A Short History of the Balfour Declaration

by John Tiffany (Editor)

Few Americans—few people anywhere—have heard of the Balfour Declaration, the history of which is known primarily to students of global affairs. What general knowledge there is surrounding its origins is generally restricted to dry accounts in diplomatic histories. But here is a case where truth is stranger than fiction. The issuance of the Balfour Declaration set the stage for American entry into World War I and thereby laid the groundwork for World War II and the many consequential global convulsions that followed. And, ultimately, of course, it's the foundation of the tension in the Middle East today that points toward further war and destruction. Here is the secret history of the Balfour Declaration, laid out in no uncertain terms and devoid of euphemism and political correctness. Those who have any serious desire to understand the sources of world conflict need this precise and candid analysis—the facts—about the behind-the-scenes machinations that brought the Balfour Declaration into being—and why.

Genres: History

118 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

John Tiffany trained at Glasgow University gaining an MA in Theatre and Classics. He was Literary Director for the Traverse Theatre, Associate Director for Paines Plough and a founding Associate Director for the National Theatre of Scotland. He is currently an Associate Director for the Royal Court Theatre. During 2010-11 John was a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University.

Work for the Royal Court includes: THE TWITS, HOPE, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and THE PASS.
Work for the National Theatre of Scotland includes: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, MACBETH, ENQUIRER, PETER PAN, THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA, TRANSFORM CAITHNESS: HUNTER, BE NEAR ME, NOBODY WILL EVER FORGIVE US, THE BACCHAE, BLACK WATCH, ELIZABETH GORDON QUINN and HOME: GLASGOW. For BLACK WATCH, John won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director and a Critics’ Circle Award.

On Broadway, John directed THE GLASS MENAGERIE (also A.R.T.), MACBETH, and ONCE, which won 8 Tony Awards in 2012, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical.

Other work includes: THE AMBASSADOR (Brooklyn Academy of Music), JERUSALEM (West Yorkshire Playhouse), LAS CHICAS DEL TRES Y MEDIA FLOPPIES (Granero Theatre, Mexico City and Edinburgh Festival Fringe), IF DESTROYED TRUE, MERCURY FUR, HELMET and THE STRAITS (Paines Plough), GAGARIN WAY, ABANDONMENT, AMONG UNBROKEN HEARTS, PERFECT DAYS and PASSING PLACES (Traverse, Edinburgh).

John is also working on the stage play of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD with J.K. Rowling and Jack Thorne, which opened in the West End in June 2016.