Today, in history:
On November 2, 1917, Arthur Balfour, the
Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom issued what has became known as the
"Balfour Declaration".
Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you. on behalf
of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy
with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved
by, the Cabinet
His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment
in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use
their best endeavors 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 should be grateful if you would bring this declaration
to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours,
Arthur James Balfour
From the
Jewish Virtual library:
According to the Peel
Commission, appointed by the British Government
to investigate the cause of the 1936
Arab riots, "the field in which the
Jewish National Home was to be established
was understood, at the time of the Balfour
Declaration, to be the whole of historic Palestine,
including Transjordan."
The Mandate for Palestine's purpose was to
put into effect the Balfour Declaration. It
specifically referred to "the historical
connections of the Jewish people with Palestine"
and to the moral validity of "reconstituting
their National Home in that country."
The term "reconstituting"
shows recognition of the fact that Palestine
had been the Jews' home. Furthermore, the
British were instructed to "use their
best endeavors to facilitate" Jewish
immigration, to encourage settlement on the
land and to "secure" the Jewish
National Home. The word "Arab" does
not appear in the Mandatory award.
The Mandate was formalized
by the 52 governments at the League of Nations
on July 24, 1922
