Talk:Balfour Declaration

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Clarifying the Balfour Treaty

Wherever the Balfour Treaty/Declaration is ment"The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" inioned in Wikipedia, the brief description following always just says something like: Palestine". This, however, is only part of the declaration and is taken out of context, as there was a condition which always seems overlooked but which is critical for a cursory understanding of the declaraition. This is that "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine". I believe all brief descriptions of the Balfour Declaration should link the intent and condition together e.g. "The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people whilst not prejudicing the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine". This would ensure those reading the brief description are not mislead. 193.17.86.196 (talk) 12:54, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

Please read the whole article. This is made very clear throughout. Onceinawhile (talk) 13:06, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

Edit request 19 July 2025

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Ubu-cocu (talk) 02:06, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

I would find very illuminating to add a passage on the 1919 Balfour memorandum addressed to Lord Cuzon in august.

The main excerpts can be found here: https://www.un.org/unispal/history2/origins-and-evolution-of-the-palestine-problem/part-i-1917-1947/

With footnote 53 as the source.

I would place it in chapter : Evolution of British opinion

“The contradiction between the letters of the Covenant and the policy of the Allies is even more flagrant in the case of the ‘independent nation’ of Palestine than in that of the ‘independent nation’ of Syria. For in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country, though the American Commission has been going through the form of asking what they are.

“The four Great Powers are committed to zionism. And zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land.

“In my opinion that is right. What I have never been able to understand is how it can be harmonized with the (Anglo-French) declaration of November 1918, the Covenant, or the instructions to the Commission of Enquiry.

“I do not think that zionism will hurt the Arabs, but they will never say they want it. Whatever be the future of Palestine, it is not now an ‘independent nation’, nor is it yet on the way to become one. Whatever deference should be paid to the view of those living there, the Powers in their selection of a mandatory do not propose, as I understand the matter, to consult them. In short, so far as Palestine is concerned, the Powers have made no statement of fact which is not admittedly wrong, and no declaration of policy which, at least in the letter, they have not always intended to violate;…”

Is it possible ?

Hmm. Seems to me like use of a primary source. -- JMC (talk) 04:10, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

It is already there in footnote ak. This quote is well known – it has always stood out to me as encapsulating how conflicts are often started by ignorance rather than malice. Onceinawhile (talk) 15:16, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

Already done since it was included in the footnotes — 🪫Volatile ^{📲T | ⌨️C} 20:13, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 1 March 2026

The last sentence of paragraph three under Long-term impacts has two spelling mistakes, emergance should be emergence and approache should be approach, if someone with the correct permissions could fix this. Thank you, have a nice day. Composaurus (talk) 02:25, 1 March 2026 (UTC)

 Done Thank you for identifying this. Onceinawhile (talk) 08:19, 1 March 2026 (UTC)

Replacing Zionist reaction newspaper

I am having trouble adding this file

First issue of the official Zionist magazine The Maccabaean after the Balfour Declaration

in place of the current Times article. Can anyone do it? I think this page will look better and be more informative if it displayed the front page of the magazine instead of just the declaration but in a newspaper unaffiliated with Zionism. بادهای شمال ❄️ (talk) 10:11, 30 April 2026 (UTC)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Maccabaean,_first_issue_after_the_Balfour_Declaration_(1_December_1917).pdf بادهای شمال ❄️ (talk) 10:12, 30 April 2026 (UTC)