Episode Details

Issued in 1917, the Balfour Declaration was a brief but world-changing statement in which the British government expressed its support for establishing a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine while also pledging not to prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Britain governed the region under the British Mandate for Palestine from 1920 to 1948, attempting to balance competing promises and rising tensions between Jewish and Arab populations. In this episode, we'll explore how a 67-word declaration helped shape the modern Middle East, why the British Mandate became increasingly controversial, and how these events laid the foundation for the creation of the State of Israel—and a conflict that continues to influence world affairs today.