of Palestine under British control would benefit from improved administra-
tive methods, that peace would reign between Arabs and Jews, and that a
Jewish homeland would develop more quickly.^123 Events in the 1920s and
1930s proved at least some of his predictions inaccurate, but for the time
being his views contributed to easing the tension between Zionists and non-
Zionists and the transformation of American Zionism into Palestinianism.
The Balfour DeclarationIn November 1917, when a climax was approaching in negotiations between
Schiff and the Zionists, the latter joyfully celebrated the Balfour Declara-
tion. Transmitted in a letter from British foreign minister Arthur Balfour
to Lord Lionel Rothschild, honorary president of the Zionist Federation
of Great Britain, a month before the British captured Jerusalem, the dec-
laration stated: “His Majesty’s Government view with favor the establish-
ment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use
their best endeavors 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.” A keen
desire to win the sympathy of American Jews for the Allied cause had
prompted England’s action, and although the British ambassador to the
United States, Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, remained skeptical of its success,
Zionists the world over rejoiced. The declaration went further than the
Basel program, talking of a “national home” instead of merely a “home” in
Palestine. “Zionism is no longer a dream,” Judge Julian Mack said. “It has
passed into the realm of practical possibility.” Subsequently endorsed by
Wilson, a majority in Congress, and American public opinion, the declara-
tion transformed the idea of a national homeland, which many understood
to mean a state, into an Allied war aim.^124 Thus, while it confirmed the
rights of Jews in the diaspora, it also promised American Zionists relief
from the charge of dual allegiance.
By stamping Zionism with the seal of international respectability, the
declaration strengthened Zionist resistance to Schiff’s conditions for affili-
ating with the movement. For the banker, however, the declaration was
primarily another issue that testified to the needs of proper American Jew-
ish leadership and especially American Jewish unity. Although he ques-
tioned the depth of England’s commitment to Zionism, he publicly lined
up with the Zionists in praise of the statement. He hoped, he said, that the
declaration would unite Jews in preparation for reassuming “their glorious
inheritance.” Jews held different views on how to achieve a secure foothold
in Palestine, but at bottom the imagination of all was fired by the “hope
234 Jacob H. Schiff