CAEF is committed to commemorating the San Remo Declaration that was signed at the San Remo Conference which took place April 19-26, 1920 in the small town of San Remo, Italy. To learn how significant this date is and why it is essential to remember it and to teach it to your children, read this article on forgotten history by Michael Diamond in CJN online. We must stand up for Israel’s rights with the truth.
Map below is from the Jewish Virtual Library
Area Allocated for Jewish National Home
San Remo Conference, 1920
To understand the importance of the conference in setting the foundation for the re-establishment of an independent Jewish country in the Middle East, one needs to recognize that the Balfour Declaration set direction, and then San Remo put that into motion. That the full plan approved at the crucial signing was not the final map outlined later by the League of Nations in 1922 or the United Nations in 1947, might best be explained as a long series of betrayals, neglect and absentia by the British government which was mandated to facilitate Jewish migration to the area of Palestine. See a full description of the history and a set of maps showing the changing borders of the Jewish state and the proposed Arab state, both approved at San Remo, by clicking here.
The Israel Forever Foundation has a wealth of information about San Remo and Israeli history. Here is a video showing how Arab leader Emir Faisal supported the creation of Israel:
This video of the European Coalition for Israel (ECI) conference in San Remo celebrated the 90th anniversary of the San Remo Conference includes the statement by Lord Curzon that the San Remo Declaration is Israel’s Magna Carta. The declaration was eventually adopted by 51 countries at the Council of the League of Nations, which also approved the establishment of the Arab countries, to be carved out of the three mandate territories known as Syria, Mesopotamia and Palestine. The Arab states were created at the same time as Israel; therefore if Israel is illegal, as our enemies would suggest, then so are Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, all created from the former Ottoman Empire after its defeat. The San Remo Declaration also included direction around “settlements,” requiring the Mandate powers to encourage Arab settlement and Jewish settlement in their respective countries' new lands.
Borders of Palestine claimed by the World Zionist Organization at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919
The map shown here is that of Palestine (remember that is the name for Israel prior to the re-creation of the state) and Transjordan after 1922, as approved by the League of Nations, already reducing the landmass that was to become the State of Israel.
The San Remo Declaration recognized the commitment of the Allied Powers, supported by the US, and later approved by the League of Nations with significant encouragement from Russia, to both re-constitute the Jewish homeland in Palestine, AND to aid it in bringing Jews home from all over the world, thus developing the Jewish state.
Here are a few important excerpts from the San Remo Declaration.
Article 4
An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognized as a public body for the purpose of advising and cooperating with the Administration of Palestine in such economic, social and other matters as may affect the establishment of the Jewish national home and the interests of the Jewish population in Palestine, and, subject always to the control of the Administration, to assist and take part in the development of the country.
The Zionist Organization, so long as its organization and constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate shall be recognized as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His Britannic Majesty's Government to secure the cooperation of all Jews who are willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.
Article 5
The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Palestine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of, the Government of any foreign Power.
Article 7
The Administration of Palestine shall be responsible for enacting a nationality law. There shall be included in this law provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine.
Resources on San Remo, facts and perspectives
Signatories at San Remo
From the Friends of Zion Museum, the following: In the 1920s, as well as in 1947, the name “Palestine” was the name referring to the Land of Israel. In effect, then, the San Remo Resolution created a legal precedent for Palestine to be restored as the national Jewish homeland.
From the Middle East Blogspot 2015, we learn that WWI saw the fall of four massive empires and the creation of nation-states. Two ancient peoples who had been deprived of independence for centuries were the Arab people and the Jewish people. The Arabs gained 22 countries, and the Jews one. The Arabs of Palestine viewed themselves as Syrian or as Pan-Arabs, and had no aspirations for independence.
“However, there is a misconception that the Balfour Declaration was just a letter of intent, and not a binding legal document. The reason for this misconception is that most people are not aware of the San Remo Conference which took place on April 19, 1920, lasted for seven days and published its resolutions on April 25, 1920. These seven days laid the political foundation for the creation of the 22 Arab League States and the one and only Jewish State of Israel. The full text of the Balfour Declaration became an integral part of the San Remo resolution as a legal entity and the British Mandate for Palestine, thereby transforming it from a letter of intent into a legally-binding foundational document under international law.”
Legal experts, Jacques Gauthier and Eugene Kontorovich speak to Jewish rights to the land
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