Joseph Mary Nagle Jeffries (1880-1960) was a war, foreign, and political correspondent for The Daily Mail in London from 1914 until the 1930s. He covered the fighting in the First World War, the struggles in Palestine, and the "Troubles" in Ireland.
"British journalist Jeffries (1880- 1960) combines the skills of an
investigative reporter, a scholar's assiduity in pursuing available
documents, and an engaging writing style in this long-unavailable
1939 expose of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which underwrote a
"national home" for the Jewish people in Palestine. Jeffries
covered WWI in the Middle East and emerged as a committed
anti-Zionist. For the next quarter century he focused on the
Balfour Declaration, drawing three principal conclusions: First,
its real authors and supporters were Jewish, British, and
international Zionists who shaped the document and lobbied for it
in London and at Versailles (Jeffries unflatteringly portrays both
the Jewish Zionists and their gentile counterparts). Second,
Britain lied and broke promises to both its Arab and French allies
on every aspect of the Palestine question. Third, Britain callously
dismissed Palestinian Arabs' rights and welfare. Jeffries's work
received significant prepublication support, but his publisher's
warehouse and most of the existing copies were destroyed during the
1941 German blitz. The centennial of the Balfour Declaration
occasioned this new edition, and though Jeffries's narrow focus
underplays Britain's desperate wartime situation in 1917, the book
will be welcomed by critics of Britain and Israel. Maps &
illus."
"Who would think that a 748-page book on the diplomatic history of
the Balfour Declaration and its aftermath could be a page-turner,
but this book definitely is. It's a truly remarkable achievement
and a fascinating read in many ways ' Regarding the significance of
the book for us, I think it's important for people to read an
account by an honest observer of the formative events early on,
someone who hasn't yet had time to grow accustomed to the reality
of the Jewish State in Palestine. I keep reading in lots of liberal
venues about how the two peoples each have their narrative and
claims and a way forward must be found that takes legitimate
account of both sides. What Jeffries shows so dramatically is that
there may be two narratives, but only one of them, the Palestinian
one, has much connection to reality. As we see from his vantage
point so clearly, the land of Palestine was stolen from its people
by a major world power and given to another group of people who had
no claim to it whatsoever. That last quote from Jeffries near the
end of the book says it all. Of course there is now a Jewish
community in Palestine that cannot be ignored or just sent back to
where they came from, so one cannot undo the original sin. But so
long as we don't properly acknowledge that original sin and this is
what Jeffries's book helps us do so well I don't see that genuine
peace with justice is possible.--Professor Joseph Levine,
Mondoweiss
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