There were four different drafts regarding the Declaration. A Zionist draft, a shorter, curt draft by Balfour, a Milner draft and a Milner-Amery draft. The authoritative voice was that of Claude Montefiore, one of the most respected contributors to Anglo-Jewry as a communal leader,philanthropist, prolific author and radical theoligian (Kessler). He wrote," The phrase" a national home for the Jewish race appears to assume and imply that Jews generally constitute a nationality. Such an implication is extremely prejudicial to Jewish interests, as it is intensely obnoxious to an enormous number of Jews...A national home for the Jews on the score of the oppressed condition of the Jews is no longer necessary...The Polish-Jewish question will, with the co-operation of the Allies, be doubtless settled as favourably as the larger Russian Jewish problem has already been settled. The Rumanian Government will also not be able to resist the pressure of events..For the true well-being of the Jewish race emancipation and liberty in the countries of the world are a thousand times more important than a "home"...It is very significant that anti-Semites are always very sympathetic to Zionism. It is no wonder...I and my friends do not desire to impede colonisation and immigration into Palestine...Whoever is the Suzerain power of Palestine may be, we are in favour of the Jews, when their numbers permit it, ultimately obtaining the power which any large majority may justly claim...The words "who are contented with" ill express the facts. When thousands of Jews are fighting with passion and ardour for their respective countries, they are not merely contented with their nationality. It is bone of their bone and spirit of their spirit....If the present words of the draft declaration are, for some reason or reasons unknown to me, believes by His Majesty's Government to be in the interest of British policy, and if His Majesty's Government is anxious to publish this formula for the sake of this country as well as for the Jews, I would of course, subordinate my Jewish feelings, wishes and interests of England and the Empire..." (Stein, p525)
In summary it must be said that the present situation in Palestine and Israel, can be attributed to the British Government of that time. Britain was vying for control of the region against France and applying it's formula of control by colonisation, this time by manipulating the Jewish peoples.
The year 1949, was when the refugee tally of the Palestinian peoples came to be assessed. Arab officials spoke of a total of 900,000 or a million. Israeli spokesmen(in public) referred to about 520,000. UNWRA, United Nations Relief and Works Agency, put the figure at 726,000. The estimates vary according to the appraiser. The British, in February 1949 put the figure at 810,000: 210,000 in the Gaza Strip; 320,000 in the West Bank; 280,000 in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan (East Bank)The Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Walter Eytan, in a private letter (that still exists) to Daniel Sirkis (Hatzofe) said the UNWRA figure of 720,000 as "meticulous" but thought the real number was 800,000. However,officially, Israel stuck to the low figure of 520,000-530,000 for the following, simple reason: "If people became accustomed to the large figure and we are eventually obliged to accept the return of the refugees, we may find it difficult, when faced with hordes of claimants, to convince the world that not all of these formerly lived in Israeli territory...It would, in any event, seem desirable to minimise the numbers...than otherwise."
Sources: Stein L. The Balfour Declaration. VALENTINE & MITCHELL:London 1961.
Morris, B THE BIRTH OF THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE PROBLEM REVISITED. Cambridge University Press, 2004
Dr. Edward Kessler
www.muse.jhu.edu/journals/shofar/v022/22.3kessler.html accessed 03/07/09
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