The Balfour Declaration: Historical revisionism cannot erase Jewish claims to Israel - opinion

Michael Freund argues that the Balfour Declaration recognized an existing Jewish connection to the Land of Israel, not a colonial imposition. He cites the 1917 letter, the San Remo conference, and the League of Nations Mandate as international recognition of Jewish national rights, and criticizes the 1939 White Paper as a betrayal.

In this opinion piece, Michael Freund argues that the Balfour Declaration of 1917 did not invent the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel but recognized a bond that had existed for thousands of years. He counters the accusation that Zionism was a European colonial enterprise, stating that Jewish pioneers were returning to their ancestral homeland, not representing a foreign empire. Freund traces the diplomatic milestones from the Balfour Declaration through the San Remo conference and the League of Nations Mandate, which formally recognized the Jewish people's historical connection to Palestine. He criticizes Britain's 1939 White Paper as a betrayal that limited Jewish immigration during the Nazi persecution. The piece concludes that no amount of historical revisionism can erase Jewish claims to Israel. The framing relies on emotionally charged vocabulary without procedural sourcing.