What to understand first
- Balfour was a British declaration, not itself a state.
- The League Mandate recognised the Jewish historical connection and national home.
- The Mandate required protection of the civil and religious rights of all inhabitants.
- Resolution 181 recommended independent Jewish and Arab states.
From recognition to independence
British Government “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”
The Balfour Declaration placed British support for a Jewish national home on the diplomatic record. 77
League of Nations “recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine”
The Mandate gave the national-home policy an international framework and specified public responsibilities. 10
Palestine Royal Commission “a Treaty System in accordance with the precedent set in Iraq and Syria”
The Peel Commission recommended partition and separate political futures. 29
United Nations General Assembly “Independent Arab and Jewish States”
Resolution 181 recommended partition into two states and a special international regime for Jerusalem. 30
Jewish People’s Council “We hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel”
The Declaration transformed organised national life into sovereign statehood. 12
Recognition and achievement are different
From national home to state
Sources for this article
- S10Mandate for Palestine
League of Nations / United Nations archive. Mandate terms, historical connection and civil and religious rights.
- S12Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel
Knesset archive. Statehood, equality language and appeal to Arab inhabitants.
- S29Palestine Royal Commission Report
UK Government / UN archive. The Peel Commission partition proposal and its terms.
- S30General Assembly Resolution 181 (II)
United Nations. Recommendation for Arab and Jewish states and an international Jerusalem.
- S77Balfour Declaration
Yale Law School Avalon Project. British support for a national home for the Jewish people.
- S78Jewish Agency for Palestine
League of Nations / United Nations archive. Recognition of the Jewish Agency under the Mandate framework.