Manchester University under fire for event celebrating Balfour Declaration
Palestinian students say permitting pro-Israel group to celebrate Zionist milestone on campus is insensitive and disrespectful
The University of Manchester has been accused of being “totally disrespectful” to Palestinian students for allowing an on-campus event celebrating one of the founding events that led to the creation of Israel.
The Manchester Balfour 100 event, which will be held on the main campus by a pro-Israel group, is part of several commemorations planned around the UK to mark the writing of a letter considered to be one of the milestone of the Zionist movement.
In 1917, foreign secretary Arthur Balfour released a public letter which committed the British government to helping to establish a “national home” in the historical region of Israel, then part of British-controlled Palestine.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The anniversary is a day of celebration for Zionists - but for Palestinian nationalists and their advocates, the Balfour Declaration marked a shift in Western policy which would ultimately lead to the displacement of Palestinian people to carve out modern Israel.
The university said the space had been hired by a private group and that the Balfour 100 event “has no connection to, nor is it endorsed by, the University”.
However, Ayham Madi, a Palestinian student at the university, told Al Jazeera that he was hurt and offended that the university would sanction the hiring of a campus building for a “totally disrespectful” celebration.
“My grandfather owned land in Palestine and it was taken away from him with no right to do so, my father was born in a refugee camp and spent most of his life in one,” he said. “All this is as a result of the Balfour Declaration.”
An umbrella group of student organisations has written an open letter to the university, demanding that it cancels the event at the earliest opportunity.
Although Balfour’s declaration specified that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”, the foreign policy he established towards the Middle East was weighted heavily in favour of the Zionist cause.
In a 1919 memorandum, Balfour wrote that Zionism and its goal of creating a modern Isreael was “of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices [sic] of 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land,” the New Statesman reports.
Outrage over planned commemorations around the UK has sparked criticism as far away as the Palestinian territories themselves.
Nationalist party Fatah expressed “grave dismay” and called on “Arab people everywhere to demonstrate outside British embassies to express their utter rejection of that promise and its ramifications”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 carefully selected cartoons about the Trump-Daniels jury selection process
Cartoons Artists take on a stress-free life, rare peers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Loire Valley Lodges review: sleep, feast and revive in treetop luxury
The Week Recommends Forest hideaway offers chance to relax and reset in Michelin key-winning comfort
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Myanmar: the Spring Revolution and the downfall of the generals
Talking Point An armed protest movement has swept across the country since the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in 2021
By The Week Staff Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is there a peaceful way forward for Israel and Iran?
Today's Big Question Tehran has initially sought to downplay the latest Israeli missile strike on its territory
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Israel's war is America's, too
Opinion 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' are just different slogans for the same hatred
By Mark Gimein Published
-
How will Israel respond to Iran's direct attack?
Speed Read Iran’s weekend attack on Israel could escalate into a wider Middle East war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published