ABSTRACT
Britain was the one state in which friendliness towards Jewry had been consistent for centuries. It may be said also to have been the only one whose Governments had given any help to Jewry or Jewish communities in distress beyond kind words and occasional tepid suggestions. It was as a consequence of the influences that the Balfour Declaration was made by the British Government in November 1917, ‘His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.’ Participants in the discussions around the issue of the Balfour Declaration have put forward many views and many have suggested that the principal motive for the Balfour Declaration was anything but altruistic.
