Balfour Declaration

Why Israel still honors Britain in its streets despite bitter history

The long, seesawing history of Britain’s involvement in Zionism, from imperial sponsorship to modern diplomatic rupture.

Streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are named after Britain’s King George V due to the Balfour Declaration supporting the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in what was then known as Palestine, which was issued during his reign.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a stakeout before attending a Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York City, U.S., August 5, 2025.

Gideon Sa'ar responds to Yvette Cooper’s criticism of Israel during UN Security Council meeting

SUPPORTERS OF Defend Our Juries take part in a protest as part of the group's campaign to lift the ban on Palestine Action, ahead of a judicial review in London next week, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, November 22, 2025.

Jailed UK Palestine Action members end hunger strike, claim victory

The iCenter's recent Conflicts of Interest cohort gathering in Chicago. Participants were participating in a gallery walk of photos and texts, and accompanying audio clips, related to modern day and historical Israel.

Israel-Hamas War: Teaching and learning about the conflict - opinion


Why are Zionists celebrating unfulfilled promises?

Instead of “facilitating” Jewish statehood as Balfour had pledged, the British were now blocking it. If a Jewish state were to come into being, it would be despite British obstruction of the Balfour

As Arab armies mobilized and the Arab League’s secretary-general vowed to carry out ‘a war of extermination and momentous massacre’ of the Jews, the UN stood idly by

100 years later, how has the Balfour Declaration shaped Israel's conflicts?

At its centennial, scholars and descendants of the British statesman discuss the history of the Balfour Declaration and what it means today.

Arthur James Balfour

Labour's Jeremy Corbyn refuses to attend Balfour Celebration dinner

The Labour leader will instead send Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry in his place.

Britain's leader of the opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn

Balfour line-up has disintegrated

Few of today’s Palestinians have any deep roots in Palestine.

Christian worshippers in Jerusalem. ‘Early Christian writers spoke of a Jewish Restoration to the Holy Land. After the Reformation this became a movement. In English-speaking countries the 19th and early 20th centuries saw many strong Christian Zionists.’

Why Balfour’s biblical background matters

England was the first and only empire to control the Holy Land while acknowledging the Jewish people's legitimate claim to their historic homeland.

British vehicles in Jerusalem near Mount Zion on the eve of Israel’s independence.

The Balfour declaration and Resolution 242

The documents provide a window into contrasting perspectives of the Arab-Israeli conflict and highlight the importance of the dual narrative.

Lord Balfour declares the Hebrew University of Jerusalem open in painting by Leopold Pilichowski

COLUMN ONE: Balfour’s greatest of gifts

Israeli athletes and performers, professors, students and tourists in countries throughout the world are regularly discriminated against for being Israeli Jews.

Arthur James Balfour

Israeli Arabs, Palestinians to protest Balfour Declaration

Arab-Israeli leaders to hold a protest outside the British Embassy in Tel Aviv to mark the century that passed since the Balfour Declaration.

PALESTINIANS PROTEST the Balfour Declaration in Ramallah last week.

My word: The Balfour Declaration as work of art

The tragedy of the Palestinians does not stem from the Balfour Declaration.

WILLIAM BLAKE’S verses are part of ‘Jerusalem Dreams,’ by Jaqueline Nicholls at the Museum of the Underground Prisoners in Jerusalem.

The centennial of Balfour Declaration and Lord Balfour in Eretz Yisrael

The Balfour Declaration is actually a letter from Sir Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild with a notable sentence that inspired the aliya of many Jews around the world.

The Balfour Declaration