Page 7 - TORCH Magazine #8 - Nov 2017

BALFOUR AND BRITAIN’S AZIONIST BREAKTHROUGH
Jewish homeland to leave for Manchester would take courageous in 1904 to pursue the politicians who were Zionist idea. It was in this
prepared to repair an historic wrong. And it would be another friendship between a Christian and a Jew that would pave the way.
The ground was ready
for a breakthrough. The Christians of Britain no longer needed convincing about the idea of a Jewish homeland. However, Palestine was not Britain’s land to give to the Jews as it was ruled by the Turks.
Fortunately, that didn’t stop Britain from strategically planning for a time when the Ottoman Empire would collapse.
British politician Arthur Balfour was very interested in the “people of the Book”, especially having been educated in the Bible since childhood. Although not reportedly overly religious, he believed that the Jews were a people to whom Christians owed a great debt.
As Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour met a man named Chaim Weizmann. Born
in Belarus, Weizmann was inspired by Theodor Herzl and dreamt of a Jewish homeland in Zion. Herzl’s death was a huge blow
to Weizmann leading him
northern industrial city that he became a biochemist and leader among British Zionists.
Dreaming Big
In their rst meeting in
1906, Balfour, who was at the time Prime Minister
of Britain, raised with Weizmann the idea that, instead of Palestine, the Jews be o ered Uganda as a homeland – something that the Zionist leadership had turned down three years earlier. Their conversation went as follows:
“Mr Balfour, suppose I was to o er you Paris instead of London, would you take it?” said Weizmann.
“But Dr Weizmann, we have London”, replied Balfour.
“That is true,” Weizmann said, “but we had Jerusalem when London was a marsh”.
“Are there many Jews who think like you?” asked Balfour.
Weizmann replied, “I speak the mind of millions of Jews.”
Weizmann didn’t give up. He formed a group of young men from Manchester providing him with the
CUFI.ORG.UK 7