Category Archives: Historical

Contradictory Promises

See also Contradictory Promises by Dr Peter Shambrook where these promises are explored in more detail. 1915  The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, • In 1915 Britain promised the Arabs that after the war they would be granted independence in their lands, in … Continue reading

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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 Volume 13, Number 2, 2011 … Continue reading

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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. The Declaration is commonly attributed incorrectly to … Continue reading

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Recommendations of the King Crane Commission

Below is a part of a preface to the publication of the King-Crane Commission Report, published in Editor & Publisher, V.55, No. 27, 2nd Section, December 2, 1922. This is followed by their recommendations on Syria and  particularly Zionism. The … Continue reading

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Wartime contingency and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 William Mathew: an Improbable Regression

Review by Mary Grey Although for many Jews this Declaration represented a dramatic re-entry of Jews into history, this article argues that it was more a regression than an advance. True, the  Balfour Declaration promised to protect the  civil and … Continue reading

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The Balfour Declaration and the Palestine Mandate, 1917–1923: British Imperialist Imperatives

By William M. Mathew ABSTRACT The article sets the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the final confirmation of Britain’s Palestine Mandate in 1923 within the context of national imperial concerns: in particular, anxieties over the security of the Suez Canal … Continue reading

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

A one day conference exploring the different legacies of the Balfour Declaration and how a greater understanding of history can contribute to justice and peace in the Middle East today was held in Winchester University on May 18th 2013. Over … Continue reading

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Balfour and Palestine, a legacy of deceit, by Anthony Nutting

Anthony Nutting resigned  from Anthony Eden’s government when he found Eden was going into Suez. Writing around 1975, he reflects on Doreen Ingram’s book “The Palestine Papers: 1917-1922: Seeds of Conflict”. The papers in this book made clear that during … Continue reading

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‘Perfidious Albion? The British Legacy in Palestine’ – Prof. Ilan Pappe

Prof Ilan Pappe spoke at the Kenyon Institute in Jerusalem  17th September 2012 on the topic ‘Perfidious Albion? The British Legacy in Palestine’ .

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Britain’s betrayal of the sacred trust in Palestine, Prof John Dugard

  British policy towards Palestine for the past 100 years has been informed by two narratives, two visions. The first is the vision of a Jewish state in Palestine, captured in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The second is the … Continue reading

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Biography: Arthur Balfour by Brian Klug

From Brian Klug, Being Jewish and Doing Justice: Bringing Argument to Life London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2011, pp. 199-210 There appears to be a conundrum about Arthur Balfour.1 On the one hand, his name is inseparable from the Declaration he signed … Continue reading

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Agreement Between Emir Feisal and Dr. Weizmann

3 January, 1919 Introduction Following the First World War, Emir Feisal,   son of Sherif Hussein (Husayn) of Mecca, and the leader of the Arab movement, met in Aqaba with Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the head of the Zionist Commission to … Continue reading

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Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations

In 1922 (Ratified in 1923) Britain acquired from the League of Nations the Mandate to administer Palestine, which required her to implement the Balfour Declaration, and undertake a “sacred trust of civilisation” to advance the welfare of the Palestinian people … Continue reading

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The Palestine Mandate July 1922

The Mandate, the full details of which are available in the Avalon Project, incorporated the provisions of the Balfour Declaration. Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration … Continue reading

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Letter from Sir Henry McMahon to Sharif Hussein, October 24, 1915

 Below the letter are several articles expanding on Britain’s duplicity over WW1 and after. Letter from Sir Henry McMahon to Sharif Hussein Oct 24th 1915 I have received your letter of the 29th Shawal, 1333, with much pleasure and your … Continue reading

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British White Paper of June 1922

Below is the White Paper but also read: Rescuing Balfour: Winston Churchill at the Colonial Office   1921-22  Dr William Mathew shows in this essay how Winston Churchill,.. played a vital role in securing the British government`s long-term commitment to the … Continue reading

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British White Paper of 1939

In the statement on Palestine, issued on 9 November, 1938, His Majesty’s Government announced their intention to invite representatives of the Arabs of Palestine, of certain neighbouring countries and of the Jewish Agency to confer with them in London regarding … Continue reading

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The Sykes-Picot Agreement 1916

With the Ottoman Empire drawn into the war the Entente powers assumed that its defeat and dismemberment were inevitable. They negotiated between themselves which portions of the Empire they would take. In 1915 Prime Minister Herbert Asquith appointed the de … Continue reading

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Anglo French Declaration

November 7, 1918 The Anglo-French Declaration was signed between France and Great Britain on November 7, 1918, four days before the armistice agreement that ended World War I, and issued in Syria, Palestine and Iraq. Copies were posted on the … Continue reading

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Palestine Mandate defeated 69 to 29, 1922

LORD ISLINGTON had given Notice to move, That the Mandate for Palestine in its present form is inacceptable to this House, because it directly violates the pledges made by His Majesty’s Government to the people of Palestine in the Declaration … Continue reading

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Deliberate deceit

Arthur Balfour wrote to Lord Curzon in 1919: ‘in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country….The Four Great Powers are committed to Zionism. And Zionism, … Continue reading

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The Road to Balfour: The History of Christian Zionism

By Stephen Sizer Delivered at a conference arranged by the Balfour Project in association with the Church of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2nd November 2012 Introduction In this presentation we are going to trace some of the significant events and individuals that … Continue reading

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The Theology of the Land

 Stephen Sizer The Promised Land – From the Nile to the Euphrates? I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and … Continue reading

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Time to remind ourselves of Britain’s unhelpful legacy to the Palestinians

It’s 95 years since Lord Balfour informed Baron Rothschild that Britain would back a new Jewish state. The anniversary has been marked not with fireworks, but bombs. By Yasmin Alibhai Brown Monday, 19 November 2012

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The Theology of the Land

The Promised Land – From the Nile to the Euphrates? I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God … Continue reading

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Memorandum of Edwin Montagu on the Anti-Semitism of the Present (British) Government

Memorandum of Edwin Montagu on the Anti-Semitism of the Present (British) Government – Submitted to the British Cabinet, August, 1917 I have chosen the above title for this memorandum, not in any hostile sense, not by any means as quarrelling … Continue reading

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Biography: Anthony Ashley, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury by Mary Grey

          Anthony Ashley – Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, 1801-1885. [1] After a lonely, loveless childhood, when, like many earlier members of the British aristocracy,  the only affection the growing child received came from his nanny, Shaftesbury was elected as … Continue reading

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A Reevaluation of the Balfour Declaration by Ashley Perry

Ashley Perry, editor of the Middle East Strategic Information project makes the case that the Balfour Declaration represented the definite intention of the British Government to create a Jewish state and that in the Mandate for Palestine this intention gained … Continue reading

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Dan Mayer’s response to ‘ A scrap of paper that changed history’

Sir: As the great-grandson of Sir Leon Simon, let me assure you that I believe that the world would be a far better place if the Balfour declaration which he helped draft (“A scrap of paper that changed history”, 26 … Continue reading

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A scrap of paper that changed history

by Donald Macintyre Reproduced from an article: ‘The birth of modern Israel: a scrap of paper that changed history’ in the Independent of 26 May 2005 The term “living history” is a cliché that slips as easily from the lips … Continue reading

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The Balfour Declaration and its Consequences by Avi Shlaim

Occasionally there are topics that have been written about at such length that it helps to clear the air, or to establish the vantage point from which I intend to consider my subject. My aim therefore is to take a … Continue reading

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