In 1917, Arthur James Balfour publicized the infamous “Balfour Declaration” in the form of a letter to Baron Walter Rothschild:
“His Majesty’s government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
With more than a centenary of this documents’ release, the last few words seem to glare most menacingly than they otherwise would. “…it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” A colossal failure on both accounts. With more than a hundred years behind us, most of the world has come to see what Torah giants of the time already knew.
To prove the point, let us consider other countries: Has there been growing anti-Chinese feelings around the world as the result of China’s occupation of Tibet? Do Europeans of Russian background suffer bigotry because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? The answer to all these questions is a resounding no.
When Russian president Vladimir Putin invaded the Ukraine there was no talk of his being a universal premier of all peoples of Russian descent. Those Russians living in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, be they immigrants or American born, are not under the illusion that those in the Kremlin represent them in any way, shape or form. Neither is Putin under any such illusion. They live in America and therefore fall under the representation of their local, state and national representatives. Their country of origin no longer has any claims (if it ever did) to their allegiance.
There is only one country presently which has the audacity to speak in such a manner. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood up for his third speech at a joint session of Congress in March, 2015 and proceeded to declare that he speaks in the name of Jews throughout the world, he was essentially declaring himself our Supreme Leader (G-d forbid). It was an attempted power grab so vulgar and lacking in finesse that it would make even Idi Amin cringe. However, in this case Prime Minister Netanyahu was grabbing for the soul of an entire people. A people that are not a nationality. A people that are the world’s most ancient religion. A people that the Torah only identifies as a nation based upon the Torah.
But no one could accuse Netanyahu of originality however. He was simply slogging along on a well-worn mud path. Theodor Herzl, both in the public and private spheres, proudly advertised the Zionist Organization as the official LEGAL representative of the entire Jewish People. He based this claim on the Roman principle of negotiorum gestio, which says that when the property of a person is in danger and the owner of said property isn’t present to save it, anyone who volunteers may step in and become its legal manager for the sake of its salvation. Herzl claimed that since the Jews were in danger and, according to him, had no one to take care of them, he and his friends would step in as legal guardians of the entire Jewish People.
But the facts speak otherwise. Israel is the greatest catalyst for antisemitism.
The dramatic uptick in Anti-Semitic attacks and rhetoric during the current war in Gaza, would be ample enough evidence for those wishing to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a rise in Anti-Semitism does somehow correlate with “Israel’s” military endeavors. Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center for The Study of Contemporary European Jewry documented that Anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world decreased approximately 46% in 2015 versus 2014. The primary cause? There wasn’t a military confrontation between “Israel” and its neighbors during 2015. Though True Torah Jews counts no mathematicians among its staff, the arithmetic is straightforward even for laymen such as ourselves.
Perhaps, but one wonders whether Arthur James Balfour, in his quest to establish a Jewish homeland, was not motivated by Anti-Semitism.
We will leave you with these excerpts from the diary of “Israel’s” first president, Chaim Weizmann, in a letter to Ahad Ha’am.
“He (Balfour) then expounded to me his view of the Jewish question, and said that in his opinion the question would remain insoluble until either the Jews here became entirely assimilated, or there was a normal Jewish community in Palestine – and he had in mind Western Jews rather than Eastern. He (Balfour) told me that he had once had a long talk with Cosima Wagner (wife of anti-Semitic music titan, Wilhelm Wagner) in Bayrcuth and that he shared many of her anti-Semitic ideas. I pointed out to him that we too are in agreement with the cultural anti-Semites…
He (Balfour) saw me out into the street holding my hand in silence, and bidding me farewell said very warmly, “Mind you come again to see me. I am deeply moved and interested, it is not a dream, it is a great cause and I understand it.’”