How Did The Balfour Declaration Contribute To Tension Between Jews And Arabs?

How Did The Balfour Declaration Contribute To Tension Between Jews And Arabs? – To answer this question, first we have to understand what the Balfour Declaration is. Because this declaration had a great impact, not only the Jews, but also on the Arabs and the whole world.

How Did The Balfour Declaration Contribute To Tension Between Jews And Arabs?

The Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration is a statement from the British government made during the World War I. This statement declared the British government’s support for the establishment of a nation in Palestine, for the Jewish people. This controversial statement was released in 2 November 1917. The name of the declaration comes from its author. Because the declaration was part o a letter from Arthur Balfour to Walter Rothchild. The last was the leader of the British community of Jews.

Written in 2 November, the declaration was made public only one week later, in 9 November. This declaration was a clear sign of support for Zionism. And many nations and leaders didn’t really like the idea. The Arabs were the most offended by this declaration. Because the “Jewish National Home” wouldn’t be only in Palestine, but also some parts of the Ottoman Empire.

How Did The Balfour Declaration Contribute To Tension Between Jews And Arabs?

Due to the outrage, and the fact that the declaration mentions “in Palestine” as a whole, the British government declared that it refers to parts of the country. Not the whole Palestine. But they still didn’t specify which parts.

Also, many people sustained that this declaration will lead to antisemitism. And more importantly, to create tension between the already existing Palestine population and the Jews. The authors of the declaration decided to add a small part to it, so this tension will not take place. Therefore, the declaration says that the process of establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine, should not affects the civil and religious rights of the non-Jews.

Although, the British government tried to avoid the tension between the Arabs and Jews, they couldn’t succeed. Even after modifying the declaration, antisemitism still grew in the state of Palestine.

In conclusion, the answer to the question How Did The Balfour Declaration Contribute To Tension Between Jews And Arabs? Is simple. The declaration allowed unlimited Jewish emigration. Which grew the hate between Arabs and Jews.