On 3 January 1919, Emir Faisal, son of Sharif Hussein and a leading Arab representative at the Paris Peace Conference, signed an agreement with Chaim Weizmann, head of the Zionist Commission. It endorsed cooperation between Arab and Jewish national movements and supported measures for Jewish immigration and residence in Palestine, provided that the Arab independence claims presented at the peace conference were fulfilled. Faisal wrote that if those claims were altered, he would not be bound by the agreement.
The agreement’s specific terms
The text encouraged “the closest possible collaboration” in developing an Arab state and Palestine, and proposed measures to promote large-scale Jewish immigration. It called for protection of Muslim holy places and for a commission to examine disputes about agricultural land and natural resources. The terms concerned cooperation and particular administrative questions; they did not establish a general treaty resolving sovereignty or define borders for both national movements.
Faisal added a handwritten note in English, stating that he would act on the agreement only if the Arabs obtained independence as demanded in his memorandum of 4 January 1919 to the British government. The note is central to the document’s meaning. The agreement was conditional, not an unconditional acceptance of every Zionist objective. The agreement and Faisal’s proviso can be read together.
Why the condition mattered
Faisal’s negotiating position depended on the postwar arrangements and the independence claims advanced by his delegation. The agreement did not empower him to bind all Arabs or guarantee the outcome of negotiations. When the postwar negotiations failed to deliver the independence terms he sought, the condition was not met. That history explains why the signed text is evidence of a specific diplomatic effort, not proof that a lasting political agreement had been accepted.
The episode also shows that Weizmann pursued diplomatic cooperation with Faisal while seeking international support for a Jewish national home. For the British declaration that shaped the broader context, read what Balfour said and how Weizmann’s campaign developed.