Ruthie Burrows, Caroline Galluzzi, Cristian Miranda, Jonathan Staker Period 7

3. To what extent did British policies increase existing tensions between Arabs and Jews in Palestine in the years 1920 – 1939?

Thesis: British policies did increase the preexisting tensions between Arabs and Jews from 1920 – 1939, however they were not the sole cause. Other causes included pogroms, world economic conditions, rapid increase of population and poor leadership.

Intro: Tensions between the Arabs and Jews are a constant theme plaguing the history of Palestine. When the Palestinian Mandate was created in 1922, the tensions increased because of discrepancies in beliefs. British policies attempted to ease these strained relations, but they ended up doing the opposite. Existing tensions were inflamed because of British policies and other influences occurring in the world.

BRITISH POLICIES

I. Existing tensions in the region between Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

a. Post World War I land “compromises

i. Balfour Declaration (1917): Stated a Jewish homeland was to be established in Palestine, an area with a large Muslim population. Stated that no rights and privileges of existing no-Jewish groups would be infringed upon yet this was not the case.

ii. King-Crane (1919): Issued by American president Woodrow Wilson. Came to the conclusion that “Jewish immigration should be definitely limited, and that the project for making Palestine distinctly a Jewish commonwealth should be given up”(King Crane Commission). This infuriated the Jewish population as they felt that what they had been promised by the Balfour was abandoned.

II. Early polices and actions that increased tensions in the region.

a. Appointment of Sir Herbert Samuel (1920).

i. Sir Samuel was first and foremost a Jew. Appointing a Jew to the highest position in the “mandate government “ was not a popular decision for the rest of the population. Samuel supported Zionist immigration and desired Palestine to become a Jewish state.

ii. Samuel and his high commission were the only ones with real control over the mandate. They were grossly misinformed and over their heads with regards to the needs of the people they now controlled.

b. 1922 White Paper

i. Stated “the development of a Jewish national home did not mean the imposition of Jewish nationality upon the inhabitants of Palestine as a whole. However, it also conceded certain Zionist demands by declaring that the Jewish people had a right to be in Palestine and that Palestine should become a center in which the Jewish people as a whole could take pride on the grounds of religion and race.

The white paper concluded that some type of high council composed of Muslims, Christians and Jews. This failed because the Muslims refused to participate, further escalating tensions.
1922 Churchill White Paper

· Clarified how Britain viewed the Balfour Declaration

· “The tension which has prevailed from time to time in Palestine is mainly due to apprehensions, which are entertained both by sections of the Arab and by sections of the Jewish population.”

o Because this paper was accusatory to both Jews and Arabs and offended both groups, it simply turned the groups against each other more. Those existing “apprehensions” were not quelled, but intensified.

· “[T]he terms of the Declaration referred to do not contemplate that Palestine as a whole should be converted into a Jewish National Home, but that such a Home should be founded "in Palestine."

o This angered the Jews because they felt that Britain was going back on their word. They wanted their homeland to be all of Palestine.

· “It is essential that it should know that it is in Palestine as of right and not on the sufferance. That is the reason why it is necessary that the existence of a Jewish National Home in Palestine should be internationally guaranteed, and that it should be formally recognized to rest upon ancient historic connection.”

o The Palestinian Arabs were upset about this, they felt that the Jews were infringing on their territory and that they had no right to come and take their land and claim it for a “Jewish National Home”.

II. Middle years of the Palestine Mandate

Western Wall Disturbances (existing tensions)
This was a holy site for the Jews. They had been going there to pray since the Middle Ages.
The Muslims also regarded it as holy site. They had strong religious ties to the wall itself, and the area around it. “[The wall] formed the western abutment of the Haram al-Sharif (the holy sanctuary) that contained the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque, structures associated with Muhammad's nocturnal journey to heaven and two of the oldest and most revered Islamic shrines” (Cleveland 250).
At the time of the mandate, the wall was under Muslim authority.
Jews were allowed to visit, but they couldn’t set up anything around it (chairs, benches, etc.)
They constantly challenged this regulation.
In 1928, the British removed a screen that the Jews had placed in front of the wall.
Jews highly objected to this action.
Aggressive emotions simmered, which finally erupted into violence in 1929.
133 Jews and 116 Arabs died.
Shaw Commission (1929)
Sir Walter Shaw was sent to Palestine to investigate the causes of Western Wall incident.
“[His] report concluded that the main source of tension within the mandate was the creation of a landless class of discontented Arabs and the widespread Arab fear that continued Jewish immigration would result in a Jewish-dominated Palestine” (250).
It blamed the Arabs for the violence while also saying that Arab fear for the economic future as well as disappointment of political and national aspirations caused the violence.
It recommended that British responsibilities in Palestine should be more precisely defined, Jewish immigration should be more under the control of Britain, and that another study of Jewish immigration should be made.
Hope-Simpson Commission/Passfield White Paper (1930)
Sir Hope-Simpson was sent to Palestine to pursue a study of Jewish immigration.
The findings were shown in the Passfield White Papers.
Called for an end to Jewish immigration
It also recommended that the “government land be sold only to landless Arabs, and that determination of ‘economic absorptive capacity’ be based on levels of Arab as well as Jewish unemployment” (Klausner 50).
Addressed and alleviated some Arab concerns.
The terms of this White Paper caused a huge outcry in Jews across the world.
Wanted to have document nullified.
Weizmann worked very hard to have it withdrawn.
MacDonald Letter (1931)
This letter was written by Ramsey MacDonald in response to the giant uproar in Jews because of the harsh terms of the Passfield White Paper.
The letter was intended for Weizmann and said that the Passfield White Paper had been nullified.
MacDonald’s statement was known as the “Black Letter” to the Arabs, because it showed how much Zionist groups could influence the British government.
In response to the letter, “Arab groups began to boycott government activities and to subvert its functioning wherever possible” (50).
How were existing tensions increased?
Before the 1929 British policies, existing tensions were very much inflamed by the disturbances at the Western Wall. The British response to the violence did nothing to encourage relaxed relations between the Arabs and Jews, all they did was increase tensions even more by making promises that didn’t satisfy either group.

III. 1939 White Paper

· Starting in 1936, opposition to Jewish immigration led Palestinian Arabs to partake in acts of disobedience. Various clashes between Jews , Arabs , and British soldiers forced further action.

· The 1938 Woodhead Commission rejected the Peel Commission when it failed to bring an end to the Arab Revolt. Woodhead called British, Jewish, and Arab leaders to meet in London in early 1939, resulting in the 1939 White Paper.

· The 1939 White Paper: (1) Established Palestine as a national home for the Jews with over 450,000 inhabitants. (2) Clarified that Palestine was never meant to completely be a Jewish state, solidifying the place of the Arabs in Palestine. (3) Set immigration limits for Jews to 10,000 per year over the next five years, with an exception due to the issues in Europe. (4) After five years all immigration must be approved by the Arabs. The White Paper was justified by stating the land sales from the Arabs was hurting their economic standing.

OTHER CAUSES

I. Poor Leadership

· There are notable photos and other documents linking Hitler to leaders like the Grand Mufti in Jerusalem. This could only increase anti-Semitic feelings in Arab Palestine.

II. World Economic Conditions

· “Following the Black Letter of 1931 and the decision to ignore most of the recommendations of the commissions of inquiry, the situation in Palestine deteriorated further. The effects of the world depression, coupled with the large-scale immigration of the fifth aliyah, created widespread unemployment among Arabs and Jews alike.” (Cleveland 51).

III. Increase of Jewish Population in Palestine

· By 1931, 17 percent of the population of Palestine were Jews, an increase of six percent since 1922. This is due in part to Anti-Semitism in Europe which led to Jewish emigration from Poland.

IV. Hebron Massacre (August 1929)

· Arabs murdered 67 Jews in the city of Hebron. This increased tensions and intensified violence.

Works Cited

Bickerton, Ian J., and Carla L. Klausner. A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Upper Saddle River:

Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. Print.

Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East,