Why a Booktrail?
1917: The controversial history of the British government’s involvement in the Zionist project, from the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to the present day.
Balfour’s Shadow
What you need to know before your trail
The British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, wrote that the Declaration stated ‘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.’ Its impact on history has been immense and still reverberates a century later, starting what has been referred to as a hundred years of war against the Palestinian people.
Locations
Reset- The Middle East - Israel/Palestine
- A: Damascus Gate
- B: The West Bank - Bethlehem
- C: 1994 Treaty Line
- D: The Gaza Strip
Travel Guide
The Zionist project in the Middle East
This history focuses on the devastating events which resulted from the Declaration, such as the Arab Revolt, the Nakba and establishment of the state, the 1956 and 1967 wars, the Cold War and the Oslo period.
It also shines a light on controversial figures such as Tony Blair. In doing so, Balfour’s Shadow provides a fascinating take on this much-contested, important history.
The foundations of Israel were laid in London
]In November 1917, Arthur James Balfour, then Britain’s foreign secretary, signed a letter that was just three sentences long. The brevity of the document did not detract from its impact.
It declared that the government viewed ‘with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people’ and promised assistance to realise that goal.
Through this declaration, Balfour set in train a process whereby colonisers would be treated as superior to the native population”
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Balfour’s Shadow
Destination: Middle East Author/Guide: David Cronin Departure Time: 1917 onwards
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