THE BALFOUR DECLARATION - The people, the Book and the Land are thoroughly intertwined, and the long exile away from Israel has been a matter of grief expressed in Jewish liturgy throughout the generations. Whenever a Jewish couple marry, whenever a Jewish person dies, whenever traditional Jewish blessings are made over meals, the prayers include a longing for Israel and Jerusalem. So just imagine the joy that many felt when the Balfour declaration was made public by the British government in 1917 to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Britain’s refusal to give the Jewish people a national home, or even a haven, was ruled illegal. Sadly, it was too late for millions of Jewish people who perished at the hands of the Nazis. At a time when they most needed a refuge, Britain was turning Jewish people away and denying them access to the land of their forefathers.

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The Balfour Declaration

Things People Forget About The Balfour Declaration 100 Years On

By ONE FOR ISRAEL (Messianic Jews In Israel)

What are we to make of the Balfour Declaration today?

These words have been prayed by Jewish people around the globe quite literally every morning, noon and night, throughout their 2000 year exile:

“Sound the great shofar for our freedom; raise the banner to gather our exiles, and gather us from the four corners of the earth. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who gathers the dispersed of Your people Israel.” 

“Return in compassion to your city, Jerusalem, and rest within it as You have said; rebuild it soon in our days as an everlasting building, and speedily set up therein the throne of David. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who rebuilds Jerusalem.”

Wherever they may be in the world, Jewish people traditionally say these blessings as part of their prayers three times a day, facing Jerusalem. Just like Daniel.

The people, the Book and the Land are thoroughly intertwined, and the long exile away from Israel has been a matter of grief expressed in Jewish liturgy throughout the generations. 

Whenever a Jewish couple marry, whenever a Jewish person dies, whenever traditional Jewish blessings are made over meals, the prayers include a longing for Israel and Jerusalem. 

So just imagine the joy that many felt when the Balfour declaration was made public by the British government in 1917 to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine:

“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.”

Arthur James Balfour, British foreign secretary, 2 November 1917
(To read the full letter, see transcript below)

Now it must be said that although it was the answer to literally billions of prayers (just think of it – three times every day by millions of Jews – for two millennia!) not to mention the fulfillment of prophecies uttered by almost every Biblical prophet, this declaration has caused more than a little consternation.

Palestinian leaders are demanding an apology from the British government for giving away what was not theirs to give.

After the passing of a hundred years, most have forgotten that it was not a unilateral act of the UK.

There was no UN at that time, or even League of Nations, but in the wake of the Turks finally losing their grip on the countries in the Levant, several nations were allied in agreement that there should be some provision made for the Jewish people within Palestine. 

1) Britain did not act alone, but it was a move endorsed by many nations together.

The aspiration to create a homeland for the Jewish people had the agreement of President Woodrow Wilson since the US had joined the first World War, as well as Italy and Japan who, along with Britain and France, would participate in the San Remo conference and become members of the Council of the League of Nations.

Even the Pope had assented, describing return of the Jews to Palestine as “providential; God has willed it.”

The Cambon letter Issued in June 1917 clarified full support for the cause from the French government:

“It would be a deed of justice and of reparation to assist, by the protection of the Allied Powers, in the renaissance of the Jewish nationality [nationalité juive] in that land from which the people of Israel were exiled so many centuries ago”.

And so the foreign ministers of Britain (Balfour), France (Pichon), the United States (Robert Lansing), Italy (Sidney Sonnino), and Japan (Makino Nabuaki) all had been in agreement with the endeavour.

“In the era before the United Nations and the League of Nations, there existed no higher international forum than this”, according to Middle East historian, Martin Kramer. ^[1]

The British government have declined to issue an apology to the Palestinian leadership, saying,

“The Balfour Declaration is an historic statement for which HMG (Her Majesty’s Government) does not intend to apologize. We are proud of our role in creating the State of Israel. The task now is to encourage moves towards peace… The Declaration was written in a world of competing imperial powers, in the midst of the First World War and in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire. In that context, establishing a homeland for the Jewish people in the land to which they had such strong historical and religious ties was the right and moral thing to do, particularly against the background of centuries of persecution.” ^[2]

As the British response states, the British Empire was not the only empire at large at the time.

Certainly, there are matters in the histories of each of our nations that should cause mortification when we consider the evil that has been done in the past.

However, Ottoman Turks were from Turkey, not Palestine. People forget that the Ottoman Empire was a colonialist enterprise too.

2) Palestine was not free, but had been under occupation by the Turkish Empire for 400 years.

It is important to remember that in 1917 the Middle East was not a collection of autonomous nations that were suddenly overrun by the West. 

The Ottoman Empire was just that – an empire. The Turks had been the colonizers for four centuries, and before them, there had been a series of Muslim and Christian empires dominating the region and to some degree imposing their religions, or restricting the religions of others.

There was the Byzantine empire, ruling from Constantinople, followed by an invasion from Arabia which imposed Islam on the region, followed by the Crusaders from Europe, the Mamluks from Egypt, and then the Ottomans from Turkey.

Different Islamic powers had conquered and taken control for 973 years, imposing the “Jizya” tax on non-Muslims and outlawing church bells and construction of synagogues and churches.

Jews and Christians living in Palestine had been second class citizens for 80% of the centuries-long Turkish occupation. 

Equal rights were not given to non-Muslims until 1839, and only in order to appease the Europeans as the Turks struggled to maintain sovereignty in the region. ^[3] 

Consider: when was the last time that Palestine actually ruled itself? When was it ever free from occupation?

It was free just before the Roman occupation that was in force at the time of Yeshua, after the Israelites had successfully beaten back the Greek occupation in 167 BCE.

The Jews had a sizable chunk of self-rule then, and hundreds of years of autonomy between the Exodus and the first exile to Babylon.

Apart from that, the land has been passed back and forth from pillar to post, from conqueror to conqueror, and the people of the land just had to deal with whatever powers had control at the time.

The allied forces were to some extent attempting to parcel out the lands of the Middle East away from the hands of the Turks and back to the people groups themselves.

There is much to say about their method and the measure of success, but Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the UK, declared it “visionary and moral politics of a high order”.

Perhaps it is not hard to imagine a higher morality, since the integrity of the allied powers was severely compromised by self-interest, but there is some weight to the idea that the intention was to return the lands rather than to take them. Sacks continues,

“It was an anti-imperialist gesture, after centuries of Christian and Muslim imperialism with no autonomous states, they attempted to return Ottoman ruled lands to the tribes that lived in them. Lloyd George was seeking more justice and wanting an end of the days of Empire, to return the lands to their original inhabitants.” ^[4]

The San Remo conference in April 1920 turned former Ottoman territories into mandates, which would be administered on behalf of the League of Nations. 

They made Britain “responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers.”

3) Britain soon changed its tune, blocking Jewish immigration just as the Holocaust hit its peak.

Due to national self-interest, Britain issued the infamous White Paper of 1939, severely limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine during World War II, and currying favor with the Arab world.

Instead of creating a Jewish homeland, Britain instead was working towards an Arab state in which Jewish people could live as a minority.

It is important to remember that such a state would continue to be under Islamic rule – not an insignificant fact.

Today, the Palestinian people are tragically trapped in yet another occupation, but the prospect of a 51st Muslim state and the disappearance of the only Jewish state causes a great dilemma.

The Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations ruled that this White Paper “was not in accordance with the interpretation which, in agreement with the mandatory power and the Council, the commission had always placed upon the Palestine mandate.”

In short, Britain’s refusal to give the Jewish people a national home, or even a haven, was ruled illegal. Sadly, it was too late for millions of Jewish people who perished at the hands of the Nazis.

At a time when they most needed a refuge, Britain was turning Jewish people away and denying them access to the land of their forefathers.

Ultimately, the British pulled out and Israel declared its independence in 1948 – a state that would welcome all those Hitler would consider Jewish enough to kill.

There have always been Jewish communities living in Palestine throughout the centuries, but when the British pulled out of the region and Israel declared its independence, finally, it could become a safe haven for all Jewish people, not just for the few.

They were no longer a minority living at the mercy of others.

As American novelist, Robert Frost, defines it, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

This is what the Jewish people have prayed for centuries, and this is what God has now given them, according to his promises.

“Comfort, comfort my people,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 40:1) 

[1] Martin Kramer, The Forgotten Truth about the Balfour Declaration, 5th June 2017, Mosaic Magazine
“In May 1918, the Italian government pledged to Sokolow to help “facilitate the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish national center (centro nazionale ebraico).” In January 1919, Japan informed Weizmann that “the Japanese Government gladly take note of the Zionist aspirations to establish in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people and they look forward with a sympathetic interest to the realization of such desire.” (Similar endorsements came from Siam and China, the other two then-independent states of East Asia.)”

[2] Jewish Telegraphic Agency, British government rejects Palestinian request to apologize for Balfour Declaration, 25th April 2017

[3] Kelvin Crombie, For the Love of Zion, Hodder and Stoughton 2008, p.29

[3] Reflections on Balfour 100 from Rabbi Sacks

ONE FOR ISRAEL (Messianic Jews In Israel) 

We are an Israeli ministry composed of Jewish & Arab followers of Yeshua (Jesus) who are all about blessing Israel through sharing the gospel online, educating the new generation of born-again believers through our one and only Hebrew-speaking Bible College in Israel, and helping holocaust survivors by supplying humanitarian aid.

https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/things-people-forget-balfour-declaration/

ISRAEL IS GATHERED IN UNBELIEF - The Rebirth of the Nation of Israel - The Bible clearly states that Israel will remain under the judgment of God for rejecting the Messiah until they repent, and yet the fact of the modern-day state of Israel is something that simply cannot be ignored. Why was Israel allowed to become a nation again on May 14, 1948, seeing that they have not yet repented and believed in Christ; nor has the Lord returned to regather them? The nation of Israel clearly represents Jews gathered in unbelief, which is the opposite of these prophecies. The current state of Israel which remains very antagonistic to Jesus and Christianity cannot be made by any stretch of the imagination to fulfill the prophecy of Moses in Deuteronomy.

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Gathered in Unbelief

The Rebirth of the Nation of Israel

Deuteronomy tells of a complete regathering where God’s people will no longer be scattered among the nations but will … obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments… Deuteronomy 30:8

The prediction of Moses concerning the rebirth of Israel and their gathering back to the land poses an interesting question (see Deuteronomy 30:1-4).

Given that Moses definitely says Israel will become a nation again only after they repent and after the Lord returns to regather them, we are forced to ask a question that has enormous consequences for the prophetic significance of our generation. 

That question is this:  Why was Israel allowed to become a nation again on May 14, 1948, seeing that they have not yet repented and believed in Christ; nor has the Lord returned to regather them? 

The nation of Israel clearly represents Jews gathered in unbelief, which is the opposite of these prophecies.

For the first time in almost 2000 years the Jews have regained complete control over the land of Palestine, including the city of Jerusalem. These events should not be underestimated. 

In our generation, Israel has again been established as a self-autonomous nation in the Middle East — beginning to exist soon after World War II as a totally independent state free from any foreign domination — a situation that has not been true for centuries.

But how could this have happened? The Bible clearly states that Israel will remain under the judgment of God for rejecting the Messiah until they repent, and yet the fact of the modern-day state of Israel is something that simply cannot be ignored . 

What’s going on? Is our twentieth-century Israel really a fulfillment of prophecy or just a blip on the pages of history?

Many authors writing on end-times prophecy have quoted similar passages to those mentioned in previous sections and have attempted to interpret all of them as finding fulfillment in the Israel of today. 

Extreme care must be taken in how these scriptures are applied, because misinformation can be worse than remaining ignorant.

The current state of Israel which remains very antagonistic to Jesus and Christianity cannot be made by any stretch of the imagination to fulfill the prophecy of Moses in Deuteronomy. 

The nation has by no means repented, and obviously Jesus has not returned to regather them. 

Christians who simply apply Biblical prophecy ad hoc to any current situation regardless of the details which may or may not fit are just confusing people and inviting valid criticism.

In fact, several books have been published over the years by authors who have realized this serious deficiency in interpreting prophecy. 

Unfortunately, they have used the numerous incorrect prophetic interpretations about Israel as ‘proof’ in their attempt to refute the nearness of Christ’s coming altogether. 

In the book “Israel Today: Fulfillment of Prophecy?”, Louis DeCaro states in no uncertain terms that…

“… only a misunderstanding of the prophetic tradition, or a deliberate disregard for that tradition’s true standing, can lead one to believe that the power politics and military posture of Israel today are an integral part of prophecy…” rom Israel Today: Fulfillment of Prophecy?, by Louis Decaro, p.15, 1974, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co.

DeCaro’s description of the political situation in modern Israel was perfectly accurate and remains true today.  It is only by their strong military resolve, which yields no ground to potential adversaries that the small Jewish nation has managed to survive at all. 

The faith of its people rests not in the true God of the Bible, but in tanks, missiles, and jet fighters — exactly the opposite of what the Lord wants. 

There can be no doubt that the political and religious life of twentieth-century Israel is diametrically opposed to the ways of their Creator. 

William Hendriksen also realized this fact when he wrote,

“It has now become clear that the establishment of the state of Israel, May 14, 1948, in unbelief — for those who established it are still rejecting the Christ — has nothing whatever to do with divine prophecy. This is true for two reasons:  a) Prophecy says nothing about a twentieth-century return and restoration; and b) even if it did, it speaks about a return of a believing remnant.” From Israel in Prophecy, by William Hendriksen, p.25, 1979, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Renald Showers writing in the magazine “Israel My Glory” published by The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc., also recognized additional problems in trying to fit modern-day Israel into these prophecies.  He says,

“The present restoration of Israel to the homeland which began in the middle of the twentieth century is not the fulfillment of these prophecies. Several things indicate this. First, these prophecies foretell a total restoration of the Jews to their land from all the nations of the world. By contrast the twentieth century restoration has not been total. … Second, the prophetic passages indicate that, when this future restoration of Israel to the homeland will take place, all the Jews will be righteous. … By contrast none of these things is reality for the Jews in the present state of Israel.” From Israel My Glory by Renald Showers, Apr/May, 1985, p.28-29, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc.

In addition, Morris Glen Bowers in his book Israel: The 51^st State… the Unspoken Foreign Policy of the United States of America (2005), says,

“Some believe that the modern state of Israel is somehow deeply involved in the “end times prophecies”. It is not so. The modern state of Israel is not the subject of the prophecies. It was old Israel that was. The modern state is not the extension of the ancient state. It is not the ancient state reborn. It is a completely new state founded by men.” Bowers, Israel: The 51^st State, p. 131

Many other authors have spoken out against the possibility of the current nation of Israel being a fulfillment of prophecy by claiming that most of the Old Testament predictions related to a Jewish return to the land already have found fulfillment in the rebirth of Israel after the Babylonian captivity. 

However, while there are indeed prophecies which predict a return of the Jews after the Babylonian period, they are extremely specific and only a complete misunderstanding of their focus could confuse them with those relating to a return at the end of the age.

For instance, both Jeremiah and Daniel prophesied that the Lord would allow the Jews to return to Palestine exactly seventy years after Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion (see Jeremiah 25:11 and Daniel 9:2).

Isaiah was so enlightened concerning that event that he even went so far as to predict the name of the Persian king (Cyrus) who would eventually let his people go (Isaiah 44:28).

 While we cannot deny that the reestablishment of Israel after the destruction of Judah by Babylon was a very significant event in Biblical history, it does not however totally fulfill the numerous prophecies which relate to the ultimate ingathering and blessing of the nation as a whole. 

Moses’ prophecy in Deuteronomy clearly speaks of conditions quite different from those known to have been present after the return of the exiles in Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s day. 

Deuteronomy tells of a complete regathering where God’s people will no longer be scattered among the nations but will … obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments…” Deuteronomy 30:8

If this repentant condition was true of the return allowed in the fifth and sixth centuries B.C. under Persian rule, then the scattered state of the Jews would not have continued to the time of Christ and the people certainly would have received Jesus as their Messiah when he appeared. 

Obviously, Moses must be talking about a yet future rebirth of the nation, one that will be followed by the fulfillment of all the blessings promised to Abraham.

So how should we view the modern state of Israel that is gathered in unbelief? 

Is the nation that was born on May 14, 1948, a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy or is it just a temporary anomaly of history without any supernatural significance, similar to the brief revolt of the Maccabees during the second century B.C.? 

If we hope to make any sense out of end-times prophecy these questions must be answered.

Curiously, throughout the history of the church there have been always some that believed that Israel’s rebirth would preface the Return of Christ. 

While it is true that some had written off the rebellious Jews as never figuring into God’s plan again — applying their promised blessings totally to the church — the expectancy of a regathered Israel never completely perished, particularly among the Jews.

The confusion that may have resulted from wrong interpretations or from just plain denial of Israel’s significance must not deter us from discovering the End Times Truth. 

There are just too many prophecies that deal with a regathered Israel in the last days to simply ignore the importance of the nation’s existence today. 

There must an explanation within the Bible for the rebirth of Israel in our time, even if that rebirth has now occurred in unbelief and is not total in scope. 

Some people may think that because the nation exists today either the Lord’s judgment of scattering somehow must have mysteriously ended (even without Israel’s repentance) or that God has some other plan in mind which no one has yet understood.

Whatever your opinion on this matter, one thing soon will become clear: The rebirth of the nation of Israel in our generation is no fluke. 

The Lord has not overlooked what is happening, but is in full control of every event. 

In fact, we will soon see that Israel is heading for a day of destiny that is racing at them at an accelerating pace.

End Times Truth is about warning people that the Coming of Christ is near and that we are living in the last days just before His Return. During our lifetime, Bible predictions concerning the Second Coming have been fulfilled exactly as they were described thousands of years ago.  Jesus said that we could know that his coming was near if we watched world events and compared them to what was predicted.  As the prophecies come true before our eyes, we know that we are getting closer to the end.  While it is true that the world is heading toward a judgment day, individuals can escape through knowledge of the truth combined with repentance and faith in Christ 

https://endtimestruth.com/israel/gathered-in-unbelief/

JEWISH DIASPORA - 597 BC is considered the beginning date of the Jewish Diaspora. So from 597 BC onwards, there were three distinct groups of Hebrews: a group in Babylon and other parts of the Middle East, a group in Judaea, and another group in Egypt.

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The Diaspora

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The Jewish state comes to an end in 70 AD, when the Romans begin to actively drive Jews from the home they had lived in for over a millennium.

But the Jewish Diaspora ("diaspora" ="dispersion, scattering") had begun long before the Romans had even dreamed of Judaea.

When the Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 BC, the Hebrew inhabitants were scattered all over the Middle East; these early victims of the dispersion disappeared utterly from the pages of history.

However, when Nebuchadnezzar deported the Judaeans in 597 and 586 BC, he allowed them to remain in a unified community in Babylon.

Another group of Judaeans fled to Egypt, where they settled in the Nile delta.

So from 597 BC onwards, there were three distinct groups of Hebrews: a group in Babylon and other parts of the Middle East, a group in Judaea, and another group in Egypt.

Thus, 597 BC is considered the beginning date of the Jewish Diaspora. While Cyrus the Persian allowed the Judaeans to return to their homeland in 538 BC, most chose to remain in Babylon.

A large number of Jews in Egypt became mercenaries in Upper Egypt on an island called the Elephantine. 

All of these Jews retained their religion, identity, and social customs; both under the Persians and the Greeks, they were allowed to run their lives under their own laws.

Some converted to other religions; still others combined the Yahweh cult with local cults; but the majority clung to the Hebraic religion and its new-found core document, the Torah.

In 63 BC, Judaea became a protectorate of Rome.

Coming under the administration of a governor, Judaea was allowed a king; the governor's business was to regulate trade and maximize tax revenue.

While the Jews despised the Greeks, the Romans were a nightmare.

Governorships were bought at high prices; the governors would attempt to squeeze as much revenue as possible from their regions and pocket as much as they could.

Even with a Jewish king, the Judaeans revolted in 70 AD, a desperate revolt that ended tragically.

In 73 AD, the last of the revolutionaries were holed up in a mountain fort called Masada; the Romans had besieged the fort for two years, and the 1,000 men, women, and children inside were beginning to starve.

In desperation, the Jewish revolutionaries killed themselves rather than surrender to the Romans.

A large number of Jews in Egypt became mercenaries in Upper Egypt on an island called the Elephantine. 

The Romans then destroyed Jerusalem, annexed Judaea as a Roman province, and systematically drove the Jews from Palestine.

After 73 AD, Hebrew history would only be the history of the Diaspora as the Jews and their world view spread over Africa, Asia, and Europe.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Diaspora.html