Yesterday marked 100 years since the Balfour Declaration. At an event in London marking the occasion, British PM Theresa May gave an emphatic speech in support of the Balfour Declaration and Israel.
Sure, she speaks against “settlement building” and in support of a “two-state solution” – as if these are certainly keys to a peace deal (which I am personally not sure about), but there is so much about this speech to like. For instance:
- Calling Israel an “extraordinary country”
- Stating “absolutely not” to apologizing for the Balfour Declaration
- Stating her pride in Britain’s pioneering role in Israel’s modern establishment and support
- Acknowledging that Israel is leading the world in so many areas
- Commitment to Israel’s security and acknowledgement of our vulnerability (and even mentioning the murdered Israeli teenagers by name)
- Expressing pride in what Israel stands for
- Recognition of Jewish refugees from Arab countries in 1948
- Even though she recognizes palestinian suffering, note she mentions their “dislodgment” and not “expulsion” – a much more accurate term recognizing that most of them were dislodged as a result of the war for Israel’s independence, and not deliberately expelled
- Calling out palestinians on their incitement
- Calling out boycotts and sanctions as “unacceptable”
- Identifying much so-called “criticism of Israel” as really a pernicious form of antisemitism
- A “200-year-old dream for a persecuted people” – acknowledging our long history here and the Balfour Declaration as helping realize our return
