Elham Asaad Buaras

An advertising campaign to raise awareness of the negative effects of the Balfour Declaration which was banned by transport bosses in the British capital, London, was used on the iconic black cabs.

The campaign, which is running using the hashtag #MakeItRight, is an attempt to highlight the negative impact of the Balfour Declaration 100 years after it was signed.

Earlier last month, London Underground said it blocked the campaign from trains on the basis that the issue is politically controversial; however, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Manuel Hassassian, accused the body of censorship.

The adverts had been drawn up to run in key stations in the run-up to the centenary of the signing of the declaration on November 2 for the duration of the month.

Over 50 black cabs drove around London’s streets highlighted the plight of Palestinians living in the occupied territories and in refugee camps as a result of the “British Government’s broken promise”.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Mission to the UK explained to The Muslim News, “Our campaign aims to raise awareness about the consequences of the Balfour Declaration which subsequently led to the forced expulsion of the Palestinians in 1948. The campaign consists of images of Palestinians leading ordinary lives before their dispossession, contrasted with images of them as refugees and victims of war and occupation.”

“These images are anchored by a quote from the Balfour Declaration of 1917. ‘Nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.’ The non-Jewish communities being the Muslim and Christian Palestinians who made up 90 percent of the population at the time.”