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08 Dec 2017
8 Dec. 2017 <br />
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Amman- The Jordan Media Institute (JMI) hosted a lecture by Palestinian-British producer Karl Sabbagh on his documentary "Balfour Declaration," which he introduced and discussed with JMI students. The lecture was within the context of research methods and journalistic investigation of historical documents.<br />
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After doing research and examining many archival documents, Sabbagh concluded that British Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur Balfour did not write the Declaration, but only signed it.<br />
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Sabbagh added that Chaim Weizmann and many other Zionists in Britain were the ones who wrote the text of the Declaration and sent it to Balfour and asked him to sign it and send it to Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild (banker and one of the Jewish leaders in Britain) so that the Jews of the world would know that the British Government was serious about giving them Palestine as a national home.<br />
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Sabbagh, born in Britain to a Palestinian father and British mother, noted that many documents confirmed the result he has reached. He also showed a letter by a Jewish British journalist addressed to Weizmann, in which he thanked him for the opportunity to take part in writing the text of the Declaration.<br />
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Sabbagh, born in 1942, described the Balfour Declaration as a strange document as it was not an official paper that had the British Foreign Office heading; it was just a typed scrap of paper.<br />
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Sabbagh indicated that what the Balfour Declaration contained was not a British wish as much as it was the wish of Prime Minister David Lloyd George and Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour. Besides, many officials of the British Government thought of the Declaration as a way of allowing Jews to visit holy sites, just like the situation in the Vatican.<br />
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On whether the British Government is bound by the Declaration, Sabbagh said that "the Declaration does not have a legal context. It could have disappeared." He added that "the Jews pushed for incorporating the text of the Declaration into the British Mandate of Palestine at the League of Nations."<br />
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Sabbagh noted that the Israelis do not have an argument. Therefore, we have to understand the argument that they repeat to reply to it and refute it. Besides, the Zionists are proud of the way they have stolen Palestine. They have documented that era, including the manipulation of the British Government.<br />
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Sabbagh added that documents are rarely reflected in words, which hide real meanings behind them. Also, words reflect historical dimensions.<br />
Sabbagh relied in his research on the British National Archives, books, political memoirs, testimonies, and historians, in addition to Israeli sources, such as "The Rise of Israel," which includes 39 volumes.<br />
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JMI students watched the documentary at Rainbow Theater and took part in the discussion that followed the screening.<br />
Karl Sabbagh worked previously as a journalist for the BBC and produced many documentaries. He also authored several books, including "Palestine: A Personal History."