Balfour Declaration

Claire Haley

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The Balfour Declaration was one of the most influential documents for the Jewish, Palestine, and the Middle East. It came out at the end of WWI. The Ottoman Empire, which was aligned with Germany and Austria-Hungary, was beaten, and was split up among the victors. There was much debate over who was to be given Palestine. 

The Balfour Declaration was a letter sent from A.J. Balfour, the British Secretary of State to Lord Rothschild, (a highly respected authority figure in the Jewish Community.) In this letter, he declared his support for the creation of a Jewish state in an area of the Middle East called Palestine. This great offer was accepted and appreciated by the Jewish community, and established Great Britain’s support for a Jewish homeland. Other nations that fought for the Allies also offered their support for the declaration. 

However, there was a flaw in this agreement. The same land had been promised to the Palestinian Arabians in return for fighting with the Allies World War One against the Turks who were in alliance with the Germans. Therefore, when Palestine was given to Great Britain to govern as a League of Nation's mandate at the end of the war, It angered both the Arabs and the Jews. Believing that they were given right to the land, floods of Jewish people came to Palestine, thus creating major political conflict with the Arabs. The Balfour declaration broke trust between countries, changed reputations and gave new land to Great Britain.