100 years of Balfour and Jewish question
- By Sajjad Malik
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E-mail China.org.cn, November 2, 2017
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Jerusalem, capital of Palestine [File photo] |
It was one hundred years ago on November 2, 1917 when British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour penned a letter to Lord Walter Rothschild and gave a solemn commitment on behalf of the British government to support the creation of the Jewish homeland in Palestine.
The brief letter stated that the "declaration" of sympathy with Jewish-Zionist aspirations for a country was already approved by the British Cabinet. The foreign secretary also asked Lord Rothschild to bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.The declaration runs as follows:
"His Majesty's Government views with favor 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."
The lines written 100 year ago changed the destiny of the region and the world. It has had far reaching security and political ramifications. Apart from the political consequences, it has caused endless pain, suffering and deaths. It continues to inflict agony on countless people. It not only failed to provide a safe abode to Jewish people but also increased regional rivalries and divisions.
For Britain's leaders of that time, the declaration was part of realpolitik. They wanted to earn short and long term advantages. The Jews would have a "home" and in return provide sympathy and support in the war. Second, it would solve Europe’s Jewish problem because the Jews would naturally migrate in droves to their country.
What was not visible in the declaration but is its logical strategic corollary, was that the Jewish country would be at the mercy of the West for its survival. It would also provide the surest footing for Britain and later on to the United States in the volatile Middle East.
The British government achieved what it had imagined and planned. That is why it still owns the declaration. It is evident from what Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on the eve of the hundred year anniversary of the declaration: "I am proud of Britain's part in creating Israel," he wrote in the Telegraph newspaper on Sunday.
Johnson said that he was sitting in the same room to write his thought which was used by his predecessor to write down the original letter. However, he maintained that the declaration was only half implemented and the part regarding the civil and political rights of other people was yet to be fully realized.
Britain in Johnson’s words was still committed to a "two-state" solution of the issue. He clarifies that the border of Israel and Palestine should be fixed to the position held by the two sides prior to the Six Day war in 1967, with Jerusalem as their shared capital.
More importantly, Johnson said that "a century on, Britain will give whatever support we can in order to close the ring and complete the unfinished business of the Balfour Declaration." The last part including the "unfinished business" is highly significant as it highlights the importance of the independent state of Palestine.
The declaration has not completely resolved the problem of the Jewish people. At the best Israel is a state born in crisis and living through crises. It is a weak state dependent on the United States and at the mercy of Jews living in the Western world.
It is a state which is still at war with the people who were dispossessed to create space for Jews. Hundreds and thousands have been forced to leave and go into exile to live as refugees. The Jews in Israel are unsafe and not sure about their future. The country that came into being as the result of the Balfour Declaration has provided a house but not the cozy comfort of a home.
For a peaceful life, the Jews of Israel would have to delink themselves from the West and reorient to the place they live and call a home. Israel should first create peace within by resolving differences with Palestinians. Second, it should create peace at its borders by having good relations with neighbors.
As far as the declaration is concerned, the British government should have expressed its regret for brining suffering to the Palestinians instead of extolling the virtues of the Balfour letter.
Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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