It can be hard to get excited about the Balfour Declaration. Ninety years on, the language of British bureaucrats makes the statement of support for Zionism sound dull. Historians question Britain's motives, and ask tough questions about Britain's parallel and contradictory promises to support Arab independence. Yet the issuing of the Balfour Declaration, on November 2, 1917, was a moment of high drama in the story of the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. I'm proud that the British government gave public support to the Zionist movement then.
And for me, it still encapsulates how we in Britain look at Zionism. It points the way to how people outside of Israel, especially in Britain, feel about the Jewish state today. And understanding that helps us promote Israel's cause better in Britain, and elsewhere.
For Arthur James Balfour and his colleagues, the decision "to view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" had two important components that are sometimes overlooked. Alongside a promise that those Jews who chose to remain outside of the national home were not to suffer discrimination was a pledge that the rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine were to be protected. For the British, this was an indivisible part of their commitment to a Jewish state. Yes, the Jews must have their home, but not at the expense of anyone else.
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And so it remains in Britain today. Our polling tells a disturbing story for Israel and her supporters. Non-Jewish Brits still support the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland. But this sympathy for Jewish national self-determination has become conditional on how Israel deals with the Palestinians. How can we confidently support a Jewish homeland, many Brits now ask themselves, given the tragedy of daily life for Palestinians. From the binman to the prime minister, people judge Israel according to their perception of what it does, not what it says.
It's the consequence of a process that has taken place over many years, starting in the wake of the Six-Day War, and picking up pace after Lebanon in 1982. Now, when Britons look at Israel on their TV screens and in their newspapers, all they see is the Palestinian story. Checkpoints, the security barrier and civilian deaths dominate. News reporters cast the Palestinians as victims and Israelis as aggressors. Our story - the right of the Jewish people to their own homeland - is lost. It's uncomfortably easy to blame Israel.
This needs to be stopped right now. The best way of doing so is to point out that the current situation - wherein the Jews have a state and the Palestinians don't - is not one those of us who care about Israel are happy with. Friends of Israel, inside the country and out, need to become loud supporters of those who advance the creation of an independent Palestinian state, alongside a secure Israel, with equal rights for minorities. As Zionists and pro-Israel advocates, we also need to be honest about Israel. We must challenge the idea that it's acceptable to expect more of the Jews than of anyone else. It's a terrible idea, one that only hurts Israel. We must be confident in explaining that Israel is trying to do the best it can. That its people are reacting just like anyone else would when facing daily attacks. And that vigorous debate is a sign of a healthy democracy.
We need to re-embrace the spirit of Balfour and United Nations Resolution 242 and tell people that Israel wants peace more than it does land, and that we believe Palestinians should have their state, too. Israel has a responsibility to deliver its side of the bargain, but it cannot do it alone. If the Palestinians fall short of meeting their responsibilities, we are weakened. And none of this lessens the right of the Jewish people to their own homeland.
Nearly 20 years ago, I first visited Israel on a trip organized for aspiring politicians in the National Union of Students, an organization I later led. For me, as a non-Jew, it was the start of a long journey. I couldn't have imagined where it would take me. I was gripped by the dilemma of two peoples, both with deep connections to the land and to their own history, and their futures entwined, dependent on each other. Among so much that was new to me, one thing was familiar. I returned to Britain convinced that the people I had met were just like Brits would be in the same situation; frustrated by violence and desperate to live peaceful lives in safety.
As supporters of Israel in Britain, we should be proud of the long history and the strong connections Britain has with Israel and in the region. We must also make use of the recent experience of peacemaking in Northern Ireland, where relevant. Making peace is hard, and Britain is uniquely placed to help. We must ensure that it does.
Above all we must remind ourselves that in the original declaration, the British government set out a model for a Jewish state living in peace alongside its neighbors. Ninety years later, I am convinced this model still holds true. It is the only chance we have for peace.
Lorna Fitzsimons is the chief executive of BICOM, the Britain Israel Communications and Research Center, and the former Labour MP for Rochdale
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
