(Even today, more than 80 years after the Balfour Declaration, Israelis cite that document as one of the proofs that they are entitled to their modern state carved out of old Palestine. By the way, here are the principal arguments used by Israeli political scientists. First, the modern state of Israel and the occupied territories are in fact the "promised land" that they are entitled to as the heirs of Abraham and Isaac; second, the U.N. granted most of that land to the Israelis in 1948; third, the additional lands that Israel has occupied since 1948 were won by military force in just wars; fourth, Israel has "made the desert bloom" after taking possession in 1948 of a lot of unproductive land; and, fifth, the Balfour Declaration made it clear that what was once called Palestine and is now called Israel is the natural and legal homeland of the Jews. )

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