The Balfour Declaration: Empire, the Mandate and Resistance in Palestine

by Bernard Regan

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Middle East

240 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2017

Reviews

[G. Branden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever wanted to read about the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Well, here you go. I would say I wish I'd read this years ago, and I do, but I couldn't have--it was only published in 2017, and relies heavily on recently-declassified documents and memoranda from the British Foreign Office and related ministries that have come to light only in the past few years.

Regan's book focuses on the 20-year period from near the end of World War I to the doorstep of World War II, with a particular emphasis on developments of the 1920s and early 1930s. His subject is the Question of Palestine from the perspectives of the British and those who had to deal with them regarding it, primarily the Palestinians and Zionist Jewish settlers, with guest appearances from France, the United States, and the newborn Soviet Union.

If one doesn't know the history of Palestine prior to World War II, going back to the beginning of the Zionist movement in the 19th century, one is apt to have _extremely_ distorted views of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It would be hard to escape.

I can say that in the U.S., the popular notion--which we're not so much taught as permitted to infer from a carefully curated set of factoids repeated in the culture--is that "the Jews" wanted a homeland back in Palestine, and that there were some token gestures in this direction between the World Wars by the British, but it was half-hearted, and then World War II and the Holocaust happened and finally at long last we all, except for the hateful Arabs, recognized the cosmic justice of awarding them a nation-state as a necessary but ultimately inadequate acknowledgment of the injustice of anti-Semitism.

I knew there were problems with the above, but now I can put it simply. The story above is a fairy tale. It's not so much false as so symbolic and narratological that one shouldn't confuse it with history. To do so is somewhat like trying to situate and reconcile the King Arthur stories with the early medieval history of England. The trouble is that people do indulge such practices with Israel/Palestine, and therein lies not just mischief, but dispossession, death, and the nonstop roiling cauldron of politics that is real life.

(To head off a perverse misreading of the above--no, I'm not saying World War II or the Holocaust didn't happen. I'm saying that Israel would have been established as a state _even if they hadn't_. It's like there are two histories; one for people who know who Chaim Weizmann was, and why he was important, and one for the unwashed masses.)

Regan's book reads like a Ph.D. thesis lightly adapted to book form. In many ways that's good--such an explosive subject requires the academic scruples he brings to the subject. There are about 200 pages of main matter, with 50+ pages of bibliography and end notes.

Bernard Regan makes a strong case that Britain's support for the Zionist cause went no further than their colonial and military objectives in preserving access to the Suez Canal (to the southwest) and British India (to the east). The activities of Irgun and the Stern Gang, not covered here, suggest strongly that the Zionists were well aware of this at the time. In a must-read essay, "The Perils of Partition", Christopher Hitchens mentions that Britain wrapped up the Indian colonial project about a year ahead of schedule, and I have to wonder if this was in part due to exasperation with resistance movements in both Palestine and India. As Hitchens's essay title notes, the U.K. left both countries with the dubious gift of partition--though it is worth noting that Israel has been far more successful at geographically assimilating territory and subjecting its population than Pakistan, Bangladesh, or post-1947 India has.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great historical understanding of the Balfour Declaration from the point of view of the Britain and how Zionism benefitted British imperialism in the Middle East. It is also a helpful book to understanding the political system in Mandatory Palestine and ultimately how the Balfour Declaration and subsequently the League of Nations Mandate purposefully developed a political structure that aided Zionism and inhibited Palestinian labour organizing and civic participation. I would recommend this book to those interested in the history of Palestine from 1917-1947. If you are studying Palestine and want to better understand the political situation there, this book is very helpful to giving a contextual background.

[Steffi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now onto my quest to ‘understand’ ‘the middle east’. Thanks to our extremely Eurocentric education system, the current extent of my knowledge about the history of the region goes something like “The Ottoman Empire. Yeah, that’s quite something, huh.” But this shall change!

So ‘The Balfour Declaration - Empire, the Mandate and Resistance in Palestine’ (VERSO, 2017) is a very insightful read, focusing on pre and post WW1 Palestine and Zionist settler colonialism within the wider context of British imperialism. This lens is also what makes this book so different and interesting as it uses the conceptual framework of Empire and contextualizes the 1917 declaration of support by British foreign secretary Lord Balfour for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine in the wider political economy of late 19th century (monopoly finance capital) imperialism rather than a purely Zionist project in a vacuum. Of course, Jewish immigration to Palestine took also place within a context of progroms and anti-semitism (and later holocaust) in Europe and Russia with severe restrictions and quotas on (Jewish) immigration to most Western countries, especially the US and UK.

The book traces the central role that imperialist interests played in shaping the British policy in Palestine and the eventual establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, in particular the formative period of the British Mandate up until 1936.

The book provides also a neat analysis of Palestinian resistance (against Zionism and later also anti-British), including the formation of political parties based on new classes (other than traditional or feudal forms of organization of Palestinian society) associated with social and economic transformations (urbanization, industrialization, demographic change) of the 1920s and 1930s.

The book concludes that “British self-interest authored the Balfour Declaration and created the Mandate” and I think this is instructive for looking at the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict today - this conflict (and all others in the region) is not about religion or culture but strategic interests by major Western powers and elites within a continued context of racism and disregard for non-Western lives.

Hope to find more books on the middle east of this kind!Recommendations welcome.

[Eurethius Péllitièr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written history

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a research paper that turned into a book, so it’s very dry at times and gets deep into some economic and political stuff that might go over your head if you aren’t well-versed in the topic. That said, I’m still very glad I read it and I feel more confident speaking about this time in history and how it has impacted the world today.

[Ghassan Samaha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The British political body needs to sponsor a solution like it sponsored a problem it had created, the Balfour mandate, they need to create a new mandate, and they need to do that on an urgent basis, with French involvement.

[Xochitl · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have always been pro-palestine and have read many articles, journals, and watched documentaries on the occupation since i was a teenager. the main focus on my research has always been from the 1960s to current. of course i know this all came to be about due to imperialism, colonialism, zionism, and the mandate/declaration. that was to the extent of it though...

if you are looking to set up your understanding and context to the very beginnings of war on palestine, i can't recommend this book enough. easy to read, the information is organised and broken up cleanly, and the page count isn't daunting. if youre new or in the middle of your nonficition journey, this book shouldn't be a problem to read at all.

after reading this, i am more than confident to starting digging deeper into the beginning. i feel like i have actually built a better understanding.

giving this 5 stars because of everything mentioned above.

[Omar Amer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernard Regan's The Balfour Declaration provides a meticulous examination of one of the most consequential documents in modern Middle Eastern history. In a compelling narrative, Regan highlights the far-reaching impacts of the 1917 declaration, which paved the way for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, often at the expense of the local Palestinian population.

With a critical eye, Regan unveils how British imperial interests, rather than local needs or rights, drove policy decisions, resulting in significant injustices for Palestinians who were displaced or marginalized. Through thorough research and powerful storytelling, he demonstrates that the Palestinian community faced deep and enduring wrongs from this legacy.

Overall, Regan’s book stands as a well-argued case for recognizing the harm caused by imperialist policies, and it serves as a vital resource for anyone seeking to understand the roots of the ongoing Palestinian struggle for justice.

[Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

An actual quote from Winston Churchill:

"I do not admit that the dog in the manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time... I do not admit, for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America, or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to those people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher grade race, or, at any rate, a more wordly-wise race, to put it that way, has come and take their place."

[Yunis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bernard Regan looks at implication of the Palestinian Mandate on the lives of both the Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, and immigrate Jews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to understand. If you prefer numbers and data, this might not be for you since this book is mainly anecdotal.

[William Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief synopsis of the UKs manipulation of Palestine during the 1920s to secure rail and oil trade through favoured economic and political status agreements.

[T. B. Vittini]

A compelling, illuminating read, though in desperate need of a good editor.