What were the Balfour Declaration, the 67 words that changed the history of the Middle East and led to the creation of the State of Israel

It was 67 words written on a piece of paper that marked the beginning of one of the most difficult conflicts to resolve in modern times.

Amid the escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas – which authorities on both sides say has left at least 1,400 dead in Israeli territory and more than 8,500 dead in Gaza – it has been 106 years since the Balfour Declaration, a document that it led to the creation of the State of Israel and changed the history of the Middle East.

In the text, dated November 2, 1917, in the middle of the First World War, the British government supported the creation of “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

At the time, the region of Palestine was controlled by Great Britain, which explains why the administration of the area was in the hands of the British government.

While Israelis view the document as the foundation stone of modern Israel, many Arabs view it as an act of treason, as they had collaborated with the British in their struggle against the Ottoman Empire.

After the Balfour Declaration, an estimated 100,000 Jewish migrants arrived in the region.

What does the Balfour Declaration say?

The statement was sealed in a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, a leader of the United Kingdom’s Jewish community.

The text says:

Dear Mr. Rothschild,

It is with great pleasure that I send you, on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government, the following statement of support for the aspirations of Zionist Jews, which has been submitted to and approved by the Cabinet.

‘His Majesty’s Government is favorable to the establishment in Palestine of one national home for the Jewish people and will do its utmost to facilitate the achievement of this objective, clearly understanding that nothing shall be done to prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews , would harm. in Palestine, any other country’.

I will be grateful if you make this declaration of knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Arthur James Balfour

Who was Arthur James Balfour

The Balfour Declaration takes its name from Arthur Balfour, the then British Foreign Secretary under David Lloyd George.

Member of the upper echelons of the British aristocracy, wealthy and intellectualAs soon as he completed his studies at Cambridge University, he entered Parliament as a representative of the Conservative Party.

Balfour, of Scottish descent, became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1902 and 1905 and devoted a significant part of his career to matters related to his country’s foreign policy.

Balfour promoted the idea that the British government should give clear support to the Zionism, a political movement born in Europe in the late 19th century that sought the establishment of a Jewish nation in what was then known as Palestine, which for Jews was the ancient land of Israel.

The aristocrat is credited with convincing the War Cabinet to issue the declaration, with the support of influential Jewish leaders in the United Kingdom, such as Chaim Weizmann and Lionel Walter Rothschild.

While some say he was a Christian Zionist whose interest in the subject arose from his study of the history of the Jews reflected in the Old Testament, others argue that Balfour wanted to support the Zionist project for strategic reasons, to gain political advantages .

Who was Lionel Walter Rothschild

The British politician sent the historic letter to Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, who… head of the English branch of a powerful banking family and one of the leaders of the British Jewish community.

The wealthy Rothschild international banking family was one of the largest sponsors of the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

One of its members, Edmond Rothschild, a strong supporter of Zionism, made massive land purchases in Palestine toward the end of the 19th century and financed Jewish settlements in that area.

At the time, the Rothschild family owned one of the largest private fortunes in the world.

His donations to the Zionist cause were considered so important that Edmond Rothschild was nicknamed “The Benefactor.”

From then on, the family played a leading role in the establishment of the State of Israel, until Lionel finally became the recipient of the Balfour Declaration in 1917.

Many wonder why the statement was addressed to Lionel Rothschild and not Stuart Samuel, who was chairman of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the body that officially represented the country’s Jewish community.

The point was that at that time there was division within the organization between pro-Zionist Jews and anti-Zionist Jews.

Rothschild had no official position, but in practice he was, together with Chaim Weizmann, one of the most important leaders of pro-Zionist Jews.

And since they had a direct line to Balfour, he decided to send the letter to the banker. It is even said that Rothschild himself participated in the drafting of the document, but there is no known evidence to support this claim.

A few years later, in 1925, Lionel Rothschild became president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the main organization representing the Jewish community in the United Kingdom.

What was the letter looking for?

The British government hoped that the declaration would help Jews, especially those living in the United States, benefit the Allied powers during World War I (1914–1918).

Some historians argue that British leaders believed that the Jewish community had enough economic power and influence over international finance to help them win the war.

Other experts argue that Britain was also looking to gain a strong foothold in the Middle East before the end of the war.

Regardless of the specific motivations that led to the writing of the letter, its influence has been fundamental in the development of the events that led to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the region . .

For Israelis, the Balfour Declaration is the document that gave rise to the dream of a nation in the ancient land of Israel, while for Palestinians it was the beginning of the suffering that continues to this day.

They even criticize the fact that they are not mentioned in the document by referring to them only as ‘the non-Jewish communities that exist in Palestine’.

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the Balfour Declaration was supported by the Allied powers and included in the British Mandate over Palestine, approved by the League of Nations (the body that preceded the UN) in July 1922. was formally responsible for the administration of those areas.

In the 1930s, the Arab population living in the area began to show dissatisfaction with the rapid increase in the Jewish population and violence between the two communities gradually increased.

To ease the protests, the British decided to impose quotas on Jewish migration, but after the end of World War II, pressure to create a Jewish state grew as the horrors committed during the Holocaust came to light .

At midnight on May 14, 1948, the British Mandate for Palestine expired and the British formally left the area.

That same day, Israel declared its independence.

(JO)