Balfour Declaration
On 2 November 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour sent a letter to Lord Walter Rothschild, a leading figure in the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. The letter stated: "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine." The declaration reflected British strategic interests — attracting Jewish support in Russia (then wavering on the war) and the United States — as well as genuine sympathy for Zionist goals among some cabinet members. It was issued while Palestine was still Ottoman territory, and Britain was simultaneously making contradictory promises to Arab leaders through the Hussein-McMahon correspondence and to France via the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The Balfour Declaration became incorporated into the 1920 League of Nations mandate for Palestine and laid the legal groundwork for British administration. It remains one of the most contested documents in modern history, cited by both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- Year: 1917 CE
- Category: Political
