Utolsó frissítés: 2026.05.31. — Szerző: Anti-Propaganda News Blog
A Balfour Declaration one of the most influential—and at the same time most controversial—documents in the history of the modern Middle East.
The statement On November 2, 1917 was issued by the British government in the form of an official letter. The letter Arthur James Balfour addressed by the British Foreign Secretary To Lord Walter Rothschild, one of the most prominent leaders of the British Jewish community, with a request that he forward it to the Zionist Federation.
1. The text and substance of the statement
The letter contained just one key sentence that fundamentally changed the region’s future. In it, the British government stated that:
„His Majesty’s government views the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine favorably and will do everything in its power to promote the achievement of this goal…”
However, the text also contained an important provision: it stipulated that nothing could be done that would undermine the rights of those living in Palestine the civil and religious rights of non-Jewish communities, or the rights and political status of Jews living in other countries.
2. Why did the British government issue it? (The political background)
In the midst of World War I, the British Empire had significant strategic interests at stake in the issuance of the declaration:
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War Aid: London hoped that this move would win them the support of Jewish communities around the world—particularly those in the United States and Russia—for the war effort during World War I.
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Strategic Presence: The collapse of the Ottoman Empire was already on the horizon. Great Britain wanted to secure its influence in the key Palestinian territory near the Suez Canal after the war.
3. Why did it cause such a deep conflict? (The consequences)
The Balfour Declaration gave rise to a geopolitical contradiction that continues to shape the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to this day:
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Contradictory promises: During the war, the British made promises not only to the Zionist movement. Earlier (in the McMahon–Hussein correspondence), to those rebelling against the Ottomans They also promised independence to Arab leaders after the war, which would have included the Palestinian territories.
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The Marginalization of the Palestinian Arab Population: At the time the declaration was issued, the overwhelming majority (more than 90%) of Palestine’s population was Arab. The Arab community viewed the document as a trampling of their rights and a tool of colonization, since a foreign empire had promised their homeland to another people without consulting them.
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The Mandate Period: After the war, Palestine became a British League of Nations mandate territory. The text of the Balfour Declaration was officially incorporated into the mandate, which paved the way for large-scale Jewish immigration and laid the groundwork for the tensions that would later lead to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
The Balfour Declaration was welcomed by the Zionist movement as the Jewish state celebrates it as the first major diplomatic victory and a source of legitimacy on the path toward that goal, while the Palestinian and Arab narrative views it as the starting point of historical injustice, dispossession, and the Palestinian catastrophe (the Nakba).
