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[[File: Balfour five.jpg|300px|thumb|left|A copy of the Balfour Declaration]]
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. This article will outline the Balfour Declaration and its origins and aims. Then it will provide the context for the issuance of the Declaration and then identify its impact on the Middle East. It will argue that the Declaration of 1917 was very important in the founding of the modern state of Israel and that it was one of the root causes of the intractable Arab-Israeli conflict.
====The Balfour Declaration====
====Balfour Declaration and the state of Israel====
Zionists during the Ottoman period had begun to emigrate to Palestine, in what is known as the Aliyah or the return. In general, the Jewish emigrants had co-existed with their neighbors. The two communities tended to live separate existences with little interactions between them and even less understanding. This changed with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1918.<ref> Ben-Ami, Shlomo. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195181581/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195181581&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=b80741167eead8709b029671b7c0b443 Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy ]</i> (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005), p 201</ref> The British under the mandate from the League of Nations established the political entity of Palestine that corresponds to the modern state of Israel. This aroused Arab fears. The British established a political and bureaucratic system in the region and it became part of their Empire.
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>.
The Balfour Declaration raised tensions in Palestine and many local Christians and Muslims resented the Jews. Almost immediately there was a series of outbreaks of sectarian violence. There were anti-Jewish riots in several Palestinian towns and cities. This did not stop the Jews from settling in Palestine. The British, under the terms of the Balfour Declaration, were committed to the creation of a Jewish homeland. This meant that the London government ordered that the military and the colonial authorities do everything in their power to protect the Jews from Arab attacks.
The Balfour Declaration meant that the British army were the de-facto protectors of the Jewish settlement and without this support the survival of the emigrants would have been doubtful. This inflamed the Palestinians even more and after riots in Jerusalem in the mid-1930s, there erupted a full-scale Arab Revolt (1936-1939). The Balfour Declaration meant that the Arabs came to see the Jews as a favored group who were stealing their lands with the assistance of the British. This led to a complete breakdown in the relationship between the Jews and the Palestinians. The Balfour Declaration was in many ways to result in a rupture between Palestinians and Hebrews which has not been healed to this day. It could be argued that the Declaration of 1917 was to lead to a century of Jewish-Arab conflict that has destabilized not only the Middle East but the world.<ref>Ben-Ami, p. 134</ref>
====Conclusion====
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[[Category:History of the Middle Eastern HistoryEast]][[Category:Wikis]]
