Address to Lord Balfour.. Salman Abu Sitta speaks in Edinburgh University
As part of the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Seminar Series, University of Edinburgh welcomed Dr Salman Abu Sitta on November 8th as key speaker of a seminar entitled “On the Centenary of the British Mandate Era in Palestine (1922-1948)”, In addition to the role of Lord Balfour, who contributed to the establishment of a homeland for the Jews in Palestine
This year – 2022 – marks the centenary of the establishment of British Mandate in Palestine (1922-1948), as instituted under the League of Nations.
Balfour Declaration’s Destructive Impact
‘The Balfour Declaration’ -issued by Lord Arthur James Balfour, who at the time served as Britain’s foreign secretary, is a mere sixty-seven-word letter of intent which upended countless Palestinian lives for years to come.
The seminar described Balfour’s promise as “one that endorsed Britain’s support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, denying the recognition of Palestinian peoplehood with national rights to self-determination. This decision, though categorically challenged by Palestinian society and leadership, became juridically enshrined under British Mandate.”
Organised by RACE.ED & Kenyon Institute – Centre for British Research in the Levant (CBRL), the lecture’s location was entwined in the topic’s history as Lord Balfour served as Edinburgh University’s longest-serving Chancellor, keeping the position for 40 years (1891-1930).
Commemorating the 100-year history of Palestinian pain, Dr. Salman Abu Sitta spoke on the “life-time of research arising from Balfour’s legacy and what it has meant for Palestine and Palestinians, past and present.”
No Letter of Apology
Speaking on the British empire’s role in Palestine-Israeli conflict, Dr. Abu Sitta said that Balfour and government of PM Winston Churchill’s plans were not drawn up out of love for the Jews, they merely believed that implanting them in Palestine serves the interests of the British Empire, among other things giving Britain control over the route to India via the Suez Canal.
But the British Empire’s shameful history in Palestine did not begin and end with the Balfour declaration. During the British rule over Palestine, Zionist terrorist gangs destroyed many Palestinian villages and carried out multiple massacres against the villagers. In fact, tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed, maimed and imprisoned by the British colonisers.
Despite all, Dr. Abu Sitta denounced Britain’s failure to acknowledge and apologise for its many policies that brought about great suffering to the Palestinian people, as well as its continuous support – both military and financial – to the Zionist movements.
Perseverance is the way towards achieving justice for the Palestinans..
Who is Dr. Salman Abu Sitta?
Salman Abu Sitta is a Palestinian researcher, historian, and is the founder and president of the Palestine Land Society, London, dedicated to the documentation of Palestine’s land and People.
He is also most well-known for mapping plans for the Right of Return of Palestinian refugees; a topic on which he wrote several titles, including Atlas of Palestine, Mapping my Return, and The Palestinian Nakba 1948.
Read More:
Liz Truss.. Heir to the Balfour Declaration
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