One hundred years of the Balfour Declaration: 2 Nov. 1917 - 2 Nov. 2017

The Case for an Apology to be presented to the Palestinian People

Professor Dr. George Jabbour, Syria        

Founding Member, Arab Political Science Association,

President, Political  Science Association of Syria.

Email:drjabbour@gmail.com

A personal memo, Damascus, 15 may 2016,

Directed to  whom it may concern.

 Key points:

1-      The importance of the Balfour declaration in Zionist history

2-     How should we, and the world, deal with the centennial of the Declaration?

3-     Apologies and World politics: an Overview.

4-     Who should apologize: the UK, the UK and the US? The UK, the US and the United Nations?

5-     Who should lead? The PLO? The Palestinian State? The Resistance Movement?  The NGO s Supporting the Palestinian Rights? The Arab and Islamic states? The non-aligned movement?

6-     Some History: Jabbour s Open letter to the UK PM of 2 Oct. 2002 asking for an apology, and the apparent reply of Jack Straw , the UK Foreign Minister, with his "little phrase ", gently criticizing the Declaration ,  on 16 Nov. 2002.

7-      Some History: The December  2006 Resolution of the Conf. of Arab and Islamic Movements in Doha, Qatar , recommending a decade-long (2007-2017)working plan to weaken the foundations on which the Declaration was built.

8-      How to Proceed?

9-      Concluding Remarks: The wisdom of the effort is simple. The more the text of the Balfour declaration is publicized, read, and explained, the more people will understand the gravity of the injustice that was inflicted on the Palestinian people. Slave Trade was legal before 1815. It was no more after. Settler Colonial enterprises were considered rather normal, even ethical, after the discovery of the new world. They became abhorrent in the context of the 20^th century, especially after the establishment of the League of Nations and the United Nations. NOW: If any person in the world reads the Balfour Declaration, he would certainly feel that a grave injustice was inflicted on the Palestinian people who were obliged to make room in their homeland to an "imported" people, essentially coming from Europe which mistreated them.