How the League of Nations, representing “civilized” states, treated Palestine is a crucial topic, revealing the contradiction between Western ideals and their practical application.
Even before the mandate, another significant event occurred, known as the Balfour Declaration. This announcement was made by British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour and stated:
“His Majesty’s Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object.”
Look at the behavior of civilized nations. On one hand, the charter of the League of Nations declared the British Mandate of Palestine as a sacred trust of civilization. On the other hand, the British government guaranteed the establishment of a national home for Jews in Palestine and pledged to use its best endeavors to help achieve this goal.
In examining the Balfour Declaration, it is important to consider the term “national home.” What does it signify? Is there a recognized concept of a national home in international law? Moreover, what is the implication of having a “view with favor”? Was the approach just, and did it fulfill the requirements sacred trust? What precisely does “best endeavors” entail? This uncertainty begs the question of whether it was an intentional and conscious attempt or just a coincidence.
“Although some have referred to it as ambiguity, American scholar James Galvin has presented the viewpoint that these were deliberate word choices.”
Thus, when the Council of the League of Nations issued the document called “Mandate for Palestine,” it gave priority to the British Declaration of Balfour, deviating from Article 22 of the Charter of the League of Nations . The duty to make Palestine the national home of the Jews was handed over to the United Kingdom and it was included in the responsibilities of the United Kingdom to do this during this mandate. Paragraph 2 of the preamble to the Mandate for Palestine of the Council of the League of Nations states that:
“The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home.”
The Balfour Declaration explicitly outlined Britain’s responsibility to establish a political, administrative, and economic framework in Palestine and facilitate the development of a Jewish national home there. It raises questions about whether this was a sincere commitment to the sacred trust or simply a part of the spoils of war.
“So what did that mean? That is, contrary to the League of Nations Charter, the document effectively treated Palestine as an occupied territory rather than a trust. The global war’s triumphant “civilized” nations breached their own international laws.
One of the arguments given is that the Balfour Declaration did not announce “a Jewish national state” but rather a “Jewish national home” within Palestine. The British discussed “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” However, this is also not true.
The term “national home” carries an intentionally ambiguous meaning. It is important to note that in the first Jewish congress, the term “national home” was used instead of “national state.” This congress took place in Switzerland, and it is significant that the word “home” was used along with the phrase “in Palestine” rather than “of Palestine.”
The Balfour Declaration used the same terminology as the Zionists in their Jewish conference, highlighting a shared vision for a Jewish homeland. It’s crucial to grasp the origins of the Balfour Declaration. Rather than being an official policy declaration or subject to international discourse, it was a private letter from Balfour to a Zionist figure, expressing the British Government’s commitment to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This significant letter is widely regarded as the Balfour Declaration. The British Foreign Secretary concluded the letter with a request to inform the Zionist Federation of this landmark announcement. The Balfour Declaration used the same terminology as the Zionists in their Jewish conference, highlighting a shared vision for a Jewish homeland. It’s crucial to grasp the origins of the Balfour Declaration. Rather than being an official policy declaration or subject to international discourse, it was a private letter from Balfour to a Zionist figure, expressing the British Government’s commitment to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This significant letter is widely regarded as the Balfour Declaration. The British Foreign Secretary concluded the letter with a request to inform the Zionist Federation of this landmark announcement.
The Secretary General of the Zionist Organization, Nahum Sokolov, described Palestine as the national home of the Zionists in his book “History of Zionism.” He referred to it as a national home rather than a state, but it is evident that the national home was intended to be a national state. This same concept of Zionism was also supported in the Balfour Declaration.
When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in Palestine, the Jewish population stood at only 2%. However, within a few years, following the resettlement of Jews from around the world, British records in 1922 indicated that the Muslim population accounted for 78%, while Jews made up 11%, and Christians 10%. The rapid increase in Jewish settlement saw their proportion rise from 2% to 11%. Surprisingly, British statistics from 1945 revealed that the proportion of Jews had surged to 31%, while Muslims had decreased to 60%. Britain was entrusted with the mandate to pave the way politically, economically, and administratively for Palestine to serve as the national home of the Jews, a duty it wholeheartedly fulfilled. It is important to note that when the League of Nations issued the warning, the Jewish population in Palestine was a mere 2%. Although the League’s representative engaged in discussions with the Zionist Organization and collaborated with them on a warning document, Palestinian Muslims were not consulted at any stage in the process.
