Amanda Ball Kathy Chilikov Leah Johnston Alice O’Neill Analyze the impact on the Palestine Mandate of Jewish immigration and land purchases between 1919 and 1939. Introduction: Contention over the land that creates the Palestine Mandate stems from the religious significance that both the Jewish and Islamic communities attribute to the region. Between 1919 and 1939, the division between the two communities was fueled by British responses to immigration and land issues. Increasing, continuous Jewish immigration and issues regarding land purchases evoked fear in the Palestinian-Arab community of a Jewish-dominated government, which led to violence and further divided the two communities. I. Jewish Immigration (1919-1930) a. King-Crane Commission (1919) i. The King-Crane Commission recognized that “definite encouragement had been given to the Zionists by the Allies in Mr. Balfour’s often quoted statement,” but that “a ‘national home for the Jewish people’ is not equivalent to making Palestine into a Jewish state,” and that the creation of a Jewish state could not be done “without the gravest trespass upon [the Arabs in Palestine]” (“The King-Crane Commission”). ii. Concluded that “Jewish immigration should be definitely limited” (“The King-Crane Commission”). iii. The King-Crane Commission was never published, but provides evidence regarding British attitudes toward the Palestine Mandate in 1919. 1. Jewish immigration was already posing as a threat to the “‘civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine’” (“The King-Crane Commission”). b. Immigration Patterns (1919-1930) i. The Third Aliyah took place from 1919-1923, and resulted in the immigration of 35,000 Jewish immigrants to Palestine. ii. The Fourth Aliyah took place from 1924-1930, and resulted in the immigration of 80,000 Jewish immigrants to Palestine. 1. Within twelve years, the Jewish population had significantly increased, and, although still smaller than the Arab population, was creating established communities throughout Palestine (Table 1: Aliyah, 1840-2000). c. Jaffa Riots (1921) i. Events escalated, resulting in the eventual deaths of 47 members of the Jewish community, and 48 Arabs. ii. Haycraft Commission (1921) 1. Concluded that the Arabs were responsible for the violence that ensued during the Jaffa Riots. 2. The “Arab resentment had a legitimate basis in the Arab fear of economic danger posed by Jewish immigrants and the perceived political influence of the Jews on the mandatory government” (Bickerton 48). 3. Jews regarded Palestine as “a deserted, derelict land…[when they were actually] seeking a home in a country…[which was] overwhelmingly Arab” (New York Times Article, 11-9-1921). iii. iv. Churchill White Paper (1922) 1. Reaffirmed British commitment to the Balfour Declaration. a. Pointed out that “a Jewish National Home…should be founded in Palestine,” rather than in Palestine, as a whole (“The Churchill White Paper”). 2. Established that all citizens of Palestine should be considered “in the eyes of the law…[as] Palestinian” (“The Churchill White Paper). 3. Recognized that Jews had largely begun to develop a community with “‘national’ characteristics” (“The Churchill White Paper). 4. Established idea of “economic absorptive capacity” (“The Churchill White Paper). a. This ambiguous phrase was seen by the Jewish community as an incentive to develop economically; this led an increase in job opportunities, which led to an increase in Jewish immigration. Western Wall (1928) iii. Both the Jewish and Arab communities had religious associations with the Western Wall. iv. The Jews were permitted to use the facility, but could not place furniture (including screens) to separate genders during prayer. 1. British had to forcibly remove screen, causing a major uproar in response to the perceived threats of Zionism on holy places of Islam (Cleveland 250). v. Riots at Hebron and Safad in 1929 resulted in the deaths of 133 Jews and 116 Palestinian-Arabs. vi. Shaw Commission (1930) 1. British inquiry into Western Wall disturbances. 2. Concludes that the source of tension was the creation of the landless class of Arabs, and a general Arab fear of a Jewish-ruled Palestine. 3. Recommends that Jewish immigration be limited through British authority, and that the Arab community be defined (Cleveland 250). II. Jewish Immigration 190-1939 A. The Hope Simpson Report (1930) 1. Labor government’s commission on the Western Wall Disturbances (1938-1929). a. Commission finds 30 percent of the Arab population to be landless. b. “It has emerged quite definitely that there is at the present time and with the present methods of Arab cultivation no margin of land available for agricultural settlement by new immigrants” (“ Hope Simpson Report 1930”) c. This is largely due to the Jewish national Fund and various other Jewish Agencies purchasing the land. i. There is a surplus of Jewish owned land that has yet to be cultivated. ii. “ The government is in possession of large areas of vacant lands which could be made available for Jewish settlement” (“Hope Simpson Report 1930”) d. Thus immigration needs to be limited as people residing within Palestine can utilize the land they already own. i. Palestine has reached “ an economic absorptive capacity. 2. Passfield White Paper a. Calls for a halt in Jewish immigration. b. It recommends that government land be sold only to landless Arabs. c. “ Determination of economic absorptive capacity be based on levels of Arab as well Jewish unemployment” (Bickerton and Klausner 50) B. Mc Donald Letter (1931)/ The Black Letter 1. British Explanatory letter following the Hope- Simpson Report and the Passified Letter. a. Chaim Weizman lobbies successfully to have the Prime Minister Ramsey McDonald nullify the Hope- Simpson provisions and once again permit immigration to Palestine. b. Mc Donald affirms Britain’s intent to aid in facilitating a “ homeland in Palestine” and acknowledges that the rights of the “ non- Jewish community” will not be harmed. C. Government Sponsored anti- Semitism 1. Jews begin to emigrate from Poland, Hungry and Romania. a. “The rise to power in Germany of Adolf Hitler, the Nuremberg racial laws, and subsequent legislation directed against the Jews, and the deliberate encouragement of Jews to leave the country, led to new waves of Jewish immigration into Palestine” (Bickerton and Klausner 50) b. Between 1933 and 1936 approximately 165,000 Jews entered Palestine. c. “ For the first time, there seemed the real possibility that the Jews might eventually outnumber Arabs” (Bickerton and Klausner 50) D. Arab Revolt (1936-1939) 1. Iz al-Din Al Qassam a. Urges several of his followers to take up arms against the British. b. Followers protest the doubling of the Jewish Population. c. First Stage: A general strike and low-level violence. (AprilOctober). i. Jewish agency calls actions a ‘state of terror’ ii. 5000 killed and 20,000 injured. d. Second Stage: More intense battles fought by local Arab forces against the British and the Jews. 2. Arab Higher Committee a. Formed in April 1936. b. Committee fought to end Jewish immigration into Palestine as well as land purchases. E. Peel Commission (1937) 1. The Royal Commission, which followed the Arab revolts earlier that year stated that “ the desire of the Arabs for national independence and their hatred and fear of the establishment of the Jewish National Home were the underlying cause of the disturbances” (“ Royal Palestine”). a. Arab and Jewish wishes can cannot be reconciled under the current mandate therefore, the commission calls for a partition of Palestine. 2. The international recognition of Jewish immigration and the hope to establish a Jewish State in Palestine in their own homeland “ did not involve the recognition of the right of the Jews to return to their old homeland” ( “ Palestine Royal Commission”) 3. There was no common ground between the two groups. a. “ their cultural and social life, their ways of thought and conduct are as incompatible as their national aspirations” (“Palestine Royal Commission”) b. Jews and Arabs differed in their religion and language. 4. A National Home cannot be “ half national” F. Woodhead Commission 1. A commission established to investigate if partition was a good idea, if so what boundaries of the two states should be. a. Decided that the Peel Commission was not workable, and they would have to actually decide what to do with Palestine. b. The Report concluded that the peel partition plan was not feasible. c. The Commission suggested that the boundaries “ enraged the Jewish leaders, since many of the of the Jewish settlements and developed areas were excluded from the proposed Jewish entity” ( Bickerton and Klausner 53). d. Arabs reject proposal, do not want see any part of Palestine in hands of the Jews. 2. After the report, Britain decides not to implement the partition of Palestine. 3. Britain continues to limit Jewish immigration and land purchases. G. White Paper 1939 1. The paper declared that Palestine is to become an impendent state allied to the British within ten years. The mandate will create its own constitution and hold elections. a. This will become a an Arab state- Jewish immigration is Limited to 75,000 over the next five years. b. Palestine was never intended to be a Jewish state. 2. The White Paper repudiated the Balfour Declaration and revised British policy in Palestine. 2. Jewish immigration for the next five years will be limited to 10,000 per year with a one time exception for 25,000 because of issues happening in Europe. 3. After 5 years all immigration must be approved by the Arab majority. III. Land Purchases 1919 - 1929 a. Land Registry i. “In 1920, the British reopened the Land Registry, which had been closed since 1918 because of the war and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.” (Bickerton and Klausner 47) ii. The Jews immediately bought land from British but mostly from Arab landowners. It was fairly easy for the Zionists to purchase land due to the chaotic land registration system. Wealthy city merchants or absentee landowners owned most of the land, not the Arab peasants who owned the land. b. National Fund i. Through funds form organizations like the Jewish National Fund, the Jews were able to purchase lots of land on behalf of the immigrants. ii. Some of the land the Arabs lost had been in their families for centuries, passed down from generation to generation. The Arabs were suspicious of the Jewish immigration and the overall sentiment of the Arabs was negative. c. Attack on Jewish settlements i. In 1920 the Palestinian Arabs attacked Jewish settlements. ii. The chief justice of Palestine headed an inquiry into the attacks and said that the attacks were provoked by the economic danger the Jews posed. iii. III. Land Purchases 1930 – 1939 a. The Passfield White Paper i. Recommended that government be sold only to landless Arabs. The report caused outcry from Jews and Prime Minster McDonald to release the statement, which essentially nullified the report. ii. “Peel commissions report issued in 1937, was significant in that it proposed for the first time that the territory be partitioned into separate Jewish and Arab states. It recommended a small Jewish state of approximately 5,000 square kilometers and an Arab state that would be merged with Transjordan under Emir Abdullah.” (B and K 51) Conclusion: The conflicts that arose as a result of the immigration and land issues in the Palestine Mandate between 1919 and 1939 were detrimental to reconciliation attempts between the Jewish and Arab communities. British commissions1 recognized the reasons behind the disturbances in the mandate between the two groups2 .The official White Papers that evolved from the commissions 1 The British commissions resulted in the subsequent White Papers, which basically means the British commissions BEEFED IT. 2 The world was collectively BLINDED BY RAGE. concluded that Jewish immigration must be controlled, in order to prevent the creation of a Jewish-dominated state in Palestine, which would be detrimental to British foreign policy in the Middle East. BEEFED IT. [1]The British commissions resulted in the subsequent White Papers, which basically means the British commissions BEEFED IT. [2] The world was collectively BLINDED BY RAGE.