Balfour Declaration

2 November 1917 · London

Middle East

Background

A 67-word statement in a letter to Lord Rothschild, later written into Britain's League of Nations Mandate for Palestine (1922). It said nothing should harm the rights of the 'existing non-Jewish communities', who were then about 90% of the population. Jewish immigration under the Mandate led towards the creation of Israel in 1948.

Signed by

British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, in a letter to Lord Rothschild

Why it matters

Britain declared support for 'a national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine; a root of the Arab–Israeli conflict.