close
Jump to content

Balfour Declaration of 1917

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Balfour Declaration)
The letter from Balfour to Rothschild
The letter from Balfour to Rothschild

The Balfour Declaration was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to the banker and prominent Zionist leader Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, dated 2 November 1917.

The Balfour Declaration consisted of a public statement by the government of the United Kingdom during the World War I. In this letter, Balfour declared on behalf of the British government its support for plans for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

The issuance of the declaration had many long-lasting consequences and was a key moment in the lead-up to the Arab–Israeli conflict, which is often referred to as the world's "most intractable conflict".