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to the Jews in a subtle (some would war Europe were not remotely “expectation of
say deceptive) form of wording. In interested in leaving their relatively
particular, the deliberate absence prosperous western lifestyles and a mass Jewish
of a clear and explicit definition of adopted nationalities, to face emigration to the land
what ‘a Jewish homeland’ really pioneer hardships in what was
meant in political terms resulted an underdeveloped and harsh of Israel proved to be
in the Balfour Declaration being a environment in Palestine.
virtually meaningless compromise, Only zealots and the desperate, grossly misplaced”
open to a variety of interpretations. poor and persecuted would choose
The British approach, therefore, was to go there, and then in much
both pragmatic and opportunistic; smaller numbers than anticipated to mass Jewish immigration into
they would sit on the fence and and without the necessary what Arabs viewed as the ancient
allow events on the ground to work finances for nation-building. So, Muslim Caliphate. The result was
the inevitable abandonment of the
Mandate in 1948.

1. C. Weizmann, Trial and Error: The Autobiography
of Chaim Weizmann (London: East & West Library,
1950): 212.
2. D. Lloyd George, War Memoirs of David Lloyd
George (London: Oldhams, 1933-36).
3. Colonel R. Meinertzhagen, Middle East Diary 1917
to 1956 (London: Cresset, 1959): 190.
4. J. Schneer, The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of
the Arab-Israeli Conflict (London: Bloomsbury, 2010):
23.
5. K. Durkin, The Ambiguity of the Balfour
Founding pioneers of Gan Shmuel kibbutz, 1921 Declaration: Who caused it and why? (2013).

out naturally, be what may. 4 hopes of establishing a majority About The Author
The Mandate failed miserably for Jewish population in the land grew Dr Kathy Durkin is a recently retired Senior
several reasons. First, Weizmann’s increasingly remote by 1930. Lecturer in Research Methodology at
5
Bournemouth University, with a Ph.D. in Cross
expectation of a mass Jewish Secondly, Britain’s implicit promises Cultural Communication and Critical Thinking
emigration to the land of Israel to both Jews and Arabs were and a Masters Research in Jewish History and
Culture. She is the author of The Ambiguity
proved to be grossly misplaced. incompatible, and Britain completely of the Balfour Declaration: Who caused it and
The majority of Jews in post- underestimated Arab resistance why? (2013).

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