficent action from countries concerned about the future of those people in the diaspora. What was the balfour declaration of 1917 and why is it. Balfour declaration international encyclopedia of the.
The issuance of the declaration had many long lasting consequences, and was a key moment in the leadup to the arabisraeli conflict, often referred to. The declaration was contained in a letter dated 2 november 1917 from the united kingdoms foreign secretary arthur. The contents of this letter became known as the balfour declaration. Rashid khalidi, columbia university united nations. It took the form of a letter from the foreign secretary of the government of his britannic majesty king george v, the largest empire the world has ever known, to lord rothschild, the. Background to the declaration the balfour declaration was the jewish. Nov 02, 2017 just five weeks after issuing the balfour declaration, on december 9, 1917, with the help of the arab forces, britain captured jerusalem. Raised false hopes among both jews and arabs, and laid foundations for future frustration and conflict. We ask great britain, as we approach 100 years since this infamous declaration, to draw. The role of zionist diplomat nahum sokolow is given particular attention. British government also promised support to an arab independent nation through the mcmahonhussein correspondence.
Sahar huneidi reexamines the historical context of the 1917 balfour declaration and argues that the document was a work of calculated ambiguity. The balfour declaration was the jewish charter that herzl failed to obtain from the ottoman sultan twenty years earlier. The issuance of the declaration had many long lasting consequences, and was a key moment in the lead. This article can be downloaded as pdf file, here t he balfour declaration was a statement of support made by the british government the war cabinet for the establishment of a national home for the jewish people in eretz yisrael. It was this deliberate openness that allowed the british government, years later, to reshape its meaning, and even the history of its drafting, to support specific foreign policy ends. The article sets the balfour declaration of 1917 and the final. Lustick published the balfour declaration a century later. The balfour declaration dated 2 november 1917 was a letter from the united kingdoms foreign secretary arthur james balfour to baron rothschild walter rothschild, 2nd baron rothschild, a leader of the british jewish community, for transmission to the zionist federation of great britain and ireland november 2nd, 1917. The middle east and north africa in world politics, a documentary record. What was the controversy of the balfour declaration. The balfour declaration of 1917 was a policy by the government of the united kingdom to discuss the partitioning of the ottoman empire after world war i. The balfour declaration of 1926, issued by the 1926 imperial conference of british empire leaders in london, was named after lord president of the council and former prime minister of the united kingdom arthur balfour. The forgotten truth about the balfour declaration martin.
Palestine was, at the time, a remote province in the disintegrating ottoman empire, with which. On november 2, 1917, lord balfour of great britain wrote a letter promising a jewish home to the jewish people in the land of palestine. The ruthless pogroms carried out by czarist russia against the jews caused a large exodus. It declared the united kingdom and the dominions to be. The author revisits the making of the 1917 balfour declaration, and demonstrates that the lloyd george government only issued it after receiving the prior approval of other allied governments.
What was the balfour declaration why the balfour declaration was so important how the balfour declaration is relevant today 1. In 1917, by contrast, proposing the recognition of the right of the jews to a national home in palestine was to rebel against the inertia of established facts and against mountainous obstacles of rationality. The balfour declaration led the league of nations to entrust the united kingdom with the palestine mandate in 1922. Balfour declaration, statement on november 2, 1917, of british support for the establishment in palestine of a national home for jewish people. As the peel commission remarked, when the british army invaded palestine in the autumn of 1917, the arabs, a few thousand of whom had been trained as a regular force, operated beyond the jordan on the outer. On 2 november 1917, british foreign secretary arthur balfour wrote a letter to walter rothschild, a leading figure in the british jewish community, expressing the governments support for a jewish homeland in palestine.
The forgotten truth about the balfour declaration mosaic. Balfour declaration definition of balfour declaration by. It was assumed that the letter gave the british governments support to the creation of a jewish homeland. Balfour declaration of 1917 simple english wikipedia. The balfour declaration of 1917 my jewish learning. Balfour declaration synonyms, balfour declaration pronunciation, balfour declaration translation, english dictionary definition of balfour declaration. Balfour ascribed national rights to the jewish people, who in 1917 were.
History of the balfour declaration jewish virtual library. The article balfour declaration, along with other articles relating to the arabisraeli conflict, is currently subject to active arbitration remedies resulting from four arbitration cases see wp. The terms of the declaration were included in the preamble of the palestine mandates articles 1922, and given international sanction and political legitimacy by the newly formed league of nations. It is now 100 years since the balfour declaration of 1917, a milestone event in the jewish movement for selfdetermination. As the foreword very properly reminds us, the palestine conflict began not in 1948 but in 1917 with the publication of the balfour declaration, and to understand the intensity of the hatred which exists today between the arabs and israel, it is necessary to go back to that crucially important watershed in the history of the middle east. News of the balfour declaration reached palestine only with much delay after november 2, 1917. His balfour declaration, made on 2 november 1917, is taught in their respective history classes and forms a key chapter in their two very different, national narratives. That declaration came in the form of a letter, sent from foreign secretary arthur james balfour to one of britains most distinguished jewish citizens and zionists, baron lionel walter rothschild. All ip editors, accounts with fewer than 500 edits, and accounts with less than 30 days tenure are prohibited from. The declaration also said that britain supported plans for a jewish homeland in palestine. The balfour declaration is an historic statement for which hmg her majestys government does not intend to apologize. The balfour declaration from the perspective of the palestinian.
The balfour declaration of 1917 history learning site. Pdf balfour declaration, a century later researchgate. The balfour declaration, november 1917 introduction one of the most important statements of british foreign policy of the twentieth century, the balfour declaration was no more than a short, vague letter that had no legal status. The balfour declaration november 2, 1917 during the first world war, british policy became gradually committed to the idea of establishing a jewish home in palestine eretz yisrael. The balfour declaration was a letter written by british foreign secretary arthur balfour to lionel walter rothschild, in which he expressed the british governments support for a jewish homeland. Pdf on nov 2, 2017, kumaraswamy p r published balfour declaration, a century later find, read and. The pledge of the british governmentthe brief balfour declaration ranks with the most extraordinary documents produced by any government in world history. Foreign office november 2nd, 1917 dear lord rothschild, i have much pleasure in conveying to. Nov 09, 2017 on november 2, 1917 a letter was delivered by hand from britains foreign secretary, lord balfour, to lionel walter, the second baron rothschild, at his home at 148 piccadilly, a prestigious. Zionist draft of july 12, 1917 his majestys government, after considering the aims of the zionist organization. Declaracao balfour 1917 wikipedia, a enciclopedia livre.
The balfour declaration wis a single paragraph in a letter datit 2 november 1917 frae the unitit kinricks furrin secretar arthur james balfour tae walter rothschild, 2nt baron rothschild, a leader o the breetish jewish commonty, for transmission tae the zionist federation o great breetain an ireland. The c ommitment to jewish homeland came more than a month before general edmund. The land of palestine was ruled by many nations over the ages. The forgotten truth about the balfour declaration pdf scholars at. Comprising a single paragraph, the text became known as the balfour declaration. According to the mandate system created by the versailles treaty of 1919, britain was entrusted with. After discussions within the cabinet and consultations with jewish leaders, the decision was made public in a letter from british foreign secretary lord arthur james balfour to lord walter rothschild.
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