History of Israel - Mandate for Palestine

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From http://www.mideastweb.org/mandate.htm

In accordance with the principles of the Balfour Declaration and Article 22 of the League Convenant, the League of Nations drew up the Mandate for Palestine.

The document underwent several transformations. Arab pressure and riots in Palestine had brought about the Churchill White Paper of 1922, which again reiterated the right of the Jews to a Homeland in Palestine."
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From http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/The+Balfour+Declaration.htm

Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917

Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.

"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely,
Arthur James Balfour

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From http://www.mideastweb.org/britzion.htm

"The Balfour declaration, offering Palestine to the Jews,... reflected a deep-seated philosophical and religious movement for restoration of the Jews that had become rooted in British culture in the 19th century. The Christian world had long been inimical (hostile or unfriendly) to Jewish settlement in the Holy Land. St. Eusebius had decreed that God would therefore not let the Jews rebuild Jerusalem, a proscription that entered European Christian culture as the Curse of Eusebius"

From http://www.zionism-israel.com/log/archives/00000098.html
Perhaps the key issue which separates Christians who are pro-Israel from those like Stephen Sizer, who are actively anti-Zionist, is the doctrine of replacement theology. That is the doctrine that the Christian Church replaced the Jews as "the Chosen" of God, and that therefore all the Old Testament promises to the Jews must be viewed as promises to the Christian Church.

A mainstay of replacement theology, as I understand it, was that God had punished the Jews permanently because they would not accept Jesus as the Messiah. This outlook was a major ideological underpinning of anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages. A corollary of this doctrine was the curse of Eusebius, which stated that the Jews would never be allowed to rebuild Jerusalem because of their sins. Replacement theology lost its popularity with the reformation.... (What is the Reformation?)

But ever since the Reformation, there have been some small groups of Protestants who have rejected replacement theology and who believe—as Jews do—that the word “Israel” in the Bible means the Jews. Under this reading, the Jews continue to be the beneficiaries of God’s love and promises, and the Bible becomes an exhortation (a speech or written passage intended to persuade, inspire, or encourage) to Zionism and philo-Semitism (is an interest in, respect for, and appreciation of the Jewish people).

In early 20th-century America, the nascent fundamentalist movement embraced this minority view and rejected replacement theology. As this movement grew and spread throughout America, the number of Christians who adhered to this theology grew as well, to the point that it is the ascendant strain of American Christianity today. Thus fundamentalist/evangelical support for Israel is not a trend, fad, or public relations ploy—it is a bedrock religious belief.


While Israel was always important to evangelicals, a recent event did make Israel even more of a priority. On September 11, 2001, evangelicals recognized along with many other Americans that radical Islam was the greatest threat facing our country and that we were in a war with its proponents. And in this war, Israel is seen as an ally and as the first line of defense of Judeo-Christian civilization. Support for this embattled ally has moved to center stage.