Meeting to mark the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration – Monday 6 November, National Liberal Club
On Monday 6 November the Society, supported by Liberal Democrats Friends of Israel, held a meeting in the David Lloyd George Room at the National Liberal Club to mark the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.
In a letter dated 2 November 1917, Arthur Balfour, the Foreign Secretary in the Coalition Government of David Lloyd George, announced British government support for a “national home” for the Jewish people, to be established in Palestine, then still part of the Ottoman Empire. The letter was sent to Lord Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community to be forwarded to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. The text of the declaration was published in the press on 9 November 1917.
A packed audience heard contributions detailing the domestic and international background to the Balfour Declaration and the issues which influenced the British government to make it. Our academic speakers were Professor T G Otte from the University of East Anglia and Professor Colin Shindler from SOAS. The meeting was chaired by Baroness Sarah Ludford. It is hoped to pblish a full meeting report at a later date.
