The centenary of the Balfour Declaration
This week has marked the centenary of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 which led to the creation of Israel in 1948. The letter 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, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
I watched a BBC 2 television programme about the Declaration and its consequences, presented by Jane Corbin, a long-time reporter from the Middle East and a relative of Leo Amery who was one of the drafters of the document.
I have read at least one book on the Arab-Israeli conflict [my review here] and, as well as visiting surrounding Arab nations, I have been to Israel itself [my account here]. Despite Jane Corbin’s faith in the Oslo Accords of 1993, there seems little prospect of substantive progress in this conflict any time soon.