Hogarth Message
1918 diplomatic letter
The Hogarth Message was a January 1918 message from Commander David Hogarth, head of the Arab Bureau in Cairo, to Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, following Hussein's request for an explanation of the Balfour Declaration.
Hogarth was dispatched to Jeddah to deliver the letter, which had been written by Sir Mark Sykes on behalf of the British Government.
The message
The message assured Hussein that
"(1) The Entente Powers are determined that the Arab race shall be given full opportunity of once again forming a nation in the world. This can only be achieved by the Arabs themselves uniting, and Great Britain and her Allies will pursue a policy with this ultimate unity in view.
"(2) So far as Palestine is concerned we are determined that no people shall be subject to another, but
(a) In view of the fact that there are in Palestine shrines, Wakfs and Holy places, sacred in some cases to Moslems alone, to Jews alone, to Christians alone, and in others to two or all three, and inasmuch as these places are of interest to vast masses of people outside Palestine and Arabia, there must be a special regime to deal with these places approved of-by the world.
(b) As regards the Mosque of Omar it shall be considered as a Moslem concern alone and shall not be subjected directly or indirectly to any non-Moslem authority.
"(3) Since the Jewish opinion of the world is in favour of a return of Jews to Palestine and inasmuch as this opinion must remain a constant factor, and further as His Majesty’s Government view with favour the realisation of this aspiration, His Majesty’s Government are determined that in so far as is compatible with the freedom of the existing population both economic and political, no obstacle should be put in the way of the realisation of this ideal.
In this connexion the friendship of world Jewry to the Arab cause is equivalent to support in all States where Jews have a political influence. The leaders of the movement are determined to bring about the success of Zionism by friendship and co-operation with the Arabs, and such an offer is not one to be lightly thrown aside,"
Interpretation
The message was not formally released in translation until 1939; after its release, it was used in testimony to the Permanent Mandates Commission by Malcolm MacDonald then Secretary of State for the Colonies in order to controversially reinterpret the meaning that had been given to the Mandate terms at prior meetings.
Friedman and Kedourie argue that Hussein accepted the Balfour Declaration while Charles D. Smith argues that both Friedman and Kedourie misrepresent documents and violate scholarly standards in order to reach their conclusions.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Hogarth Message” is 1918 diplomatic letter. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Hogarth, Message and diplomatic, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1918 diplomatic letter” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q29305567. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1918 and 1939.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hogarth Message”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hogarth Message primary sources, Hogarth Message archive and Hogarth research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hogarth Message”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hogarth Message” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.