The Balfour Declaration (the Origins Of The Arab-israeli Conflict)

By (author) Schneer Jonathan
Short description/annotation:
Drawing on new research, The Balfour Declaration gets to the heart of the present crisis in the Middle East by going back to the roots of the conflict in a British government communication of autumn of 1917.
Description:

In the middle of the First World War, the British War Cabinet approved and issued a statement in the form of a letter that encouraged the settlement of the Jewish people in Palestine. Signed by the Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, the Balfour Declaration remains one of the most important documents of the last hundred years.

Jonathan Schneer explores the story behind the declaration and its unforeseen consequences that have shaped the modern world, placing it in context paying attention to the fascinating characters who conceived, opposed and plotted around it - among them Lloyd George, Lord Rothschild, T.E. Lawrence, Prince Faisal and Aubrey Herbert (the man who was ‘Greenmantle''). The Balfour Declaration brings vividly to life the origins of one of the world''s longest lasting and most damaging conflicts.

Review quote:
''Splendid ... A marvellously well-researched, balanced, and clear-sighted guide to this hideously controversial territory''
Review quote:
''Jonathan Schneer''s lively new account is very much a tale for our times ... his book is interspersed with delightful vignettes''
Review quote:
‘Why did Britain offer the Jews a home in Palestine? Had they not already offered Palestine to the Arabs, two years earlier? This extraordinarily well-documented and revealing book gives the answers''
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‘An excellent and compelling portrait of the intrigues, characters and diplomacy that created the modern Middle East''
Biographical note:
Jonathan Schneer was born in New York City. He earned his BA from McGill University and his PhD from Columbia University. He has taught at Boston College and Yale University and is currently the professor of modern British history at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has held numerous fellowships in the US and UK and is the author of five previous books, most recently London 1900: The Imperial Metropolis and The Thames. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Promotional headline:
Drawing on new research, The Balfour Declaration gets to the heart of the present crisis in the Middle East by going back to the roots of the conflict in a British government communication of autumn of 1917.
Feature:
The fascinating story of the causes of the present crisis in Palestine portrayed in a completely objective fashion and from a number of perspectives
Feature:

For fans of D-Day by Anthony Beevor, Peacemakers by Margaret Macmillan and The Cold War by John Lewis Gaddis