Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration: Britain’s fatal mistake in Palestine by Eugene Rogan

Published on The Middle East Eye on 1 November 2021. This article is a condensed version of a talk that was given by Professor Eugene Rogan to the Balfour Project charity. The charity holds regular free webinars focused on Britain’s historic and continuing responsability.

Facts on the Ground: Herbert Samuel and the Balfour Declaration, 1914-1925

: By Sahar Huneidi The twin issues of land and immigration are today, as they were in the early 1920s, the crux of the problem between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Balfour Declaration

It is no exaggeration that the history of Israel/Palestine for the last hundred years has turned on the seminal Balfour Declaration of November 1917. Loved and loathed in equal measure, this was the letter that changed the future. The following extract … Continue reading →

Evaluating the Balfour Declaration: Breaking the Deadlock in the Middle East

On Saturday May 18th 2013, the Balfour Project held a one day conference at The Stripe, University of Winchester exploring the different legacies of the Balfour Declaration and how a greater understanding of history can contribute to justice and peace.

The best book on the Balfour Declaration is…

Book Review: Palestine the Reality by J.M.N. Jeffries By John McHugo  Many people trying to get to grips with the Israel/Palestine conflict begin with the First World War and the contradictory promises Britain made at that time.

Hidden History of the Balfour Declaration

Washington Report, November 2005, pages 44-50 Special Report by John Cornelius.

The Hundred Years’ War On Palestine A history of settler colonial conquest and resistance

By Rashid Khalidi Profile Books £25.00 Book review Review by Tim Llewellyn.

Book Review: The Balfour Declaration – Empire, the Mandate and Resistance in Palestine by Bernard Regan

by John McHugo In The Balfour Declaration: Empire, The Mandate and Resistance in Palestine, Bernard Regan shows us what Britain did (and what Britain thought it was doing) by issuing the Balfour Declaration.

Palestine 1948: Britain Surrenders to Terror

Peter Shambrook Being British, the 500-year-old British Empire story fills me with a mixture of pride – and pain and shame.  Regarding the events of 1948, locating truth is extremely challenging, given the irreconcilable national narratives. 

Palestine and Britain: forgotten legacy of World War I that devastated the Middle East

By James Rodgers Rare photograph of the formal transfer of Jerusalem to British rule.

Times letter, 13 September – The Oslo Accords, 25 years on: time to recognise the state of Palestine alongside Israel

Letter published in The Times newspaper, 13 September 2018 Oslo and Palestine Sir, How painful now to recall the hope we had in the Oslo Accords. 25 years on, cynicism and resignation  rule.

“The Jewish Question” in 19th century Europe

By Ian Portman Abstract Faced with increasing  antisemitism in Europe towards the end of the 19th century, many Jews chose to join the great waves of European emigration  to the United States.

Britain Palestine Israel – 70 years on

Donate A  20-page booklet is now available containing the speeches at the conference of the Balfour Project in partnership with King’s College London (see below). The booklet also includes the Balfour Centenary Declaration.

Evangelicals, the Balfour Declaration and Zionism

By Roger Spooner When talking about the Balfour Declaration with a pastor from Bethlehem, he commented,’ the problems for the Palestinians didn’t start in 1917, they started in 1840′.

The Balfour Declaration, 2 November 1917: A Fateful Improbability

Centenary Lecture to the History Group, The Norfolk Club, 14 September 2017 by William Mathew.

Renewed call for justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land on the centenary of the Balfour Declaration

Catholic and Anglican bishops today, 2 November 2017, called for justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land on the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.

An interview between Mr Balfour and Justice Brandeis, Paris 1919

Present: Mr. Balfour, Mr. Justice Brandeis, Lord Eustace Percy and Mr. Frankfurter 2 Mr. Balfour expressed great satisfaction that Justice Brandeis came to Europe.

The Balfour Declaration: A study in British duplicity by Avi Shlaim

Published in The Middle East Eye on 1 November 2017. It’s been nearly 100 years since the document changed the course of history, yet Britain still fails to acknowledge Israel’s denial of the Palestinian right to national self-determination.

Memories Of The Future: On The Anniversary Of The Balfour Declaration

By His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Member of the Jordanian royal family “A historian can record what went wrong.

Balfour Centenary Declaration

Israel/Palestine: Equal Rights The centenary of the Balfour Declaration is the time to reconcile peace with justice for both Israelis and Palestinians, consistent with the principle Britain claims as her own: equal rights for all under the law.

Report of Britain’s Broken Promise: Time for a New Approach

NEW BOOKLET Britain’s broken promise: Time for a New Approach Extracts of speeches at the Balfour Centenary commemoration, Central Hall Westminster Act of acknowledgement and commitment Balfour Centenary Declaration.

Prominent Israelis call for recognition of Palestine

Jerusalem,  26.10.2017 BRITAIN’S BROKEN PROMISE: TIME FOR A NEW APPROACH

A calamitous promise

The Guardian’s Long Read of 17 October was headlined ‘Britain’s calamitous promise’.

Calls for Acknowledgement of Britain’s Role

Nicholas Frayling in the Church Times: British responsibility for the contradictions in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute gives the UK a duty to right a wrong,  A policy of 1917 whose legacy needs addressing.

The Balfour Declaration: 100 Years On.

At this 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration which arrives on November 2nd many  events, looking at the century of conflict the Declaration has lead to, are taking place around the country.

Different ways of seeing the Balfour Declaration – BBC Radio 4 “Sunday” 1st October 2017

“The BBC Radio Four ‘Sunday’ programme on October 1st included this very fair and balanced report on the forthcoming centenary of the Balfour Declaration.   

Palestine 1917-2017: Reflections on a refugee’s story, my great-grandfather’s war diary and the legacy of Britain’s actions in Palestine.

Omah Amarah is 84 years old. From the amount of energy which sparks up as he gets started on his story you can sense his tale comes from the heart.

Unfinished business? Seeking peace through the door of justice in the Holy Land

Read the article by The Very Revd Nicholas Frayling, Dean Emeritus of Chichester,  on Unfinished Business  in the Pax Christi newsletter of June – July  2017.

The Balfour Declaration

It is no exaggeration that the history of Israel/Palestine for the last hundred years has turned on the seminal Balfour Declaration of November 1917. Loved and loathed in equal measure, this was the letter that changed the future.

Reclaiming the lost Jewish voices of the Balfour Declaration, by Robert Cohen

This article was part of Robert Cohen’s talk  at the Balfour Project conference,’How will we mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration’ in Southwark Cathedral on November 5th 2016.

Palestine and Britain 1917-1948: Competing Policies, Creative Commemoration

This talk was given at  the Balfour Project  conference in Southwark Cathedral  on 5th November 2016  entitled: ‘How will we mark the Centenary of the Balfour Declaration’ By Dr Peter Shambrook.

‘Britain in Palestine’ shown in UK Parliament

Parliamentarians from all four of Britain’s main political parties sponsored a showing of ‘Britain in Palestine, 1917-1948’ in The Attlee Suite.

McMahon, Sykes, Balfour: Contradictions and Concealments in British Palestine Policy 1915-1917

by WILLIAM M. MATHEW Lecture given to the History Group of The Norfolk Club, 14 April 2016 to mark the centenary of the Sykes-Picot Agreement 1916.

J.M.N. Jeffries` Palestine Deception: Modern Resonances

In a recent review article (New Middle Eastern Studies 5 [2015]) on , The Palestine Deception, 1915-1923: The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, the Balfour Declaration, and the Jewish National Home.

Britain made the mess and should help sort it out

Scores of people squeezed into Sarum College, Salisbury, to hear from experts on the Balfour Declaration of 1917 which gave British support to a home for Jews in historical Palestine.

Balfour 1922-23: Fragile commitment and Zionist Response

By Dr William M Mathew Paper given at Balfour Project Annual Conference St. Chad`s College, University of Durham, 31 October 2015.

The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence revisited. A lapse into clarity.

By Dr Peter Shambrook Paper given at the Balfour Project conference, Britain and Palestine: past history & future role, Durham, Oct 31st 2015.

The Companion Guide to our film ‘Britain in Palestine 1917-1948’

The Companion Guide has been professionally written for us, and gives fascinating background to the history introduced in the film.

Film of Britain in Palestine, 1917-1948

With Arabic and Hebrew subtitles Reviews This is an excellent short 18-min video from @BalfourProject explaining briefly but super-clearly how British colonialism has caused a century of war in Palestine.

Rescuing Balfour: Winston Churchill at the Colonial Office 1921-22, By William Mathew

Given the sheer improbability of the Balfour Declaration, its source in temporary war-time contingencies, its activation of inter-communal conflict in Palestine, and its exposure to increasing opposition both at home and in the Levant, the 1917 War Cabinet pledge..

The Balfour Project comes to the Scottish Parliament

By Claudia Beamish MSP Posted on February 11, 2015 by Claudia The Scottish Parliament recently played host to an exhibit from the Balfour Project on British historic involvement in Palestine.

Struggling to Maintain the Mandate’s Iron Cage, 1930 – 1947 by Peter Shambrook

Peter A. Shambrook presents the history of the British Mandate for Palestine in the period 1930-1947, highlighting its very negative outcomes for the Palestinian population.

British policy and Arab Displacement in Palestine, 1915-23: Contingency. Imperialism and Double-Dealing

By  William M. Mathew, Senior Fellow in History, University of East Anglia Lecture given as part of the Contemporary Middle East Lecture Programme, School of Oriental and African Studies, 28 October 2014.

The Balfour Declaration and UK recognition of the Palestinian State….

On Oct 13th 2014 British MPs voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state alongside Israel. The House of Commons backed the move “as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”

Sir Harold Nicholson and the Balfour Declaration

From Nick St Aubyn Dunsfold, Surrey Daily Telegraph 13th Oct 2014 SIR – In 1917 my great-uncle, Sir Harold Nicolson, was a private secretary to the foreign secretary at the time of his Balfour Declaration.

The Balfour Declaration – Key players and events by Mary Grey

Introduction – what motivated the Balfour Declaration?  (Powerpoint of Key Players) There is still conflict as to which motive for the Balfour Declaration is stronger – there are at least three motives, and some may interlock:

“Perfidious Albion” The British Legacy in Palestine, by Ilan Pappe

Professor Ilan Pappé’s  paper at the Balfour Project conference in October 2013, was entitled “Perfidious Albion” The British Legacy in Palestine. Many participants thought it was very inspiring. 

Britain’s legacy to the tortured Ottoman Empire

Selfish imperial agreements between Britain and France, combined with the publication of the contradictory Balfour Declaration of 1917, fuelled hostilities in the Middle East This article appeared in The Sunday Telegraph on 2 February 2013

Britain’s Secret Re-Assessment of the Balfour Declaration. The Perfidy of Albion, by John Quigley

John Quigley* President’s Club Professor in Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of America From the Journal of the History of International Law Revue d’histoire du droit international

Powerful symbols and the British-Zionist alliance: approaching the centenary of the Balfour Declaration by Nur Masalha

Masalha writes that as the centenary of the Balfour Declaration approaches it is timely for a reassessment of the impact of the statement and British policies towards Palestine and its indigenous people.