Category Archives: Resources

In Conversation with Leila Sansour

You can watch Open Bethlehem on Vimeo.  Below is the excerpt of Open Bethlehem about Rachel’s Tomb, shown during the event. Leila Sansour is a Palestinian/British filmmaker with more than 24 years of experience working in television as a producer, … Continue reading

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Conference on Jerusalem – Closing Remarks & Statement

Closing Remarks and StatementHE Khaled Al-Duwaisan -Kuwaiti Ambassador to the UKSir Vincent Fean Click here to read the statement. Sir Vincent Fean: I now welcome His Excellency Khaled Al-Duwaisan, Kuwait’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom for the last 27 years. … Continue reading

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Conference on Jerusalem – Session VI: Questions and Answers

Session VI: Questions and AnswersModerated by Ian BlackPanellists: Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Daniel Seidemann, Daniel Levy, Rula Salameh, Sir Vincent Fean Ian Black: A question from Andrew Wilkinson, Oxford University:  “Does the continued focus on the Balfour Declaration – which … Continue reading

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Conference on Jerusalem – Session V: Britain’s Role in the Coming Years

Session V: Britain’s Role in the Coming YearsChair: Sir Vincent FeanKeynote Speaker: Rt Hon Alistair BurtPanellists: Julie Elliott MP (Labour), Tommy Sheppard MP (SNP), Rt Hon Baroness Lindsay Northover (LibDem) Sir Vincent Fean: We are going to talk about the … Continue reading

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Conference on Jerusalem – Session IV: Contemporary Realities and Plans to Share the City

Session IV: Contemporary Realities and Plans to Share the CityChair: Dr Imad Karam (BP Trustee)Keynote Speaker: Daniel LevyPanellists: Ariel Caine, Rula Salameh, Yudith Oppenheimer Conference on Jerusalem Session IV: Contemporary Realities and Plans to Share the City Dr Imad Karam: … Continue reading

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Conference on Jerusalem – Session III: Religion and Holy Sites

Session III: Religion and Holy SitesChair: Bishop Michael Doe (BP Executive Committee)Keynote Speaker: Daniel SeidemannPanellists: Imam Monawar Hussain, Bishop Christopher Chessun, Rabbi Jeremy Gordon Bishop Michael Doe: Good afternoon and welcome back to this Balfour Project Day Conference on Jerusalem: … Continue reading

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Conference on Jerusalem – Session II: International Law and Human Rights

Session II: International Law and Human RightsChair: John McHugo (BP Trustee)Keynote Speaker: Baroness Helena Kennedy QCPanellists: Iain Scobbie, Daniel Seidemann & Victor Kattan John McHugo: Good morning, everyone. My name is John McHugo. I’m a trustee of the Balfour Project … Continue reading

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Conference on Jerusalem – Introduction & Session I: History

Introduction Welcome: Sir Vincent Fean (BP Chair of Trustees) Video Message from HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan Session I: History Chair: Andrew Whitley (BP Trustee) Keynote Speaker: Avi Shlaim Panellists:Menachem Klein, Mick Dumper, Salim Tamari Sir Vincent … Continue reading

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A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle That Shaped the Middle East by James Barr

Review by Patrick Seale, originally printed in The Financial Times, 2011. The story of how Britain and France carved up the Arab world between them after the first world war has often been told but James Barr’s new book, A … Continue reading

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Unseen question? Zionism and the Palestinians under the British Mandate

A live online talk given in October 2020. Ian Black: Thanks very much for inviting me to give this talk. It is based on the research for my book, Enemies and Neighbours: Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017, … Continue reading

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Resources for Educators

Guidance for Teaching Controversial Issues Advice from the National Education Union – Conflict in the Middle East: Issues for Schools. National Education Union (NEU)This guidance identifies challenges which teachers may face teaching this topic and provides guidance on how to approach … Continue reading

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Former Israeli Ambassador Dr. Alon Liel – Is the failed formal annexation attempt a regional turning point?

A talk given online in September 2020. Alon Liel is a courageous man. He dares to speak truth to power, and knows the cost of this in his own life. While calling for an end to occupation and for equal … Continue reading

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Parallel Histories videos

Parallel Histories have developed a series of videos for teaching disputed history starting with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They have produced a film  ‘Should the British government be praised or blamed for the Balfour Declaration?’.  Do watch it. They also have many … Continue reading

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Tim Llewellyn on The Crafting of the News: the British media and the Israel-Palestine Question

A talk given online in August 2020. Tim Llewellyn: Hello, everyone. I want to start by saying two basic things to plan out, to map out my thesis, if you like, about the British media coverage, particularly the broadcasting media … Continue reading

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Toppling Balfour, a talk by Sarah Helm

A live online talk given in July 2020 Welcome everyone. Sarah Helm was a staff correspondent for The Sunday Times and a foreign correspondent for The Independent and she’s written two books, most recently, If This is a Woman about … Continue reading

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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. These were pledges … Continue reading

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Andrew Whitley on The UN, Britain and Palestine/Israel – 1947 to Present Day

A talk given online in June 2020. Andrew Whitley: My thanks to so many of you for taking the trouble today to attend this online talk from the Balfour Project, I hope you will find it stimulating and thought-provoking. It … Continue reading

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Palestine/Israel, the FCO and No 10 – briefing by Sir Jeremy Greenstock

Retired Foreign Office Political Director Sir Jeremy Greenstock talked recently with the Balfour Project Peace Advocacy Fellows about British policy on Palestine/Israel, and answered questions about British Government recognition of Palestine, which he supports, and Israeli annexation plans – which … Continue reading

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Podcast: Vincent Fean on the ICC, Trade Agreements and Umbrella Organisations

Diana Safieh: A question from Sara Apps, is there an opportunity to unlock the blockage on the ICC application? What best can we do to help? Vincent Fean: Palestine joined the International Criminal Court in 2015 after the UN General … Continue reading

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Podcast: Vincent Fean on Israeli Annexation and International Law

Q&A Session with Sir Vincent Fean, Chair of the Balfour Project Vincent Fean: It’s a pleasure to be with you. I think it’s important for us to address questions raised by participants at the 2 April talk. We will try … Continue reading

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Vincent Fean on Annexation, International Law and Recognition

Q&A Session with Sir Vincent Fean, Chair of the Balfour Project Vincent Fean: It’s a pleasure to be with you. I think it’s important for us to address questions raised by participants at the 2 April talk. We will try … Continue reading

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Vincent Fean on Illegal Settlements and UNRWA

Q&A Session with Sir Vincent Fean, Chair of the Balfour Project Vincent Fean: It’s a pleasure to be with you. I think it’s important for us to address questions raised by participants at the 2 April talk. We will try … Continue reading

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The Making of From Balfour to Banksy

Miranda Pinch It all started on the evening of April 18, 2017, the day that the date of the next British General Election was announced. I was attending a Balfour Project meeting in the House of Lords. After the meeting … Continue reading

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Palestine/Israel: Britain’s role, then and now

Online talk by Sir Vincent Fean, Balfour Project, 2 April 2020 Read the transcript below: Vincent: A welcome to all. Thank you all for joining the Balfour Project today. I think it’s important to have this discussion to keep the … Continue reading

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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 In the midst of Jerusalem’s Old City, on the cusp of the Muslim and Jewish quarters, reposes the Khalidi family library, an archive of scriptures, literature and letters … Continue reading

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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, by incorporating it into the League of … Continue reading

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Britain in Palestine Exhibition

We have PDF copies of these panels at A1 size. We also have printed copies mounted on polystyrene and suitable for use in an exhibition. If you would like to set up an exhibition and hire these mounted panels or … Continue reading

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Book Review: Legacy of Empire – Britain, Zionism and the Creation of Israel by Gardner Thompson

By Tim Llewellyn, Oct 10th 2019 “…[T]he Mandate has proved to be unworkable in practice…[and] the obligations undertaken by the two communities in Palestine have been shown to be irreconcilable.” (Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons … Continue reading

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Book Review: Britain’s Pacification of Palestine – The British Army, the Colonial State, and the Arab Revolt, 1936–9 by Matthew Hughes

by Ian Black The 1936–9 Arab Revolt against British rule in Palestine, and its suppression by the British army, was a precursor to the devastating war against the nascent Israeli state that the Palestinians lost a decade later. Matthew Hughes‘s extensively researched new study … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Arab Awakening by George Antonius

The Balfour Project is most grateful to the Times Literary Supplement for allowing us to reprint this review of The Arab Awakening, by George Antonius, the review by Harry Pirie-Gordon being published on November 26, 1938. Readers might also like … Continue reading

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Book Review: Enemies and Neighbours – Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017 by Ian Black

By Tim Llewellyn This is a dispassionate book, written by someone who knows almost everything, about the tragic progress of Britain’s experiment with Zionism in Palestine to the present day’s existential horror. Black does not make judgments. His careful selection … Continue reading

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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 Printed version can be bought here or downloaded here A video … Continue reading

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Book Review: Beyond the Balfour Declaration by Lord Leslie Turnberg

by John McHugo In Beyond the Balfour Declaration: The 100-Year Quest for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, (Biteback Publishing, 2017) Leslie Turnberg has tried to grapple with the difficult problem of achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Turnberg is a Labour life peer. … Continue reading

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The 1929 Palestine Riots – A Conflicted Jewish Historiography by William M Mathew

Mathew compares the work of two Jewish historians on the long-term effects of the inter-communal violence and harsh response by British forces which rocked Palestine in 1929. Where their accounts overlap Mathew explores their markedly different approaches.Violence in Palestine in … Continue reading

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Book Review: Part II The 1929 Palestine Riots – A Conflicted Jewish Historiography by William M Mathew

IV: Commissions & Reports; White Paper & Letter These, 1929-31 – from Shaw and Hope Simpson to Passfield and MacDonald – have been cited in the opening paragraph above. Hillel Cohen`s approach is merely to list them, largely without comment. … Continue reading

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The Mandate years: colonialism and the creation of Israel

Charles Glass, writing in the London Review of Books in 2001, reviewed two books looking at the period of the British Mandate in Palestine. Although written 22 years ago it touches on topics that are very little known in the … Continue reading

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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. ed William Mathew Dr. Nadia Naser-Najjab of the Institute of Arab and … Continue reading

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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. To give you an idea of what is in it  see the section on the Balfour Declaration. It has 83 … Continue reading

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Britain in Palestine 1917-1948

Britain in Palestine 1917-1948 investigates the contradictory promises and actions which defined British Mandatory rule in Palestine and laid the groundwork for the Nakba (the catastrophe) and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The roots of the … Continue reading

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The Palestine Deception, 1915-1923, by William Mathew

In 2015, historian William Mathew published a book consisting of a series of articles from the Daily Mail of 1923. These presented a hitherto uninformed British readership  with details of official promises made to the Arabs in 1915-16 of post-war … Continue reading

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Debating Palestine and Israel – Book review by Jeremy Moodey

Dan Cohn-Sherbok and Mary Grey, Debating Israel and Palestine, (Exeter, Impress Books, 2014). It was George Orwell who wrote in his book 1984, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” As with the … Continue reading

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Setting the Desert on Fire. Book Review

James Barr, Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E.Lawrence and Britain’s’  Secret  War in Arabia, (London: Bloomsbury 2006) This book does not fit easily into any one category: it is dramatic, a thrilling account of the last struggles of the Ottoman … Continue reading

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Anti-Zionism in London’s Jewish East End, 1890-1948

Anti-Zionism in London’s Jewish East End, 1890-1948  A summary of Chapter 6 with this title in Brian Klug’s: Being Jewish and Doing Justice: Bringing Argument to Life, Vallentine Mitchell (2010) Brian Klug, being a philosopher, approaches this subject from a … 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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Biography: David Lloyd George

Lloyd George, David, (First Earl of Dwyfor) 1863-1945 Introduction Because the focus of this website is the Balfour Declaration and its consequences, this biography will be limited to Lloyd George’s career until the end of the First World War, with … Continue reading

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The Secret of Leopold Amery by William D. Rubinstein

The drafter of the Balfour Declaration was a secret Zionist in what historian William Rubinstein states was “probably the most remarkable example of concealment of identity in twentieth-century British political history”   “…Because of his increasingly significant political position, [Amery] … 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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Chaim Weizmann by Mary Grey

Chaim Weizmann was born in Russia in 1874, in Motol, now Belarus, but then in the “Pale of Settlement”, that area of Russia to which the Jews had been confined since the time of Catherine the Great. From an early … Continue reading

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Short biographies by Mary Grey

The War Cabinet (WW1) The creation of the War Cabinet undertook the supreme direction of the war effort. It was composed of David Lloyd George, the Prime Minister, Andrew Bonar Law, Lord Nathaniel Curzon, Alfred Milner, Arthur Henderson and Sir … Continue reading

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