To what extent was the Balfour Declaration a key trigger to the Arab-Israeli war of 1948?

Question

Would you argue that the Balfour Dec. of 1917 was key? Or indeed that more long term reasons of immigration and growing zionist acitivty (Herzl, Weizzman) played a larger part? It is undisputed that the creation of Israel in 1948 started the fighting but what was the main trigger behind this? Those mentioned above or indeed others?

Answer 1

No Balfour Declaration - no Israel. No Israel - no 1948 War. The Declaration was an opportunist responce to a perceived short term political issue among some Allied powers during The Great War. Arab interests were completely ignored - as was customary then - so no thought was given to any possible consequences.

Answer 2

It's certainly a appreciable factor in the bulding of the situation. Add to that the Sykes-Picot agreement and High Commissioner MacMahon's correspondence, (in which by any reasonable interpretations support for independent Arabic kingdoms had been offered) and the divergence of expectation and intent between the Jewish, Arabic and Anglo-French positions had already set up the potential for a major clash.

Yes, the British should probably take the major blame.

Chances for a peaceful political resolution fell after WW2 for a variety of reasons: the disillusioned Arabic factions and authorities that had sided with the Germans had lost sympathy and political influence. Large numbers of displaced Jews needed places to live, and there was a marked reluctance on the part of almost all countries to accept them, adding strength to the building Jewish movement to Palestine.

And then a weary, post WW2 Britain had a mandate it did not really want. If you like, a poisoned chalice of its own making.

URL's below: first short, but with links, second very detailed.

Answer 3

Very important. The jews used it to justify their aggresive take over of Palestine but Balfour had no right or authority to make such a declaration. It was never approved by the British parliament

Answer 4

The jews are illegal posessers of Palestinian land,Balfour was a doddering ,near senile idiot