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The Balfour Declaration of 1917 was one of the most controversial and important decisions in the early twentieth century. The modern Middle East and geopolitics have been influenced by this declaration. This short document which was issued during the darkest days of World War One attracted little notice at the time but it undoubtedly changed the modern world and the merits of this policy can still generate some heated debate some 100 years after its publication.

====The Balfour Declaration====

The Balfour Declaration was a British government document that was drawn up by the Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour in 1917. It was first sent to Lord Rothschild of the banking family and the Zionist Association of Great Britain and was published the following day in the press. The document committed the British Empire to a ‘’Jewish national home.’’ <ref> Gelvin. James. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019021886X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=019021886X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=77d49366f857a0897f3fbd76f0809035 The Modern Middle East: A History]</i> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 114</ref>. The declaration stated that ‘’His Majesty's government view 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.’’ <ref> Balfour, Sir Arthur, Balfour Declaration (1917), p. 1</ref>

[[File: Hachshara.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Jewish settlers in Palestine in the 1920s]]

The declaration was opposed by Arab public opinion but after the war, but it was endorsed by the victorious allies and it became official British policy. It was also supported by the Americans, but they had some reservations. Many in the British government believed that the Balfour Declaration was a mistake and that it would only lead to instability and conflict and that it had no basis in international law and argued that they had betrayed their Arab allies who had participated in the Great Arab Revolt (1916-1918). However, the Balfour Declaration remained, and it was official British policy until the start of WWII. This was despite increasingly violent Arab opposition.

The Balfour Declaration and the failure of the western powers to grant a Pan-Arab state led to a great deal of resentment in the Middle East. The British not only had failed to help the Arabs to found a state but had effectively colonized them and had even given traditionally Muslim territory to non-Muslims. What particularly angered the Arabs was that Jerusalem one of the holiest sites in Islam and could be lost to Jews. This led to a deep suspicion of Britain and the west in general, in the Arab World. During WWI the Arabs had seen the British as liberators who would help to modernize their society and free them from Ottoman oppression. The Balfour Declaration was to shatter this view and led to a great deal of bitterness. The Muslim world, in particular, came to believe that it could not trust the British and the west. The anti-western sentiments that were provoked by the Balfour Declaration remain to this day. The Declaration of 1917 poisoned the relationship between the Arab World and the West. It persuaded many that the western powers would always favor the Jews at the expense of the Muslims in the Middle East.

====Balfour Declaration and the state of Israel====

In general, the British officials were sympathetic to the Jews and were biased in their favor. The Balfour Declaration meant that the British administration in Palestine had to support the Jewish community and any Jewish emigrants who wanted to settle in the area. Because of the Balfour Declaration, any Jew who wished could come from any area of the globe and settle in Palestine. As a result, many Muslim areas such as Haifa came to have a predominantly Jewish population.<ref> Goren, Tamir (2004) "The Judaization of Haifa at the Time of the Arab Revolt," <i>Middle Eastern Studies</i>, Volume 40, Issue 4 July, pp. 135–152 </ref>.

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