Anglican archbishop: Balfour Declaration ‘unfinished’ until peace is reached

Visiting Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby tells President Reuven Rivlin the legacy of the Balfour Declaration will remain “unfinished” until there is peace in the region.

“We are at the hundredth anniversary of Balfour, and it has led to extraordinary things,” he tells the president. “For some of us who are profound friends of Israel, who feel huge admiration, deep affection, and who loathe and hate anti-Semitism, and speak against it wherever it occurs, whether it is implicit or explicit, there is an element of unfinished business.”

“Because until there is peace in region, the Balfour Declaration has an element of unfinished business,” Welby says.

The archbishop goes on to say that peace cannot be reached until all sides are able to “pursue their lives, pursue their aims without fearing the bomb or the bullet, without fearing persecution, recognized as being validly and legitimately who they are, knowing they can bring up children, and educate them to love their neighbors, respect them, and listen to them even where they disagree.”

Welby also tells Rivlin that he is impressed by the tradition of Israel’s independent judiciary.

“That shows some of the immense strength and depth of this society, its culture and history,” he says.