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Balfour Declaration

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Name and Code

Lecturer’s Name

Due Date
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The Zionist, Balfour, Milner, Milner-Amery, and the final text bear similarities and

differences within themselves. The paper will focus on the similarities that exist between the

drafts and also discuss the differences that exist between them. The scope of the document will

also stretch further into identifying the distinctive features of each of the currents and then look

into whose interests are reflected the most in every draft. Later on, the paper will shed some light

on the various ambiguities in the drafts.

The first two documents and the last two documents have similarities within themselves

and among themselves. The Zionist draft of July 1917 got approval from the Majesty, who

agreed with its contents that Palestine should be made a home for the Jews too. The government

supports the principle and combines strategies and efforts to make sure the draft passes and

harvest its draft success. The Zionist draft isn’t different from the Balfour draft of August 1917.

In the draft, the Majesty acknowledges the speculations laid down by the draft and supports the

establishment of Palestine as a home for the Jewish community. The government still supports

the draft and channels its time and resources into ensuring its success. However, the main

difference between these two drafts lies in offering space at the table for the Zionist Organization

to present their suggestions regarding the draft.

Looking into the Milner and Milner-Amery drafts, there are also similarities between

them and differences between the two and the drafts mentioned earlier. The Milner draft of

August 1917 gets the approval of the Majesty and fights for the establishment of Palestine as the

permanent home for the Jews. The government also focuses its efforts on reconstituting Palestine

to house all people regardless of their religious differences. The draft attracts more attention

from the government, which injects more resources into ensuring the success of the current
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declaration. The Milner draft stands out and offers the Zionist Organization a space at the table

to present any more suggestions.

The Milner-Amery draft of 4 October 1917 is similar to the Milner draft. His Majesty is

in complete support of the reconstruction of Palestine to host the Jewish race. The draft mentions

that nothing should be done that violates the civil and religious rights of Jewish and non-Jewish

communities. However, there are no significant differences between the Milner and Milner-

Amery drafts and the final texts. The main difference is the declaration made in the final text.

Therefore, the rights and political statuses of other Jews in other countries are also protected by

the final declaration.

Each draft has distinct objectives and presents the interests of a specific person or

individual. In the Zionist draft, the statement ‘make Palestine home for the Jews’ sounds like a

desperate move for the British Empire in trying to end the war in peace rather than victory. The

draft is biased towards the British Empire more than the Jews who ought to make Palestine their

home. It over-represents the interests of the war between the British and Germans instead of

being a principle for making a home for the Jews (Grey, 2022).

The Balfour draft acted as a bridge within the British Empire. Therefore, the British

considered the Balfour draft a stepping stone for them to acquire support from Jews. By

supporting the draft, the British won themselves support from the Jews both in Palestine and

America, which would be used to defeat the Germans. The Milner draft considered Jews as a

superior community to the others. It over-shadowed the interests of the other non-Jewish

communities, thus presenting a minority and a majority gap. Therefore, the views of the non-

Jewish communities were silenced, and the interests of the Jewish community were given the
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spotlight. However, the Milner-Amery draft changed the constructs of the Milner draft by

awakening the voices of non-Jews in Palestine. The introduction of the race concept as a basis

for identification incited trouble and misunderstanding about who is superior and who is not. The

draft mainly reflected the interests of the native Palestinians and reduced the voices of the Jews.

The final draft represented the views of both communities and disregarded the race concept since

it incited division among the communities.

Following the counter drafting, there still exist aspects of ambiguity in the final

declaration. Firstly, secondary motives hide in the shadows of the primary principles of the

declaration. The grievances and suggestions of the Zionist organization were not as crucial to the

British since their main reason for supporting the draft was to gain support for the war.

Therefore, the ultimate meaning of the declaration was compromised and has since become

ambiguous (Hjelmgaard, 2017). On the other hand, it is vague to say that Palestine is home to the

Jews and, at the same time, say that there is nothing that prejudices the civil and religious rights

of non-Jews. In conclusion, the ambiguity of the declaration lies in the wording and the

sensibility of its conditions.

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References

Grey, M. (2022). The Balfour Declaration – Key players and events by Mary Grey | Balfour

Project. Balfourproject.org. Retrieved 1 April 2022, from https://balfourproject.org/the-

balfour-declaration-key-players-and-events-by-mary-grey/.

Hjelmgaard, K. (2017). Usatoday.com. Retrieved 1 April 2022, from

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/11/02/how-one-letter-67-words-

changed-middle-east/824367001/.