Churchill on Zionism and the Jewish Home

On March 28, 1921, on his first visit to Palestine, Churchill planted a tree on Mount Scopus and said, “My heart is full of sympathy for Zionism. The establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine will be a blessing to the whole world.”

On March 29, 1921, he responded to a delegation from the Congress of Palestinian Arabs:

It is manifestly right that the Jews should have a National Home where some of them may be reunited. And where else could that be but in this land of Palestine, with which for more than 3,000 years they have been intimately and profoundly associated.

After meeting with a Jewish delegation, he said:

The cause of Zionism is one which carries with it much that is good for the whole world, and not only for the Jewish people; it will bring prosperity and advancement for the Arab population.

When he returned to London, he told the House of Commons:

Anyone who has seen the work of the Jewish colonies will be struck by the enormous productive results which they have achieved from the most inhospitable soil.

Source: Lee Pollock/National Library Of Israel, “Winston Churchill in Palestine – 100 years on,” Jerusalem Post, (March 28, 2021).