THE BALFOUR DECLARATION  (Paul Metsers, March 2018)

(in case you haven't come across this before - it is the document with which the British government, mandated to administer the territory known as Palestine, after WW1, designated this territory as a 'homeland for the Jewish people', resulting in the disruption and disturbance of this tradtional Arab land and the upheaval of  Palestinian lives, livelihoods, communities and political future. )

I might make this into a song one day, but, for now it's just a bunch of verses:

Turn the page on Palestine
Arab land from dawn of time
With 67 words Lord Balfour signed
Away this Arab nation

England's Mandate, so they say
Now all the Turks were swept away
To find a place for Jews to stay
Hence the Balfour Declaration

By stroke of pen, they thus decreed-
Here's the answer that we need
To sands of history pay no heed
Or to a people's devastation

And Jerusalem, no longer spared,
By Christians, Muslims, Jews, long shared
For Israel only - now declared
More fuel for hope's cremation

My dream for Palestine goes out
Despite this endless greedy rout
That one day, it will come about
A rightful restoration

For Palestine and Israel
Both victims of this sorry tale
Their ships to turn - and set their sail
With Peace the destination.