Foreign Office,
November 2nd, 1917.
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet:
"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, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist
Federation.
Yours sincerely
Arthur James Balfour
Rothschild, a wealthy Jewish businessman in London, asked Balfour, the Foreign Secretary, to help facilitate the creation of a homeland for the Jewish people, even though.
In December 1916, Balfour became Foreign Secretary in David Lloyd George's coalition.
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild (1868-1937) was a wealthy London businessman who had lobbied for a home for Jews.
And then the Jews in Palestine were a tiny minority (merely 6%) in Palestine. In 1916, Jewish ownership of land in Palestine was approximately 6% of the total area.
Weizmann
At the same time, he began working as a scientist at the University of Manchester in England, a nation which he viewed as one of legal freedoms, moderation, and political realism.
Weizmann believed that only peace and neighborly relations could guarantee political and economic vigor. Thus he supported the partition of the Land of Israel into two states: Jewish and Arab. Turning to the Arab population in the land, he stated: “We do not build our national home at the expense of another nation. We wish to build Palestine with you, together.”
In 1922, Jews were 11%.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism/Modern-Judaism-c-1750-to-the-present
Rothschild, a wealthy Jewish businessman, who asked Balfour to help facilitate the creation of a homeland for the Jewish people even though they were a tiny minority (merely 6%) in Palestine.
Deeply influenced by the views of Ahad Ha’am and Herzl, Weizmann became involved in Zionist activity, alongside Leo Motzkin, Nahman Syrkin, and Shmaryahu Levin. He felt that Judaism implied not merely religion but peoplehood.
Possessing their own language, culture, and common historical memory, the Jewish people were entitled to return to their historical land and live there in safety. Weizmann, therefore rejected the idea that Uganda could replace the Land of Israel as a homeland for the Jews. At the same time, he began working as a scientist at the University of Manchester in England, a nation which he viewed as one of legal freedoms, moderation, and political realism.
Understanding that Jews and Arabs would have to live together in the Land of Israel, Weizmann strove to create peaceful coexistence between the two peoples. Thus he met in Aqaba with Emir Faisal, leader of the Arab national movement. Faisal expressed sympathy for the Zionist cause, which he felt was similar to the Arabs’ national
aspirations.
In 1919, Weizmann and Faisal signed an agreement of cooperation between the two national movements, Jewish and Arab, for the development of the Land of Israel.
Weizmann believed that only peace and neighborly relations could guarantee political and economic vigor. Thus he supported the partition of the Land of Israel into two states: Jewish and Arab. Turning to the Arab population in the land, he stated: “We do not build our national home at the expense of another nation. We wish to build Palestine with you, together.”
“Weizmann’s disdain for Polish Jewry and Eastern European Jewry in general, was first of all a rebellion against the culture from which he himself stemmed,” said Reinharz.
“He adopted the elitism of the upper-class English man,” said Reinharz. “The result was a feeling of contempt toward the Jews in the eastern European villages and cities, their dress, their mode of living and their religious beliefs. He was not willing to live with them, but he was ready to die for them,” he said.
Overshadowed by Theodore Herzl and David Ben-Gurion in the Zionist pantheon, Weizmann is most comparable to Mahatma Gandhi, said Reinharz.
