Editing Balfour Declaration (section)

=== Early British support ===
[[File:Memorandum to Protestant Monarchs of Europe for the restoration of the Jews to Palestine, Colonial Times 1841.jpg|thumb|"Memorandum to the Protestant Powers of the North of Europe and America", published in the ''[[Colonial Times]]'' (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia), in 1841]]
Early British political support for an increased Jewish presence in the [[Palestine (region)|region of Palestine]] was based upon geopolitical calculations.{{sfn|Renton|2007|p=2}}{{efn|group=lower-roman|Renton described this as follows: "A crucial aspect of this depiction of the Declaration as a product of British benevolence, as opposed to realpolitik, was that the British had a natural and deep-rooted concern for the rights of Jews and specifically their national restoration, which was an ingrained part of British culture and history. Presented in this way, the Declaration was shown to be a natural, almost preordained event. Hence, Zionism was presented not just as the ''[[Telos (philosophy)|telos]]'' of Jewish history but also of British history. The tendency of nationalist and Zionist histories to develop towards a single point of destiny and redemption allowed for, indeed required, such an explanation. The myth of British 'proto-Zionism', which has had such a longstanding influence on the historiography of the Balfour Declaration, was thus produced, so as to serve the needs of Zionist propagandists working for the British Government."{{sfn|Renton|2007|p=85}}}} This support began in the early 1840s{{sfn|Schölch|1992|p=44}} and was led by [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]], following the [[Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–33)|occupation of Syria]] and [[Peasants' revolt in Palestine|Palestine]] by [[separatism|separatist]] Ottoman governor [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt]].{{sfn|Stein|1961|pp=5–9}}{{sfn|Liebreich|2004|pp=8–9}} French influence had grown in Palestine and the wider Middle East, and its role as protector of the [[Catholic church|Catholic]] communities [[Règlement Organique (Mount Lebanon)|began to grow]], just as Russian influence had grown as protector of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] in the same regions. This left Britain without a [[sphere of influence]],{{sfn|Stein|1961|pp=5–9}} and thus a need to find or create their own regional "protégés".{{sfn|Schölch|1992|p=41}} These political considerations were supported by a sympathetic evangelical Christian sentiment towards the "[[Christian Zionism|restoration of the Jews]]" to Palestine among elements of the mid-19th-century British political elite – most notably [[Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury|Lord Shaftesbury]].{{efn|group=lower-roman|Donald Lewis writes: "It is the contention of this work that only by understanding [Christian philosemitism and Christian Zionism] can one make sense of the religious and cultural influences that worked together to create a climate of opinion among the political elite in Britain that was well disposed to the Balfour Declaration."{{sfn|Lewis|2014|p=10}}}} The British Foreign Office actively encouraged Jewish emigration to Palestine, exemplified by [[Charles Henry Churchill]]'s 1841–1842 exhortations to [[Moses Montefiore]], the leader of the British Jewish community.{{sfn|Friedman|1973|p=xxxii}}{{efn|group=qt|Montefiore was the wealthiest British Jew, and leader of the [[Board of Deputies of British Jews]]. Charles Henry Churchill's first letter, in 1841, intended to catalyse an interest in Jewish emigration to Palestine: "Supposing that you and your colleagues should at once and earnestly interest yourselves upon this important subject of the recovery of your ancient country, it appears to me (forming my opinions upon the present attitude of affairs in the Turkish Empire) that it could only be as subjects of the Porte that you could commence to regain a footing in Palestine."{{sfn|Friedman|1973|p=xxxii}}}}

Such efforts were premature,{{sfn|Friedman|1973|p=xxxii}} and did not succeed;{{efn|group=lower-roman|With respect to European schemes to encourage Protestant, Catholic and Jewish immigration to Palestine, Schölch notes that "But of the many colonization projects and enterprises, only two had any success: the settlements of [[Templers (religious believers)|Templars]] since 1868 and those of Jewish immigrants since 1882."{{sfn|Schölch|1992|p=51}}}} only 24,000 Jews were living in Palestine on the eve of the emergence of [[Zionism]] within the world's Jewish communities in the last two decades of the 19th century.{{sfn|Cleveland|Bunton|2016|p=229}} With the geopolitical shakeup occasioned by the outbreak of the [[First World War]], the earlier calculations, which had lapsed for some time, led to a renewal of strategic assessments and political bargaining over the Middle and Far East.{{sfn|Liebreich|2004|pp=8–9}}

==== British anti-Semitism ====
Although other factors played their part, [[Jonathan Schneer]] says that stereotypical thinking by British officials about Jews also played a role in the decision to issue the Declaration. Robert Cecil, Hugh O’Bierne and Sir Mark Sykes all held an unrealistic view of "world Jewry", the former writing "I do not think it is possible to exaggerate the international power of the Jews." Zionist representatives saw advantage in encouraging such views.{{sfn|Schneer|2010|p=343}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/09/08/how-anti-semitism-helped-create-israel-2/|title=How Anti-Semitism Helped Create Israel|first=Jonathan|last=Schneer|date=8 September 2010 |ref=none}}</ref> James Renton concurs, writing that the British foreign policy elite, including Prime Minister David Lloyd George and Foreign Secretary A.J. Balfour, believed that Jews possessed real and significant power that could be of use to them in the war.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Renton|first=James|date=26 October 2017|url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2017-10-26/ty-article/the-balfour-declarations-racism-and-why-it-still-matters/0000017f-dba4-db22-a17f-ffb5fdd10000|title=The Balfour Declaration's Deep anti-Semitism and Racism - and Why It Still Matters|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref>