SubhanAllah! On the dinner table, I was reminded that today is 2nd November, and the historical background revolving around it which we shouldn’t forget! I was reminded that it was 2nd November when Balfour Declaration happened.
On 2 November 1917, Britain’s Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour issued a letter supporting the idea of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine land that was then part of the Muslim majority Ottoman.
Many think this was done out of sympathy for persecuted Jews, but history says otherwise. The real reasons were political and colonial.
We need to understand that The Balfour Declaration of 1917, by Arthur Balfour forcefully giving the land of one party (muslims) to another (Jews) which became the cause of the catastrophe Nakba in 1948 was not due to any humanitarian rights of persecuted Jews as many assumed, it was actually settling the colonial powers in the heart of muslim lands, surrounded by muslim lands with key geopolitical positions like Suez Canal of Egypt which even today controls the 12 percent of total global sea trade, also it was in much interest of the Britain to have power on Suez Canal due to its route to India by using Zionism as a tool.
Food for thought-Had the Balfour Declaration been a humanitarian right for the persecuted Jews then we must know as a matter of fact that the same Arthur Balfour had previously passed the Alien Act which prevented Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in eastern Europe gaining asylum in the UK.
Yes! Read it again, the same Arthur Balfour had previously passed an Alien Act which prevented Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in eastern Europe gaining asylum in the UK.
Britain wanted control over the Middle East, especially near the Suez Canal, the trade route to India.
Supporting Zionism gave Britain a loyal foothold in the region. At the same time, Balfour’s government had earlier passed the Aliens Act, which actually blocked Jewish refugees from entering Britain proof that it wasn’t about “humanitarian rights.”
So, the Declaration wasn’t about kindness, it was an imperial strategy dressed up as “moral concern.” It then eventually displaced Palestinians and led to the Nakba, the catastrophe in 1948.
Sadly! Muslim soldiers from British colonies (like India) were also sent to fight in Palestine during World War I meaning Muslims were unknowingly helping Britain take Muslim lands, just as colonial powers still manipulate regional forces today.
The Balfour Declaration wasn’t about saving Jews, it was about expanding British power.
And today, 2nd November, marks the start of a century-long chain of events that still shapes the tragedy in Palestine.