Oliver has marked the centenary of the Balfour Declaration in an intervention in the House of Commons, celebrating the foundation of the State of Israel.
He made his comments during the Foreign Secretary’s statement to the House to mark the anniversary of the declaration and speaking afterwards, Mr Dowden said: ‘This week marks the centenary of the Balfour Declaration which led to the establishment of Israel. I was glad to contribute to the event to mark the occasion in Parliament.
‘Whilst we are a long way from achieving a lasting two state solution in the region, I made the point that it is important we use the occasion to celebrate the UK’s role in the creation of modern Israel – an open, vibrant, democratic state and most importantly a home for the Jewish people.’
The Balfour Declaration was the statement on 2 November 1917 of the British Government’s support for ‘the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.’ It was made in a letter from Arthur Balfour MP, the then Foreign Secretary, to Lord Walter Rothschild, a leader of British Jewry at the time.
Notes
Link to a clip of Oliver’s comments here: https://goo.gl/9FSqN3
Hansard record of Oliver’s comments below and link here: https://goo.gl/dcFC7g
House of Commons Hansard
Balfour Declaration
30 October 2017, Volume 630
Oliver Dowden, Hertsmere
As my right hon. Friend rightly says, we have a long way to go to achieve an end to violence and a two-state solution, but does he agree with me and many of my constituents that this anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate modern Israel, its vibrant economy, its liberty and diversity, its democracy and, above all, the fact that at a time of rising anti-Semitism, it still provides a safe home for the Jewish people?
Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
I congratulate my hon. Friend on speaking up for his constituents. He is right to want to celebrate the existence of the state of Israel, though he must recognise that in celebrating the Balfour declaration we must also accept that the declaration itself, on 2 November 1917, today has different echoes for different people around the world, and it is important that we be balanced and sensitive in our approach.
Full text of the Balfour Declaration below:
Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet
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.
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours,
Arthur James Balfour
