Category Archives: Historical

Britain Palestine Israel – 70 years on

Donate A  20-page booklet is now available containing the speeches at the conference of the Balfour Project in partnership with King’s College London (see below). The booklet also includes the Balfour Centenary Declaration, which has now been signed by 141 … Continue reading

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Evangelicals, the Balfour Declaration and Zionism

By Roger Spooner When talking about the Balfour Declaration with a pastor from Bethlehem, he commented,’ the problems for the Palestinians didn’t start in 1917, they started in 1840′. Literal reading of the Bible which had developed in the 17th … Continue reading

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Prophet of Doom: E.T. Richmond, Palestine 1920-1924

John Richmond Ernest Richmond ETR was a an architect who spent many years in the Arab World and was invited in 1920 by Sir Herbert Samuel to join the Palestine administration. His son has written about some of his writings … Continue reading

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The Balfour Declaration, 2 November 1917: A Fateful Improbability

Centenary Lecture to the History Group, The Norfolk Club, 14 September 2017 by William Mathew It is argued here that only a special conjuncture of chance and short-term circumstance made it possible for an effective pro-Zionist policy to be successfully … Continue reading

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Renewed call for justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land on the centenary of the Balfour Declaration

              Catholic and Anglican bishops today, 2 November 2017, called for justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land on the centenary of the Balfour Declaration. Bishop Declan Lang, Catholic bishop of Clifton and Bishop … Continue reading

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An interview between Mr Balfour and Justice Brandeis, Paris 1919

An Interview1 in Mr. Balfour’s Apartment, 23 Rue Nitot, Paris, on June 24th, 1919, at 4:45 p.m. Present: Mr. Balfour, Mr. Justice Brandeis, Lord Eustace Percy and Mr. Frankfurter 2 Mr. Balfour expressed great satisfaction that Justice Brandeis came to … Continue reading

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The Balfour Declaration: A study in British duplicity by Avi Shlaim

Published in The Middle East Eye on 1 November 2017. It’s been nearly 100 years since the document changed the course of history, yet Britain still fails to acknowledge Israel’s denial of the Palestinian right to national self-determination – and … Continue reading

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Memories Of The Future: On The Anniversary Of The Balfour Declaration

By His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal Member of the Jordanian royal family “A historian can record what went wrong, but – in his feckless and unhelpful way – he’s not necessarily there to tell them how they … Continue reading

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Balfour Centenary Declaration

Israel/Palestine: Equal Rights The centenary of the Balfour Declaration is the time to reconcile peace with justice for both Israelis and Palestinians, consistent with the principle Britain claims as her own: equal rights for all under the law. Through the … Continue reading

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Report of Britain’s Broken Promise: Time for a New Approach

NEW BOOKLET Britain’s broken promise: Time for a New Approach Extracts of speeches at the Balfour Centenary commemoration, Central Hall Westminster Act of acknowledgement and commitment Balfour Centenary Declaration Printed version can be bought here or downloaded here A video … Continue reading

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Prominent Israelis call for recognition of Palestine

                                                                                    Jerusalem,  26.10.2017 BRITAIN’S BROKEN PROMISE: TIME FOR A NEW APPROACH The 1917 Balfour Declaration, issued by the British Empire at the height of its power, promised to help “facilitate the achievement” of a “national home for the Jewish … Continue reading

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A calamitous promise

The Guardian’s Long Read of 17 October was headlined ‘Britain’s calamitous promise’. Author Ian Black writes ‘The brief document that bears Balfour’s name is seen as marking the beginning of what is today widely considered the world’s most intractable conflict.’ … Continue reading

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Calls for Acknowledgement of Britain’s Role

Nicholas Frayling in the Church Times: British responsibility for the contradictions in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute gives the UK a duty to right a wrong,  A policy of 1917 whose legacy needs addressing. Donald Macintyre in the Guardian Oct 13th ‘A … Continue reading

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The Balfour Declaration: 100 Years On.

At this 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration which arrives on November 2nd many  events, looking at the century of conflict the Declaration has lead to, are taking place around the country. One major one on October 31st at Methodist Central  … Continue reading

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Different ways of seeing the Balfour Declaration – BBC Radio 4 “Sunday” 1st October 2017

“The BBC Radio Four ‘Sunday’ programme on October 1st included this very fair and balanced report on the forthcoming centenary of the Balfour Declaration.   Chris Rose from the Amos Trust, speaking about the unfulfilled promises to the Palestinian people, echoed … Continue reading

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Palestine 1917-2017: Reflections on a refugee’s story, my great-grandfather’s war diary and the legacy of Britain’s actions in Palestine.

Omah Amarah is 84 years old. From the amount of energy which sparks up as he gets started on his story you can sense his tale comes from the heart; this is no dry text book account of history we … Continue reading

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The 1929 Palestine Riots – A Conflicted Jewish Historiography by William M Mathew

Mathew compares the work of two Jewish historians on the long-term effects of the inter-communal violence and harsh response by British forces which rocked Palestine in 1929. Where their accounts overlap Mathew explores their markedly different approaches.Violence in Palestine in … Continue reading

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Book Review: Part II The 1929 Palestine Riots – A Conflicted Jewish Historiography by William M Mathew

IV: Commissions & Reports; White Paper & Letter These, 1929-31 – from Shaw and Hope Simpson to Passfield and MacDonald – have been cited in the opening paragraph above. Hillel Cohen`s approach is merely to list them, largely without comment. … Continue reading

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Unfinished business? Seeking peace through the door of justice in the Holy Land

Read the article by The Very Revd Nicholas Frayling, Dean Emeritus of Chichester,  on Unfinished Business  in the Pax Christi newsletter of June – July  2017

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Peel Commission

The Peel Commission published its Palestine Royal Commission-Peel Commission report in July 1937. The report admitted that the mandate was unworkable because Jewish and Arab objectives in Palestine were incompatible, and it proposed that Palestine be partitioned into three zones: … Continue reading

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Woodhead Commission

The commission, led by Sir John Woodhead, was formed in March 1938 in response to dissension within the British government over the July 1937 Peel partition plan for Palestine and the re-ignition of the Arab revolt that had followed its … Continue reading

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The reversal of the Passfield White Paper, 1930-31 : a reassessment.

Beckerman-Boys, Carly (2016) ‘The reversal of the Passfield White Paper, 1930-31 : a reassessment.’, Journal of contemporary history., 51 (2). pp. 213-233. Abstract British mandated Palestine has attracted scholarly attention for its role in the development of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. … Continue reading

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The Balfour Declaration

It is no exaggeration that the history of Israel/Palestine for the last hundred years has turned on the seminal Balfour Declaration of November 1917. Loved and loathed in equal measure, this was the letter that changed the future. The following extract … Continue reading

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Reclaiming the lost Jewish voices of the Balfour Declaration, by Robert Cohen

This article was part of Robert Cohen’s talk  at the Balfour Project conference,’How will we mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration’ in Southwark Cathedral on November 5th 2016:   A leading British Rabbi has written: “Zionism and Zionistic activities not … Continue reading

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Palestine and Britain 1917-1948: Competing Policies, Creative Commemoration

This talk was given at  the Balfour Project  conference in Southwark Cathedral  on 5th November 2016  entitled: ‘How will we mark the Centenary of the Balfour Declaration’ By Dr Peter Shambrook Context: it is only in the context of the … Continue reading

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The Mandate years: colonialism and the creation of Israel

Charles Glass, writing in the London Review of Books in 2001, reviewed two books looking at the period of the British Mandate in Palestine. Although written 22 years ago it touches on topics that are very little known in the … Continue reading

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‘Britain in Palestine’ shown in UK Parliament

Parliamentarians from all four of Britain’s main political parties sponsored a showing of ‘Britain in Palestine, 1917-1948’ in The Attlee Suite – one of the main conference suites in the British Parliament. The audience of 130 watched the documentary, which … Continue reading

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McMahon, Sykes, Balfour: Contradictions and Concealments in British Palestine Policy 1915-1917

by WILLIAM M. MATHEW Lecture given to the History Group of The Norfolk Club, 14 April 2016 to mark the centenary of the Sykes-Picot Agreement 1916 Abstract These three war-time initiatives are presented as part of a compressed, uncoordinated, two-year … Continue reading

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J.M.N. Jeffries` Palestine Deception: Modern Resonances

In a recent review article (New Middle Eastern Studies 5 [2015]) on , The Palestine Deception, 1915-1923: The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, the Balfour Declaration, and the Jewish National Home. ed William Mathew Dr. Nadia Naser-Najjab of the Institute of Arab and … Continue reading

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Britain made the mess and should help sort it out

Scores of people squeezed into Sarum College, Salisbury, to hear from experts on the Balfour Declaration of 1917 which gave British support to a home for Jews in historical Palestine. The Very Reverend Nicholas Frayling said the declaration was the … Continue reading

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Britain and Palestine: past history & future role

Held at St Chad’s College Durham 31st October 2015 Summary Report Seventy people from places as far apart as Omagh, Norwich, Somerset, Inverness, Salisbury and Edinburgh, spent Saturday 31st October in Durham reflecting on Britain’s responsibilities, past and present, for … Continue reading

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Balfour 1922-23: Fragile commitment and Zionist Response

By Dr William M Mathew Paper given at Balfour Project Annual Conference St. Chad`s College, University of Durham, 31 October 2015 In the limited time available I should like to make three basic points around this specific issue of fragility … Continue reading

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The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence revisited. A lapse into clarity.

By Dr Peter Shambrook Paper given at the Balfour Project conference, Britain and Palestine: past history & future role, Durham, Oct 31st 2015 Abstract The origins of the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence – and the subsequent official interpretations, and the controversies surrounding … Continue reading

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The Companion Guide to our film ‘Britain in Palestine 1917-1948’

The Companion Guide has been professionally written for us, and gives fascinating background to the history introduced in the film. To give you an idea of what is in it  see the section on the Balfour Declaration. It has 83 … Continue reading

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Britain in Palestine 1917-1948

https://youtu.be/hOJqLTc6RkU?si=LSnqvLGEejUWiApq Britain in Palestine 1917-1948 investigates the contradictory promises and actions which defined British Mandatory rule in Palestine and laid the groundwork for the Nakba (the catastrophe) and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The roots of … Continue reading

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Rescuing Balfour: Winston Churchill at the Colonial Office 1921-22, By William Mathew

                    Given the sheer improbability of the Balfour Declaration, its source in temporary war-time contingencies, its activation of inter-communal conflict in Palestine, and its exposure to increasing opposition both at home and in the Levant, the 1917 War Cabinet pledge … Continue reading

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The Balfour Project comes to the Scottish Parliament

By Claudia Beamish MSP Posted on February 11, 2015 by Claudia The Scottish Parliament recently played host to an exhibit from the Balfour Project on British historic involvement in Palestine. The Project seeks to raise awareness of the Balfour Declaration, an agreement made … Continue reading

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Christian Zionism’s flawed vision of Israel, by Rabbi Dow Marmur

My dictionary defines Zionism as “a movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish national homeland and state in Palestine.” This was realized in May 1948 when the State of Israel was established. Many Jews are Zionists and committed to the … Continue reading

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The McMahon promise to Hussein

By Roger Spooner In 1915 Sir Henry McMahon, British High Commissioner in Egypt, offered Sherif Hussein of Mecca an independent Arab state if he would help the British fight against the Ottoman Turks. Hussein’s interest in throwing off his Turkish … Continue reading

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Struggling to Maintain the Mandate’s Iron Cage, 1930 – 1947 by Peter Shambrook

Peter A. Shambrook presents the history of the British Mandate for Palestine in the period 1930-1947, highlighting its very negative outcomes for the Palestinian population. In doing so, Shambrook calls for Britain to accept responsibility for its past wrongdoings as … Continue reading

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Dec 11th 1917, General Allenby shows how a ‘moral man’ conquers Jerusalem

On this day he entered Jerusalem, modestly on foot, two days after the Turks surrendered it, after several attempts. By David B. Green | Dec. 11, 2014 | 3:46 AM  from Haaretz In December 11, 1917, General Edmund Allenby, commander … Continue reading

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British policy and Arab Displacement in Palestine, 1915-23: Contingency. Imperialism and Double-Dealing

            By  William M. Mathew, Senior Fellow in History, University of East Anglia Lecture given as part of the Contemporary Middle East Lecture Programme,               School of Oriental and African Studies, 28 October 2014                                                      I I should begin by … Continue reading

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The Balfour Declaration and UK recognition of the Palestinian State….

On Oct 13th 2014 British MPs voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state alongside Israel. The House of Commons backed the move “as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution” The full motion stated: “That this House … Continue reading

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Sir Harold Nicholson and the Balfour Declaration

From Nick St Aubyn Dunsfold, Surrey Daily Telegraph 13th Oct 2014 SIR – In 1917 my great-uncle, Sir Harold Nicolson, was a private secretary to the foreign secretary at the time of his Balfour Declaration. Nicolson, who was involved in … Continue reading

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The Palestine Deception, 1915-1923, by William Mathew

In 2015, historian William Mathew published a book consisting of a series of articles from the Daily Mail of 1923. These presented a hitherto uninformed British readership  with details of official promises made to the Arabs in 1915-16 of post-war … Continue reading

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Perfidious Albion: Britain’s broken promises: the Balfour Declaration (1917) and its impact on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict: what are our responsibilities today?

This lecture was given by Professor Mary Grey in the URC Church, Crondall, Northumberland for their Peace and Reconciliation centre, 5th September 2014 Here in Northumberland, it is impossible to forget the bloodshed of the Battle of Flodden in 1513, … Continue reading

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The Balfour Declaration – Key players and events by Mary Grey

Introduction – what motivated the Balfour Declaration?  (Powerpoint of Key Players) There is still conflict as to which motive for the Balfour Declaration is stronger – there are at least three motives, and some may interlock: 1. According to Avi … Continue reading

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War cabinet minutes leading to the Balfour Declaration, 1917

On November 9th 1917 the Times published the minutes of the 4 War Cabinet meetings  where, what became known as the Balfour Declaration, was discussed. They had before them the document produced by the Zionist Organisation on July 18th 1917 … Continue reading

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French support for the Zionist cause

  On the 4th June 1917 Jules Cambon,  wrote to Nahum Sokolow expressing French support for his project which aimed for ‘Jewish Colonisation in Palestine’ This preceded war cabinet discussions in London which did not start until July 1917   … Continue reading

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Contradictory Promises, by Peter A Shambrook

The seeds of 100 years of conflict Britain, the Arabs and the Jews, 1914 – 1918 2014 – 2018: Britain’s opportunity to acknowledge. In 2014, the centenary of the Great War will be marked in a variety of ways right … Continue reading

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