Page 41 - Balfour100-E

✡ Preparations British betrayal 41

The Exodus 1947 ship
carrying Jews to their
Promised Land. At
least 3,000 Jewish
people died at sea
trying to run the
British naval block-
ade in order to reach
Palestine.

Inset, Haj Amin
Al-Husseini, Grand
Mufti of Jerusalem,
who ignored his civil
responsibilities and
instigated a pogrom
against the Jews

predecessor to Arthur James Balfour. the Germans,
As High Commissioner of Palestine, ‘The riots of August and to ensure a
and the only Jew to hold that office, continuing sup-
Samuel went out of his way to try to 1929 left 139 Jews ply of oil from
be impartial. He not only pardoned Arab countries. Later, during World
Haj Amin Al-Husseini for his earlier dead... the British War Two, the Mufti sided with the
crimes, but appointed him as Grand Nazis with the intention of extending
Mufti of Jerusalem, believing that this responded by Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’ across the
responsibility would make him more Middle East.
moderate. This act of appeasement had expelling the entire The next stage in Britain’s policy
the opposite effect, and set a pattern of appeasement was the White Pa-
that would haunt the rest of British rule Jewish population per of May 1939, which was adopted
over Palestine. without the approval of the Council of
In 1929, the Mufti instigated anoth- of Hebron.’ the League of Nations. At the heart of
er pogrom. Once again, as in 1920, the the White Paper was the restriction of
cry went up: “The Government is with trative conditions as would secure the Jewish immigration to a maximum of
us – kill the Jews!” The riots of August establishment of the Jewish National 75,000 over the next five years. After
1929 left 139 Jews dead and 339 injured. Home (Article 2) and to facilitate Jew- that no further Jewish immigration
Of the 139 who lost their lives across the ish immigration and to encourage close would be allowed unless the Arabs, who
country, half of them lived in Hebron. Jewish settlement of the land (Article 6). were not specifically mentioned in the
The British authorities responded by The Jewish people are the only ethnic Mandate document at all, agreed to it.
expelling the entire Jewish population group specifically mentioned in the Moreover, land sales to Jewish institu-
of Hebron, thus dismembering one of Mandate document. The non-Jewish tions were ‘outlawed’. Furthermore,
the oldest Jewish communities in the communities are referred to collective- Article 14(1) of the White Paper implied
world. Not only that, but not a single ly, and their civil and religious rights that the Jewish population of Palestine
Arab was convicted for the massacres were not to be prejudiced. However the should not exceed one-third of the total.
they committed. This injustice was political rights in setting up the Jewish With a two-thirds Arab majority – many
not only contrary to the spirit of the National Home were reserved for the of them hostile to any Jewish presence
Mandate, but also the letter. Jewish people and institutions – like there – the political rights of the Jewish
The Mandate for Palestine docu- the Jewish Agency – who were to be people in their National Home were
ment not only incorporated the Balfour involved in the administration. completely compromised.
Declaration almost word for word, but By the mid-1930s Palestine had be- Winston Churchill was among the
recognised the historic Jewish connec- come almost ungovernable with con- fiercest opponents of the White Paper .
2
tion to the land and their right to re- stant Arab violence. Britain responded Legally the 1939 White Paper was a
constitute their National Home there. by restricting Jewish immigration into violation of the Mandate. That was the
In other words, their pre-existing right Palestine at a time when large num- decision of the Permanent Mandates
was being recognised. Under the terms bers of European Jews were trying to Commission, albeit on a split vote. But
of the Mandate the British Government escape from the Nazis. The aim of the its most serious consequences were for
was obliged to place the country under British policy of appeasement was to the Jewish people who were trapped in
such political, economic and adminis- discourage the Arabs from siding with Nazi-occupied Europe. At least hun-