Balfour Declaration Significance

The Balfour Declaration is an important aspect in the Arab-Israeli Conflict. The Balfour Declaration is the first important political document of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. The Balfour Declaration is a letter that was written on November 2nd, 1917, from the British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Walter Rothschild supporting the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Before the Balfour Declaration, there were important events that led to its creation. These events include Zionism, World War I, the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence and the Sykes–Picot Agreement. The Balfour Declaration was created for many reasons. Some of the reasons include to create a homeland for the Jewish people and impact foreign governments. The major people
World War I was fought between 1914 and 1918 and in this war it was the Triple Entente which consist of France, Britain, and the Russian Empire as well as the United States against the Central Powers which consists of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. While World War I was going on, the British made promises to both the Jews and the Arabs. The British government until late 1916 didn’t thought the Zionists were important, even though there were some in the British government that supported the Zionists like David Lloyd George and Herbert Samuel. The British were focusing on ending World War I as soon as possible because of the death toll they were facing and the stalemate. In an attempt to break the stalemate in Europe, the British promised the Zionists a creation of a Jewish homeland/state in Palestine as long the Jewish people will fight on the British side against the Central Powers. The Balfour Declaration had little effect on the war effort because of certain reasons. According to some historians like Meir Verete, one reason is because the Balfour Declaration was for political use only. World War I played a role in the creation of the Balfour