PA to children: Balfour Declaration was “Satan’s promise”
- Children taught in school that Balfour Declaration was "Satan's promise"
- Britain issued Balfour Declaration to "get rid of the Jews" who "tried to take control of the economy" - Palestinian Writers' Union
- Israel was "established through theft" led by "colonialist states" headed by Britain - Ret. PA official
- Fatah to kids: Palestinians will "liberate Palestine and nullify all that has happened as a result of the Balfour Declaration."
- "Britain and Western colonialism committed the most despicable moral and political crime in modern history when Britain announced the ominous Balfour Promise" – PA Chairman Abbas' advisor
- "A shocking injustice and exaggerated oppression, A stain of shame on the history of the 20th century" - Fatah Central Committee Deputy Secretary
- The West "acceded to the desires of global Zionism… The Jews succeeded in exploiting this piece of paper" – official PA news agency
- "One of the most unfair historical tragedies, as one to whom the land does not belong gave it to one who has no right" – PA Ministry of Culture
- Balfour Declaration "favored murderers who turned their crimes into a lifestyle" over Palestinians – Palestinian Writers and Authors' General Union
Marking the anniversary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration –which declared that the British government "views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" - the PA stressed its fundamental ideology that Israel has no right to exist in any borders.
The PA presents the establishment of Israel as "theft" and the Balfour Declaration, the letter from British Foreign Secretary Balfour to Baron Rothschild, as "the ominous promise," through which "one who has no ownership" – i.e., Britain – "gave a promise to one who has no right" – i.e., the Jews.
This message is taught to Palestinian schoolchildren throughout the year and the PA Ministry of Education makes sure to particularly emphasize it on November 2 the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. During a school event commemorating "the ominous promise", young schoolchildren held signs and Palestinian flags. One sign read "Satan's promise":
Text on yellow sign: "Satan's Promise
Nov. 2, 1917"
Text on pink sign: "Lod (i.e., an Israeli city)"[PA Ministry of Education, Facebook page, Nov. 3, 2024]
The anniversary of the Balfour Declaration also serves as the perfect opportunity to emphasize the PA's antisemitic ideology. The Palestinian antisemitic explanation for Balfour's Declaration is that Britain led the initiative to create a state for the Jews so they could "get rid of them" because the Jews "tried to take control of the economy … in most of the European states":
Palestinian Writers' Union General Secretariat member Talal Abu Afifa: "These Jews, ever since they arrived in Britain in the 18th century… at the start of the 20th century, they began to constitute a problem for Britain. Especially because the Jews, wherever they settle, they try to take control of the country's economy and wealth. When the Zionists in Britain began to do this, bitterness and complaints began from the civilians, economists, and statesmen, that the Jews are attempting to take control of Britain. They did this not just in Britain, but in most of the European states…"
Official PA TV host: "Indeed, wherever they arrived destruction followed."
Talal Abu Afifa:: Therefore, Britain thought about how it would get rid of the Jews [and issued the Balfour Declaration]."
[Official PA TV, In Memory, Nov. 2, 2024]
A retired PA Security Forces Maj. Gen. repeated another part of the PA's narrative regarding the establishment of Israel in general: That it was, and still is, part of a "colonialist project":
PA Security Forces Maj. Gen. (ret.) and national security expert Ahmed Issa: "Israel is the only state that was not established by its people on its land. It was established through theft, and it is a product of a large colonialist project led by the colonialist states under the leadership of Britain."
[Official PA TV, Israel in the News, Oct. 28, 2024]
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash also stressed that "Britain and Western colonialism" were behind "the despicable moral and political crime" of issuing the Balfour Declaration:
Posted text: "On this day, Nov. 2, 1917, Britain and Western colonialism committed the most despicable moral and political crime in modern history when Britain announced the ominous Balfour Promise, in which one who has no ownership gave a promise to one who has no right, and since that day waterfalls of blood have been flowing in Palestine due to this crime."
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Nov. 2, 2024]
Along with the colonialist conspiracy theory, the PA sees the Balfour Declaration as marking the West's submission to "the desires of global Zionism":
"‘The Balfour Declaration' was tantamount to the West's first step on the path to establishing an entity for the Jews on the land of Palestine, while acceding to the desires of global Zionism at the expense of a people that has been planted in this land for thousands of years … The Jews succeeded in exploiting this piece of paper of [then British Foreign Secretary] ArthurBalfour… to realize their dream, and on May 15, 1948, Israel was established."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 2, 2024]
The PA Ministry of Culture called the Balfour Declaration"a testimony to injustice and an incentive to continue the struggle," i.e., the PA's euphemism for terror. The declaration was "the start of one of the most unfair historical tragedies, as one to whom the land does not belong gave it to one who has no right." [WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 2, 2024]
The Palestinian Writers and Authors' General Union presented the Balfour Declarationas "a crime" and "a threat to world peace," calling for an apology and compensation from Britain, claiming it favored "murderers who turned their crimes into a lifestyle" over Palestinians:
"The Palestinian Writers and Authors' General Union called on writers and authors from around the world to consider the Balfour Declaration a crime, due to its bloody results and the great injustice that it caused, which threatens world peace. On the occasion of the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the union said… ‘Balfour drove away an entire people to all ends of the earth… What has been happening for more than a year in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip [war]is nothing but a result of the Balfour Declaration, which violated the Palestinian people's right in favor of murderers who turned their crimes into a lifestyle.' … The union… called on Britain to apologize to the Palestinian Arab people and compensate it for what has been caused to it because of this ominous declaration."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 2, 2024]
Fatah Central Committee Deputy Secretary Sabri Saidam posted a picture of the front page of the paper La Palestine dated Nov. 2, 1929 and its headline, calling the Balfour Declaration "a shocking injustice":
Posted text: "The Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration) – a shocking injustice and exaggerated oppression"
Text on front page of paper: "The Balfour Promise
A shocking injustice and exaggerated oppression
A stain of shame on the history of the 20th century"[Fatah Central Committee Deputy Secretary Sabri Saidam, Facebook page,
Nov. 2, 2024]
Fatah's Information and Culture Commission in Lebanon, Falestinona, posted this cartoon with the words "The Balfour Promise" binding the PA map of "Palestine" painted in the colours of the Palestinian flag with blood dripping from the red triangle of the flag.
Headline: "The Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration)"
Caption: "Our roots are well based in its land, we are its owners and its source"[Falestinona, Fatah's Information and Culture Commission in Lebanon,
Nov. 2, 2024]
As mentioned above, the PA actively reinforces the message to children in PA schools that Israel has no right to exist in any borders and uses the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration to reinforce it. The PA Ministry of Education posted additional photos from school events, "rejecting and condemning the ominous promise":
Posted text: "The adults will die and the young will not forget.
As a sign of rejecting the ominous Balfour Promise and an expression of the importance of preserving the national memory and affiliation among our students, activities were held condemning this ominous promise on the radio this morning [Nov. 3, 2024].
#The_Balfour_Promise"
Children kneel to form the PA map of "Palestine" that presents all of Israel together with the PA areas as "Palestine" with their bodies. They are wearing red, black, white, and green shirts and form the Palestinian flag, indicating Palestinian sovereignty over the entire Israel, thereby presenting a world without Israel.
Text on sign: "The Balfour Promise was given by one with no ownership to one with no right"
Text on sign in center: "The Balfour Promise is null and will be nullified"
Text on paper: "The ominous Balfour Promise"
[PA Ministry of Education, Facebook page, Nov. 3, 2024]
In a video posted by the South Hebron Directorate of Education - a branch of the PA Ministry of Education - a schoolgirl appears with the PA map of "Palestine" that includes all of Israel in the colors of the Palestinian flag painted on her face. The text posted by the Directorate of Education stresses that the activity was connected to "the ominous Balfour Promise":
Posted text: "The participation of female student Sham Lafi Al-Haroub from the Beit Shean Elementary School for Girls in the South Hebron Directorate of Education (i.e., branch of the PA Ministry of Education) in commemorating the anniversary of the ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration)"
[South Hebron Directorate of Education, Facebook page, Nov. 3, 2024]
School events marking the anniversary of "the ominous Balfour Promise" were held in PA schools:
Posted text: "Pictures from the schools of the South Hebron Directorate of Education (i.e., branch of the PA Ministry of Education) during school radio activities, which were dedicated today, Sunday, [Nov. 3, 2024,] to talking about the anniversary of the ominous Balfour Declaration (see note below -Ed.).
#The_Balfour_Promise (i.e., Declaration)"Text on girl's sign: "We will not forget the ominous promise
The Balfour Promise
Which was given by one who has no ownership to one who has no right
Nov. 2, 1917"[South Hebron Directorate of Education, Facebook page, Nov. 3, 2024]
Text on sign: "The [Balfour] Promise is null and the [Palestinian refugees'] right of return is what is legal"
Text on sign: "The Balfour Promise to steal a homeland"
Text on sweatshirt: "All of Palestine is my homeland
(The following is in English -Ed.) Free Palestine"[South Hebron Directorate of Education, Facebook page, Nov. 3, 2024]
Fatah's magazine for children, Waed, stated in their November 2024 issue that the Palestinians issued their declaration of independence in 1988 in Algeria as a response to the Balfour Declaration to "nullify everything that resulted from the Balfour Declaration." In other words, elimination of Israel:
"The PLO – the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people – declared the establishment of the State of Palestine on Nov. 15, 1986 (sic., 1988) in Algeria. This declaration came 70 (sic., 71) years after the Balfour Declarationto emphasize the Palestinian people's determination to liberate Palestine and nullify all that has happened as a result of the Balfour Declaration."
[Waed Magazine, Issue 45, November 2024]
Palestinian Media Watch has exposed many other problematic and dangerous messages taught to children by Fatah through its youth magazine Waed in the report Teaching Terror to Tots, and documented decades of PA's rejection of Israel's right to exist, which peaks on the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.
The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above:
Headline: "107 years since the ominous Balfour Declaration"
"Today, Saturday, Nov. 2, [2024,] is the 107th anniversary of the issuing of the ominous Balfour Declaration (see note below -Ed.), by virtue of which Britain gave the Jews a right to establish a national home in Palestine.
‘The Balfour Declaration' was tantamount to the West's first step on the path to establishing an entity for the Jews on the land of Palestine, while acceding to the desires of global Zionism at the expense of a people that has been planted in this land for thousands of years (sic., see note below)…
The Palestinian people did not submit to the promises, to the British decisions, and to the facts that the Zionist movement and its armed gangs began to create on the ground, but rather rebelled time after time. The first rebellion was the 1929 Al-Buraq Rebellion (i.e., the 1929 Arab Riots, 133 Jews murdered), and after it was the 1936 rebellion (i.e., the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt, at least 400 Jews murdered)…
The Jews succeeded in exploiting this piece of paper of [then British Foreign Secretary] Arthur Balfour, …the British Mandate for Palestine, and resolution [181] on the partition of Palestine passed by the [UN] General Assembly in 1947 (see note below -Ed.), in order to realize their dream, and on May 15, 1948, Israel was established. This entity achieved membership in the UN thanks to pressure by the large states. Israel became the first state in the history of the global political system that is established on the land of others, and that achieves international support that causes it to act arrogantly in the region, to expand, to swallow up more Palestinian and Arab lands, and to behave brutally and mercilessly towards the members of the Palestinian people who were left on their land.
The Balfour Declaration gave the Jews a national home, while they are not the residents of Palestine; when the declaration was given, in Palestine there were only 50,000 Jews out of all the world's Jews at the time, whose number was estimated at approximately 12 million. This was at a time when the number of Arab residents of Palestine in the same period was nearly 1.65 million."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 2, 2024]
Note: The Palestinians have no history prior to the modern period.
Headline: "The [PA] Ministry of Culture: The Balfour Declaration will remain a testimony to injustice and an incentive to continue the struggle"
"The [PA] Ministry of Culture emphasized: ‘Our Palestinian people will continue to stand firm, while bearing the heritage of its ancestors and adhering to its land and its identity. The Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration; see note below) will remain a testimony to this injustice, and an incentive to continue the struggle until realizing full freedom and independence.'
In a statement issued today, [Nov. 2, 2024,] the ministry said: ‘On this date in 1917, the Balfour Declaration was issued. This was the start of one of the most unfair historical tragedies, as one to whom the land does not belong gave it to one who has no right, and left the Palestinian people to suffer from the effects of this ominous promise until this very day.'
It emphasized that we must recall this unfair date (sic., declaration), which was not just a document, but rather the start of the suffering of an entire people and the start of a long struggle for freedom and honor. [It also emphasized] that we must adhere to the national rights and not relinquish the [Palestinian refugees'] right of return…
The ministry emphasized that we must continue the action to increase the awareness of our heritage of culture and struggle, and highlight the true Palestinian narrative by creating cultural conventions and initiatives, which will immortalize the memory of our Martyrs and our land that was stolen."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 2, 2024]
Headline: "On the anniversary of the Balfour [Declaration]: The [Palestinian] National Council calls to restore the national unity in order to thwart all the colonialist plans"
"The Palestinian National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO)… emphasized [the Palestinian people's] historical right to its land and its right to defend itself by all means anchored in the international conventions and laws…
It held Britain, and behind it the international community, responsible for the crime of the Balfour Declaration (see note below -Ed.) against our people and its legal and moral consequences, and demanded that it apologize, admit the responsibility for this crime, and compensate for it."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 2, 2024]
Headline: "The [Palestinian] Writers' Union call on the world's writers and authors to consider the Balfour Declaration a crime"
"The Palestinian Writers and Authors' General Union called on writers and authors from around the world to consider the Balfour Declaration (see note below -Ed.) a crime, due to its bloody results and the great injustice that it caused, which threatens world peace.
In a statement issued today, Saturday, [Nov. 2, 2024,] on the occasion of the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the union said that the world must understand that the Palestinian Arab people has no choice but to remain in its homeland…
The statement also said: ‘Balfour drove away an entire people to all ends of the earth… What has been happening for more than a year in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is nothing but a result of the Balfour Declaration, which violated the Palestinian people's right in favor of murderers who turned their crimes into a lifestyle.' …
The union… called on Britain to apologize to the Palestinian Arab people and compensate it for what has been caused to it because of this ominous declaration."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 2, 2024]
P. 30: "As a result of the Palestinian national struggle, which has lasted for 100 years, and as a result of our people's first Intifada (i.e., Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel, approximately 200 Israelis murdered, 1987-1993) against the occupation (i.e., Israel), the PLO – the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people – declared the establishment of the State of Palestine on Nov. 15, 1986 (sic., 1988; refers to Palestinian declaration of independence – see note below) in Algeria.
This declaration came 70 (sic., 71) years after the Balfour Declaration (see note below -Ed.) to emphasize the Palestinian people's determination to liberate Palestine and nullify all that has happened as a result of the Balfour Declaration.
Every year the Palestinian people celebrates the day of the declaration of the Palestinian state."
[Waed Magazine, Issue 45, November 2024]
Jews were in England long before the 18th century. The first written record of Jewish presence in England is from 1070.