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✡ Preparations Ambiguous wording 23

Agreeing the wording of the Balfour Declaration proved to be far from simple.

Conflicting views from within the Jewish community coupled with Britain’s

developing geopolitical objectives as the Great War dragged on combined

to produce a text which remains controversial 100 years later.

Kathy Durkin unpacks the complexity

The ambiguous wording

of the Balfour Declaration

he Balfour Declaration underwent several re-draftings in 1917 due
to the conflicting stances of those involved. An examination of the
T War Cabinet minutes and personal memoirs of key players during
this period reveals five factions of people all passionately contesting for
the wording to reflect their own aspirations and beliefs .
1
One group comprised the Cultural liance could be celebrated and admired
Zionists, led by Jewish thinkers such as worldwide. They therefore were op-
Ahad Ha’am and Martin Buber. These posed to the notion of an immediate
believed that Jews best belonged in mass migration of diasporan Jews to
their lands of adoption, where they Palestine with the aim of rapidly es-
would fulfil their destiny of being ‘a tablishing a majority in the land, and
light to the nations’. This, they thought, so ultimate statehood.
may lead in the distant future to the Ahad Ha’am was particularly keen
re-establishment of a Jewish political to ensure that the highest standards
State, but in 1917 they believed the of Jewish morality and fairness would
focus should be on improving Jewish also be reflected in equal treatment of
diasporan lives through education, the Arabs already living in Palestine.
cultural advancement and rising above Cultural Zionists therefore wanted the
the ghetto mentality. Balfour Declaration to express a con-
Their aspirations for Palestine ciliatory, gradualist, and non-political aspirations. Their diasporan national
stretched only as far as setting up a stance. identities were gravely threatened by
cultural/spiritual centre in Jerusalem Political Zionists, on the other hand, notions of a Jewish State and nation-
where Jewish art, heritage and bril- would be satisfied with nothing short ality.
of a Jewish State as soon as possible, A fourth group of people who in-
‘There were five under the protectorate of the British fluenced the wording of the Balfour
Government – Herzl’s dream come true.
Declaration were pro-Arab British of-
factions of people They wanted the Balfour Declaration ficials and MPs.
to clearly spell out and endorse this
Last, but not least, politicians like
all contesting for the political goal. Arthur Balfour and Lloyd George were
Tensions between these conflicting
genuinely sympathetic towards the Zi-
wording to reflect factions of Zionism inevitably resulted onist aspiration of establishing a Jewish
State in their ancient Homeland. Both
in a mixed, contradictory message,
their own aspirations which caused great confusion amongst men were influenced by their Christian
heritage and Bible knowledge, although
British politicians and officials.
and beliefs.’ tionists, vehemently opposed all Zionist Lloyd George was primarily keen in se-
A third group of Jews, the assimila-
curing a buffer zone in the Middle East