A rather interesting sidelight on the alleged effect of Balfour Declaration upon British India is contained in one paragraph of the diary of the late Edwin S. Montagu, former secretary of state for India and the sponsor of the legislation under which India is now ruled. The diary is about to be published by Mr. Montagu’s widow. Mr. Montagu was a Jew.
The passage reads as follows:
“It seems strange to be a member of a government which goes out of its way, as I think, for no conceivable purpose that I can see, to deal this blow at a colleague that is doing his best to be loyal to them despite his opposition.
“The government has dealt an irreparable blow at Jewish Britons, and they have endeavored to set up a people which does not exist. They have alarmed unnecessarily the Mohammedan world, and in so far as they are successful they will have Germanized Palestine on the flank of Egypt. It seems useless to conquer it.
“Why we should intern Mahomet Ali in India for pan-Mohammedanism when we encourage pan-Judaism, I can not for the life of me understand. It certainly puts the final date of my political activities.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
