Balfour Declaration

Setting the scene

The Balfour Declaration was a letter dated November 2, 1917, from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Walter Rothschild, a leader of Britain's Jewish community. The declaration 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.'

What happened

The declaration was issued during World War I for strategic reasons: Britain sought Jewish support for the war effort, particularly in Russia and America, and wanted to justify British control of Palestine after the war. It also reflected the influence of Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann, who had developed acetone for explosives and had access to British leaders. The declaration was deliberately vague—'national home' was undefined, and the caveat about non-Jewish communities was never enforced.

Why it still matters

The Balfour Declaration was the first major power endorsement of Zionism and became the basis for the British Mandate for Palestine (1922) and eventually the State of Israel (1948). It is celebrated by Zionists as a foundational document but viewed by Palestinians as a colonial betrayal—Britain promised land it did not own to a people who did not live there, ignoring the wishes of the Arab majority (90% of Palestine's population in 1917). The declaration's legacy is the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, making it one of the most consequential diplomatic letters in modern history.

Background

It complicated postwar Middle East borders.