Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration was in fact not a declaration at all. It was a letter written from Arthur Balfour, British Foreign Secretary, and sent to Lord Rothschild. The letter states that the British Empire supports the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This declaration was not a tremendous help to the Jews, though, since at the end of the day, Britain promised a sliver of the Middle East to the Jews and everything else to the Arabs.

Arab violence scared the British, who capitulated to them more often than not. Jewish frustration grew and the Jewish resistance groups were formed. The Jews no longer believed that patience would win out, and realized that military action was the only way to win a state.

Balfour's declaration was both politically expedient at the time and motivated by the desire to do good. Politically, the British were seeking allies in World War I who would help them capture the Holy Land and other territories from the Ottoman Empire. Zionist tendencies in the Jewish and international community could be exploited for that purpose. In fact, when General Allenby entered the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem for the first time, he was hailed as a hero by the Jewish community. On the other hand, Balfour was also moved by real Zionist feeling. He was ashamed of Christian anti-Semitism, and felt that the Jews deserved a land to make up for centuries of oppression.

The process which Lord Balfour started didn't go exactly as planned, but it did set up a mandate which ultimately led to the establishment of the State of Israel. For that reason, the anniversary of the declaration is celebrated by diplomats who support Israel. For the same reason, Hamas feels the need to denounce the document as illegal. Luckily, the State of Israel no longer depends on the generosity of the British (or anyone else) for its existence.