Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you. on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.

His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely,
Arthur James Balfour

The Balfour Declaration was a public pledge by Britain, declaring its aim to establish “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. The statement came in the form of a letter from Britain’s then foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community. But the declaration was by no means formulated and decided upon overnight – rather, it had been in the works for years, involved many people and was drafted numerous times before being sent out. The pledge is generally viewed as one of the main catalysts of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 and the creation of the Zionist state of Israel. The key players involved in realizing the Balfour Declaration are:

• Arthur Balfour, The author of the Declaration. The English aristocrat was serving as foreign secretary in the British government when the Declaration was issued and is the author of it.
• Lionel Walter Rothschild. Rothschild was the figurehead of the British Jewish community and is the man to whom the Declaration was addressed.
• Chaim Weizmann. A Russian Zionist and later the first president of Israel, Weizmann’s contribution to the British war effort as a scientist made him well connected to the upper echelons of the British government. He played a central role in lobbying the government to issue the Declaration.
• David Lloyd George. The prime minister in the coalition government between 1916 and 1922, Lloyd George’s government issued the Balfour Declaration. He created the War Cabinet to make major strategic decisions during WWI and ensured that the Zionist project was on the agenda.
• Mark Sykes. Serving in the British government’s War Cabinet, Sykes acted as a key channel between British Zionists and politicians. He was highly involved in the negotiations that led to the Declaration and convincing the other Allied powers to support it.
• Herbert Samuel. Said to be the first Jewish Cabinet minister in England in 1909, Samuel, an ardent Zionist, introduced the idea of a Jewish state to the British government as early as 1914. He worked closely with Chaim Weizmann and advised him on how to further Zionist aims in government circles.
• Nahum Sokolow. A Polish writer and diplomat, Nahum Sokolow traveled widely to rally support from world powers to back the Declaration. Most notably, he met with high profile French officials in May 1917 and managed to convince them that Palestine should come under British control.