Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 2, 2017
The Balfour Declaration (2 November 1917) was a public statement issued by the British government during World War I announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a minority Jewish population. It represented the first expression of public support for Zionism by a major political power. The term "national home" had no precedent in international law, and was intentionally vague as to whether a Jewish state was contemplated. The second half of the declaration was added to satisfy opponents, who had claimed that it would otherwise prejudice the position of the local population of Palestine and encourage antisemitism against Jews worldwide. While the declaration called for political rights in Palestine for Jews, rights for the vast majority of the local population, the Palestinian Arabs, were limited to the civil and religious spheres. The declaration greatly increased popular support for Zionism, and led to the creation of Mandatory Palestine, which later became Israel and the Palestinian territories. Historians consider it one of the causes of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. (Full article...)