Arthur James Balfour (1848-1930), who held various powerful positions in the British government, was nicknamed ‘Bloody Balfour’ because of his brutal suppression of revolt in Ireland. However, it was a different action of his that has led to continued bloodshed, in a totally different part of the world. The 1st earl of Balfour lends his name to the Balfour Declaration, which promised British support in establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
The Balfour Declaration was made on November 2, 1917. A century later, its violent ripples are still being felt in West Asia.
What was the Balfour Declaration, and why did it turn out to be so momentous? We explain.
What was the Balfour Declaration?
The Balfour Declaration was a letter that Balfour, then British foreign secretary, wrote to Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild of Tring, a prominent member of the Anglo-Jewish community. The carefully worded and much-redrafted text of the letter is as follows: “I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.
“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, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.”
The operative part of the letter is only 67 words, which proposed to change the destiny of a million people.
Why was the Balfour Declaration issued?
The Declaration came at a time when Britain along with its Allies was fighting a tough battle in World War 1 (July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918), and when the Zionist movement was gaining ground.
The Zionists believed that the Jewish community, facing increasing persecution in Europe, would not be safe till they had a country, a homeland, to call their own. Theodor Herzl, considered the father of the Zionist movement, wrote in his famous pamphlet Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) in 1896: “The Idea which I have developed in this pamphlet is a very old one: it is the restoration of the Jewish State…Let the sovereignty be granted us over a portion of the globe large enough to satisfy the rightful requirements of a nation, the rest we shall manage for ourselves.”
Thus, Zionists began approaching various leaders to secure support for this goal. Prominent Zionists working in Britain were Chaim Weizmann (who would become the first President of Israel) and Nahum Sokolow. The Balfour Declaration was the culmination of strenuous efforts to get British imperial backing for the Jewish homeland.
And why did the British agree to support the Israel project? Reasons range from genuine sympathy for the Jews to securing their own interests. By proclaiming their support to the Jewish homeland, the British government was trying to win over Jewish support for their war efforts. Important here were the Jewish communities in Russia and the US — Britain hoped they would persuade their governments to stay in the war till the Allies won. Also, geographically, control over Palestine was critical in guarding the Suez Canal and thus the prize imperial colony of India.
Why is the Balfour Declaration contentious?
First, of course, is the fact that a British official made a promise to another Briton about land that belonged to a different people.
Palestine then was a part of the Ottoman empire, and Britain had no legal right to promise it to anyone. Also, while the “civil and religious rights” of “non-Jewish communities” in Palestine are mentioned in the Declaration, it does not take into account the political rights of Arabs already living in Palestine.
Britain had taken the consent of its Allied partners before the Declaration was issued, but no Palestinian leader was consulted.
Also, the Declaration in spirit violated the promises made in the McMahon–Hussein correspondence (July 1915 to March 1916), in which the British had promised the Arabs an independent state in return for support against the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
What is the significance of the Balfour Declaration?
In the years since, many have pointed out that the Balfour Declaration was just one document, and blame or credit for the circumstances in which Israel was created cannot be laid at its door alone. However, the fact remains that British recognition of their cause galvanised the Zionist movement and gave it great political legitimacy.
“Before November 2, 1917, the Zionist movement was both a national movement in embryo, and a colonial enterprise without a fixed metropole, like an orphan searching for a foster parent. When it found one in Great Britain, as symbolised by the Balfour Declaration, the colonisation and transformation of Arab Palestine into a Jewish state could begin in earnest,” Prof. Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University said during a lecture at the United Nations organised by the UN Palestinian Rights Committee on November 2, 2017.
Israel, too, has paid rich tributes to Arthur James Balfour. In one of the many examples, Beit Aghion, the official residence of the Israeli Prime Minister, is located on the corner of Balfour Street.
Arthur James Balfour; Palestinians watch as smoke rises following Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, November 1. (Wikimedia Commons/Reuters) 
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