Weizmann Meets Balfour: The Seeds of the Declaration for Israel
Balfour was shocked by Weizmann’s bold response. The Russian Zionist decided it was all or nothing, so he continued with a pointed question for the former Prime Minister. “Mr. Balfour, supposing I were to offer you Paris instead of London. Would you take it?”
Balfour sat up, looked Weizmann in the eye with a sly smile and replied, “But, Dr. Weizmann, we have London.”
“That is true,” Weizmann responded with a similar grin. “But we had Jerusalem when London was a marsh.”
Balfour sat back in his seat and pondered the thought for a long moment. Weizmann allowed the silence to hang in the air—he knew his arrow had hit the mark. Finally, Balfour responded with his own inquiry. “Are there many Jews that think like you?”
“I believe I speak the mind of millions of Jews who cannot speak for themselves,” Weizmann answered somberly.
“If that is so, Dr. Weizmann,” Balfour leaned forward again, “then you will one day be a force.”
Read the full story in I Am Cyrus: Harry S. Truman and the Rebirth of Israel
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