balfour declaration

English - English

Definition of balfour declaration in English English dictionary

declaration by the British government in November 1917 which favored the establishment of Palestine as a Jewish homeland

(Nov. 2, 1917) Statement issued by the British foreign secretary, Arthur James Balfour, in a letter to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a leader of British Jewry, as urged by the Russian Jewish Zionist leaders Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow. The declaration promised the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine that would not disturb the non-Jewish groups already residing there. The British anticipated gaining a mandate over Palestine after World War I (1914-18) and hoped to win over Jewish public opinion to the side of the Allies. They also hoped that pro-British settlers would help protect the approaches to the Suez Canal, a vital link to Britain's South Asian possessions

Hyphenation

Bal·four dec·la·ra·tion

Turkish pronunciation

bälfôr deklıreyşın

Pronunciation

/ˈbalfôr ˌdeklərˈāsʜən/ /ˈbælfɔːr ˌdɛklɜrˈeɪʃən/