Balfour Declaration

American  

noun

1. a statement, issued by the British government on November 2, 1917, favoring the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jews but without prejudice to the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.

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Balfour Declaration British  

noun

1. the statement made by Arthur Balfour in 1917 of British support for the setting up of a national home for the Jews in Palestine, provided that the rights of "existing non-Jewish communities" in Palestine could be safeguarded

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Example Sentences

The British tradition of Christian Zionism laid the foundation for the Balfour Declaration, and eventually the state of Israel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

But the Britain in 2025 is not the Britain of 1917 when the Balfour Declaration was signed.

From BBC • Jul. 30, 2025

Compare the two positions and explain why some Jewish people would have favored the Balfour Declaration while others did not.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

People only remember one thing about Arthur Balfour, he said of the British foreign secretary who signed the famous 1917 Balfour Declaration that gave UK backing to establishing a Jewish homeland in mandate Palestine.

From The Guardian • Jun. 17, 2019

He stated that he was not a Zionist, but was in full sympathy with the Balfour Declaration to secure a homeland in Palestine with equal civil and religious rights for all nationalities.

From Under Four Administrations From Cleveland to Taft by Straus, Oscar S.