The courtyard of the British Library in central London is dotted with posters advertising the historic documents that can be viewed within its reading rooms.
From the Magna Carta to Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketches to The Beatles’ notebooks, the treasures encompass a vast tract of culture and politics. One item in the archives that is not advertised however is the Balfour Declaration, the 1917 letter that reshaped the Middle East.
The rare manuscript is not available on demand, not even to those who have obtained a reader’s card. To retrieve it from the archives requires a letter on headed notepaper stating a reason for the request. Finally there is bureaucratic hurdle of ordering the documents to be delivered to the reading room.
The letter from Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild is surprisingly brief. It is accompanied by a Foreign Office discussion document. The envelope is also preserved, as is an image of the wax seal that graced the back.
Balfour stated three principles. That the British government viewed with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. That nothing should have prejudiced the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. Nor should developments have affected the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
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Read more
Instead of celebrating the Balfour Declaration, Britain should be ashamed of what it did
Why I am determined to tell Palestinians' stories
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The brevity of the communication belies its impact. The tussle over the Balfour Declaration has raged for almost a century. The lead-up to the century of the Nov 2nd letter has provoked a new battle to define the letter’s place in history.
The Palestinian government has demanded an apology to the Palestinian people from Theresa May’s government.
“This declaration is our tragedy,” Mahmoud Abbas declared last year.
Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of the PLO, believes that Britain should make amends for “one of the greatest tragedies in history” by recognising the Palestinian state on the centenary.
“Britain, the European Union, the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the rest of the world have to obligate the Israeli government to accept the principle of two states based on the June 4, 1967 borders, that is an independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital living in security and peace alongside the state of Israel on the 1967 lines and a halt to all Israeli colonial activities,” Mr Erekat said last month.
Mrs May has instead invited Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to Britain to mark the event. The Foreign Office rejected the demand for an apology.
“The Balfour Declaration was a historic statement and one that the UK Government will not be apologising for,” it said. “We are focused on encouraging the Israelis and Palestinians to take steps which bring them closer to peace.”
Amid stalemate, the level of interest in the anniversary has steadily built on both sides.
A petition to parliament that called for a government repudiation attracted thousands of signatures. The Balfour Campaign on Twitter has spearheaded the demands for an apology. “We believe the British public should demand, with us, that the British government recognises its brutal colonial practices in Palestine,” the campaign declared.
The only event at the British Library itself will held in early October by private group. Separately an exhibition is being staged in New York with a copy of the letter on display as well as the desk used by Lord Balfour.
The Balfour letter was this week described as the “umbilical cord” of the Israeli state by David Dafoor, a wealthy individual who has funded a new centre for British Israeli relations in Jerusalem.
The centre opens tomorrow with an event titled From Balfour to Brexit. Among the attendees will be the former British prime minister Tony Blair as well as leading Israeli politicians, including Tzipi Livni. Mark Regev, the Israeli ambassador to London, has flown in for the event. The fifth Earl of Balfour, heir to the title of the ex-Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, is also on the guest list.
The objective of commemorating the centenary was outlined in January by Tzipi Hotovely, the deputy foreign minister. “We’re often seen as a country without roots, a new country that represents an ancient people but whose roots in this land are very short. The idea is to bring us back to the bigger picture,” she said.
Meanwhile British parliamentarians and diplomats have been invited to discuss a fresh start on the Balfour Declaration at a rally at Westminster’s Central Hall in October. Among the speakers is the former ambassador to Libya and consul-general in Jerusalem Sir Vincent Frean and Layla Moran, the first British MP of Arab descent. The event is organised by the Balfour Project, which is a dedicated to a call to fulfil the “second part” of the declaration.
“When the prime minister announced that we should celebrate the Balfour Declaration with pride that was a step too far,” said Chris Doyle of the Campaign for the Advancement of Arab British Understanding (CAABU). “We are still living with the consequences of the declaration and there is a relevant debate to be had about the impact of Balfour on the lives of millions. It is seen very differently by Arabs and others.”
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The five pillars of Islam
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jordan Sport, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: Jungle Cat, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Kimbear, Patrick Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: North America, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner: Hawkbill, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
The biog
Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician
Hometown: Ghazala, Syria
Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978
Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter
Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi
Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.
Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo
Favourite food: fresh fish
Company%20Profile
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
