Revisiting the Balfour Declaration -By J. Ezike

Lord Balfour

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the elites of the British empire view in favor with the anti-Zionist sentiments of Palestine.

Zionism arose in the 19th century in response to the anti-Semitic movements in Europe. It is in the real sense an anti-imperialist movement. It opposes the “conquer and rule” ideology of superpowers and the empty promises of empires like Britain whose vainglorious, self-ordained coronation of themselves as “voyagers” and “explorers” turned out to be a sort of euphemism for “invaders” and ”colonialists”. It is unsurprising that a staggering 95 percent of the world’s countries (specifically 22 in number) have been swept over by the turbulent power of Britain – including America and Canada – two superpowers. With many invasions predating Britain as a modern empire.

A writer (perhaps British) once quoted: ”without Great Britain there would never had been the state of Israel…” This statement gives credence to the “Balfour declaration” that afforded Jews a settlement among the Palestinian people. The conquered region was meant to serve as ”national home” to the Jews as promised by Britain but it was a “political calculation” to expand its dominion both “economically” and “politically” in the Arab world – in order words, it was a move driven by ulterior motive, as oppose to the political narratives by the elites of the British empire.

Let’s not forget that when Britain promised Nigeria Her independence in 1960 – a freedom devoid of bloodshed – it only “restructured” its interference by transferring powers to the Northern Caliphate as willing tools to perpetuate their colonial mandate which still stands today. Technically, Britain never left – a betrayal of their promise to the Igbos, Yorubas and the rest of Nigeria. In the same vein, Britain neglected the final clause of the Balfour declaration of 1917 that: ”nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” Along the line, there became a gap between the Balfour declaration and the performance of the mandate.

Britain over the years have proudly declared their role in the creation of the state of Israel. But the question that drums into our mind is: Did Britain REALLY create the state of Israel? The answer is: capital letter NO. Rather, Britain “opposed” and “prevented” the establishment of Jewish states. At that time of the declaration the number of Jews living in Israel was about 100,000. And these minorities had already established a de facto Jewish home, in order words by “fact” rather than by “law”. It also meant, the land (Israel) had been established for centuries without colonial or imperial assistance from the likes of Britain.

Thus, the notion that Israel was created by Britain through the Balfour declaration was built on false premise. The Balfour declaration was in fact an “approval” of the British empire’s creation of a “Jewish protectorate” like the Northern and the Southern protectorate of the contraption coined Nigeria and serves as the Amalgamation Clause of 1914.

The Balfour declaration was neglected by Britain and did everything within its power to prevent the creation of Jewish states, to quell the Zionist movements and to stifle the population increase of the Jews within the protectorate which posed as a threat to their (British) hegemonic control of Palestine. In furtherance to that goal, the British empire acted as villains against the Jews by reneging on their promises – a move driven by a complex mix of imperial wisdom and religious fanaticism. The latter is more ironical than political, because Britain, a Christian nation, have been the “central power” in the destruction, dehumanization and enslavement of Jews and Christians alike in favor of the Muslims.

Acting to the empire’s script, Britain in its familiar character pulled strings behind the curtains – a move that led to the issuance of the “White Paper” in 1939 – a policy restricting “Jewish migration” to Palestine which was well “calculated” and “designed” to allow the ethnic cleansing or persecution of the Jews in Europe by the Nazi – an evil, popular in the negative as the Holocaust. Millions of Jews would have survived the Holocaust and would have found refuge in Palestine if Britain had not issued the “White Paper”.The evil did not stop there as over 60,000 Jews were imprisoned in British-established camps in Cyprus, as a means to torture Jews escaping the Nazi concentration camps by opting for an entry into Palestine. In the same year, precisely in 1946, over 100,000 Jews were placed under house arrest in Tel Aviv by Britain adding more ranks to its antisemitism status and did not relent to express its hate for the Jews. Little wonder that in 1948 Britain refused to vote in favor of Israel becoming a member of the United Nations.

But it is noteworthy to state that not ALL Britons were against the Zionist movement or ideology. As a matter of fact Winston Churchill with many others were pro-Zionists.

Trump’s Christmas gift to Israel turned out to be a “bad spell” on British interest but a “sweet victory” for pro-Zionists who resonate with the movement.The Jerusalem declaration is a matter of binding history with truth. Thus, the recognition of the territory defined as the historic land of Israel is simply a fulfillment of the prophecy in the book of Zechariah.

It would be folly to question the re-establishment of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel.

The Jerusalem declaration is the first step in legitimizing the disputed territory as the “National Home” of the Jews – of which Ndigbo are “denizens” of that ancient region thus must support their distant relatives.