Why does every town in Israel have a “Balfour” street?

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Balfour street in Jerusalem is just one of dozens in Israel

Most Canadians think that the important things of World War I happened in Europe. That is natural, of course, because our terrible losses were in the fields of Flanders.

But World War I was a world war, and it had consequences around the globe. It casts a particularly long shadow in the Middle East, where colonial powers drew lines, created countries and installed rulers.

British Cabinet minister Lord Balfour’s 1917 decision to support the creation of a “Jewish State” in Palestine, known as the “Balfour Declaration”  has caused turmoil in the region for a hundred years.

The Rideau Institute invited me to do an opinion piece on how WWI played a role in shaping the Israel/Palestine conflict. See my “guest blog” here. History buffs might be interested.

One comment

  1. I can not say anything polite when I remember what the British government did to my people in between 1917-1948. So “No comment”.

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