Struggles for freedom from all forms of apartheid

WHEN in 1917 the Balfour Declaration, a public statement issued by the British government in support of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, 94% of the inhabitants of the now distinct geopolitical entity were Arabs. But nowhere in the short declaration were the words “Arab” or “Palestinian” used. Instead, they were referred to as “non-Jewish” communities.

The declaration was significant for a more important reason than the use of dehumanising language. The declaration was important for proclaiming that the “civil and religious rights” of the “non-Jews” would not be prejudiced under a new