THE PASSFIELD WHITE PAPER PALESTINE
PALESTINE
Statement o f Policy by His Majesty's
Government
in the United Kingdom
I . The Report of the Special Commission,
under the Chairmanship of Sir Walter
Shaw,
which was published in April, gave
rise to acute
controversy, in the course of which it
became
evident that there is considerable
misunderstanding
about the past actions and future
intentions
of His Majesty's Government in the
United Kingdom in regard to the
administration
of Palestine. It was realised that the
publication
of a clear and full statement of
policy, designed
to remove such misunderstanding and
the resultant
uncertainty and apprehension, was a
matter
of urgent importance . The preparation
of such a
statement, however, necessitated
certain essential
preliminary steps which have
inevitably delayed
its completion.
The Report of the Shaw Commission drew
238
APPENDIX VII
2 39
attention to certain features of the
problem,
which, in the opinion of His Majesty's
Government,
called for prompt and full
investigation,
in view of their important bearing
upon future
policy. It was therefore decided to
send to Palestine
a highly qualified investigator (Sir
John
Hope Simpson) to confer with the High
Commissioner
and to report to His Majesty's
Government
on land settlement, immigration and
development
. Owing to the dominating importance
of these subjects, and their close
inter-connection,
His Majesty's Government recognised
that
no statement of policy could be
formulated
without first taking into account a
full and detailed
exposition of the situation in
Palestine under
these three important heads, such as
Sir John
Hope Simpson was eminently qualified
to furnish.
Considerable pressure has been brought
to
bear upon His Majesty's Government to
anticipate
the receipt of Sir John Hope Simpson's
Report
by a declaration of policy, but, while
appreciating the urgent need for as
early a declaration
as possible, His Majesty's Government
felt bound to adhere to their decision
to await
the receipt of Sir John Hope Simpson's
Report,
especially having regard to the
evidence which
was accumulating as to the extreme
difficulty and
240 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
complexity of the problem and the need
for the
fullest investigation of the facts
before arriving
at any definite conclusions .
Sir John Hope Simpson's Report has now
been
received, and the present statement of
policy has
been framed after very careful
consideration of
its contents and of other information
bearing
upon the Palestine situation which has
recently
become available.
2. In a country such as Palestine,
where the
interests and aims of two sections of
the community
are at present diverse and in some
respects
conflicting, it is too much to expect
that
any declaration of policy will fully
satisfy the
aspirations of either party . His
Majesty's Government
have, however, permitted themselves to
hope that the removal of existing
misunderstandings
and the more precise definition of
their
intentions may go far to allay
uneasiness and to
restore confidence on both sides. It
will be the
endeavour of His Majesty's Government,
not
only by the present statement of
policy but by
the administrative actions which will
result from
it, to convince both Arabs and Jews of
their firm
intention to promote the essential
interests of
both races to the utmost of their
power, and to
work consistently for the development,
in Palestine,
of a prosperous community, living in
peace
APPENDIX VII
2411
under an impartial and progressive
Administration.
It is necessary, however, to emphasise
one
important point, viz ., that in the
peculiar circumstances
of Palestine no policy, however
enlightened
or however vigorously prosecuted, can
hope for success, unless it is
supported not merely
by the acceptance, but by the willing
co-operation
of the communities for whose benefit
it is
designed.
It is unnecessary here to dwell upon
the unhappy
events of the past year and the
deplorable
conditions which have resulted from
them . His
Majesty's Government feel bound,
however, to
remark that they have received little
assistance
from either side in healing the breach
between
them during the months of tension and
unrest
which have followed on the
disturbances of
August 1929, and that to the difficulties created
by the mutual suspicions and
hostilities of the
two races has been added a further
grave obstacle,
namely, an attitude of mistrust
towards
His Majesty's Government fostered by a
press
campaign in which the true facts of
the situation
have become obscured and distorted .
It cannot
be too strongly emphasised that on the
establishment
of better relations between Arabs and
Jews
depend the future peace and prosperity
of the
country which is dear to both races .
This is the
242 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
object which His Majesty's Government
have
constantly in view, and they feel that
it is more
likely to be attained if both sides
will willingly
co-operate with the Government and
with the
Palestine Administration, and
endeavour to realise
that, in the discharge of their mandatory
obligations
and indeed in all their relations with
Palestine, His Majesty's Government
may be
trusted to safeguard and promote the
interests
of both races .
3 . Many of the misunderstandings
which have
unhappily arisen on both sides appear
to be the
result of a failure to appreciate the
nature of the
duty imposed upon His Majesty's
Government
by the terms of the Mandate. The next
point,
therefore, which His Majesty's
Government feel
it necessary to emphasise, in the
strongest manner
possible, is that in the words of the
Prime Minister's
statement in the House of Commons on
the
3rd April last, "a double
undertaking is involved,
to the Jewish people on the one hand
and to the
non-Jewish population of Palestine on
the other ."
Much of the agitation which has taken
place
during the past year seems to have
arisen from a
failure to realise the full import of
this fundamental
fact . Both Arabs and Jews have
assailed
the Government with demands and
reproaches
based upon the false assumption that
it was the
APPENDIX VII
243
duty of His Majesty's Government to
execute
policies from which they are, in fact,
debarred by
the explicit terms of the Mandate .
The Prime Minister, in the statement
above
referred to, announced, in words which
could
not have been made more plain, that it
is the intention
of His Majesty's Government to
continue
to administer Palestine in accordance
with
the terms of the Mandate, as approved
by the
Council of the League of Nations .
"That" said
Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, "is an international
obligation from which there can be no
question
of receding." In spite of so
unequivocal a statement,
the hope seems to have been
entertained
that, by some means or other, an
escape could be
found from the limitations plainly
imposed by
the terms of the Mandate . It must be
realised,
once and for all, that it is useless
for Jewish
leaders on the one hand to press His
Majesty's
Government to conform their policy in
regard,
for example, to immigration and land,
to the
aspirations of the more uncompromising
sections
of Zionist opinion . That would. be to
ignore the
equally important duty of the
Mandatory Power
towards the non-Jewish inhabitants of
Palestine .
On the other hand, it is equally
useless for Arab
leaders to maintain their demands for
a form of
Constitution, which would render it
impossible
244 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
for His Majesty's Government to carry
out, in
the fullest sense, the double
undertaking already
referred to . His Majesty's Government
have reason
to think that one of the reasons for
the sustained
tension and agitation on both sides
has
been the creation by misguided
advisers of the
false hope that efforts to intimidate
and to bring
pressure to bear upon His Majesty's
Government
would eventually result in forcing
them into a
policy which weighted the balances in
favour of
the one or the other party .
It becomes, therefore, essential that
at the outset
His Majesty's Government should make
it
clear that they will not be moved, by
any pressure
or threats, from the path laid down in
the
Mandate, and from the pursuit of a
policy which
aims at promoting the interests of the
inhabitants
of Palestine, both Arabs and Jews, in
a manner
which shall be consistent with the
obligations
which the Mandate imposes.
4. This is not the first time that His
Majesty's
Government have endeavoured to make
clear the
nature of their policy in Palestine.
In 1922, a full
statement was published* and was
communicated
both to the Palestine Arab Delegation,
then in
London, and to the Zionist
Organisation . This
' Cmd. :700, The Churchill White Paper .
APPENDIX VII
245
statement met with no acceptance on
the part of
the Arab Delegation, but the Executive
of the
Zionist Organisation passed a
Resolution assuring
His Majesty's Government that the
activities
of the Organisation would be conducted
in. conformity
with the policy therein set forth .
Moreover,
in the letter conveying the text of
this
Resolution to His Majesty's
Government, Dr.
Weizmann wrote :
"The Zionist Organisation has, at
all times,
been sincerely desirous of proceeding
in harmonious
co-operation with all sections of the
people of Palestine. It has repeatedly
made it
clear, both in word and deed, that
nothing is
further from its purpose than to
prejudice in
the smallest degree the civil or
religious rights,
or the ' material interests of the
non-Jewish
population."
The experience of the intervening
years has inevitably
brought to light certain
administrative
defects and special economic problems,
which
have to be taken into account in
considering the
welfare of all sections of the
community. Nevertheless,
the statement of policy, issued after
prolonged
and careful consideration in 1922, provides
the foundations upon which future
British
policy in Palestine must be built up.
246 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
5. Apart from proposals for the
establishment
of a Constitution in Palestine which
will be dealt
with in later paragraphs, there are
three important
points dealt with in this statement
which
must now be recalled :
(a) The meaning attached by His Majesty's
Government to the expression "the
Jewish
National Home," which is
contained in the
Mandate.
On this point, the following passage
may be
quoted from the 1922 Statement :
"During the last two or three
generations
the Jews have recreated in Palestine a
community,
now numbering 8o,ooo, of whom
about one-fourth are farmers or
workers upon
the land. This community has its own
political
organs ; an elected assembly for the
direction
of its domestic concerns ; elected councils
in the towns ; and an organisation for
the control
of its schools . It has its elected
Chief Rabbinate
and Rabbinical Council for the
direction
of its religious affairs . Its
business is conducted
in Hebrew as a vernacular language and
a Hebrew press serves its needs . It
has its distinctive
intellectual life and displays
considerable
economic activity . This community,
then,
APPENDIX VII
247
with its town and country population,
its
political, religious and social
organisation, its
own language, its own customs, its own
life,
has in fact "national"
characteristics. When it
is asked what is meant by the
development of
the Jewish National Home in Palestine,
it may
be answered that it is not the
imposition of a
Jewish nationality upon the
inhabitants of
Palestine as a whole, but the further
development
of the existing Jewish community, with
the assistance of Jews in other parts
of the
world, in order that it may become a
centre in
which the Jewish people as a whole may
take,
on grounds of religion and race, an
interest and
a pride. But in order that this
community
should have the best prospect of free
development
and provide a full opportunity for the
Jewish people to display its
capacities, it is
essential that it should know that it
is in Palestine
as of right and not on 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 recognised to rest
upon
ancient historic connection .
"This, then, is the
interpretation which His
Majesty's Government place upon the
Declaration
of 1917, and, so understood, the Secretary
248 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
of State is of opinion that it does
not contain or
imply anything which need cause either
alarm
to the Arab population of Palestine or
disappointment
to the Jews ."
(b) The principles which should govern
immigration .
On this point the statement of policy
continues
as follows:
"For the fulfilment of this
policy it is necessary
that the Jewish community in Palestine
should be able to increase its numbers
by immigration.
This immigration cannot be so great in
volume as to exceed whatever may be
the
economic capacity of the country at
the time
to absorb new arrivals . It is
essential to ensure
that the immigrants should not be a
burden
upon the people of Palestine as a
whole, and that
they should not deprive any section of
the
present population of their employment
.
Hitherto the immigration has fulfilled
these
conditions. The number of immigrants
since
the British occupation has been about 25,000.
"It is necessary also to ensure
that persons
who are politically undesirable are
excluded
from Palestine, and every precaution
has been
and will be taken by the
Administration to
that end."
APPENDIX VII
249
It will be observed that the
principles enunciated
above render it essential that in
estimating
the absorptive capacity of Palestine
at any time
account should be taken of Arab as
well as
Jewish unemployment in determining the
rate at
which immigration should be permitted
. It is the
intention of His Majesty's Government
to take
steps to ensure a more exact
application of these
principles in the future .
(c) The Position of the Jewish Agency
.
In the passage quoted below, an
attempt was
made to indicate the limitations,
implicit in the
Mandate, necessarily imposed upon the
scope of
the Jewish Agency provided for in
Article 4 of
the Mandate :
"It is also necessary to point
out that the
Zionist Commission in Palestine, now
termed
the Palestine Zionist Executive, has
not desired
to possess, and does not possess, any
share in
the general administration of the
country . Nor
does the special position assigned to
the Zionist
Organisation in Article IV of the
draft Mandate
for Palestine imply any such
functions!
That special position relates to the
measures
affecting the Jewish population, and
contemplates
that the Organisation may assist in
the
general development of the country,
but does
250 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
not entitle it to share in any degree
in its Government."
6. His Majesty's Government desires to
reaffirm
generally the policy outlined in the 11922
Statement, and, in particular, the
three passages
quoted above . On these three
important points it
is not thought that anything but
barren controversy
would result from an attempt further
to elaborate their conceptions. It is
recognised,
however, in the light of past
experience that
much remains to be done to improve the
practical
application of the principles
enunciated in the
foregoing passages, and it is the
intention of the
Government, in consultation with the
Palestine
Administration, to take active steps
to provide
improved machinery for meeting the
requirements
of both Arabs and Jews, under these
three
heads. In particular, it is recognised
as of the
greatest importance that the efforts
of the High
Commissioner towards some closer and
more harmonious
form of co-operation and means of
consultation
between the Palestine Administration
and the Jewish Agency should be
further developed,
always consistently, however, with the
principle which must be regarded as
basic, that
the special position of the Agency, in
affording
advice and co-operation, does not
entitle the
APPENDIX VII
251
Agency, as such, to share in the
government of
the country . Similarly, machinery
must be provided
to ensure that the essential interests
of the
non-Jewish sections of the Community
should at
the same time be fully safeguarded,
and that adequate
opportunity should be afforded for
consultation
with the Palestine Administration on
matters affecting those interests .
7. At this point it becomes desirable to remove
any ground of misunderstanding that
may exist
as to the passages in the Mandate
bearing upon
the safeguarding of the rights of the
non-Jewish
community in Palestine. The passages
in the Mandate
specially bearing on this point will
be found
in -
Article 2. "The Mandatory shall be
responsible
for placing the country under such
political
administrative and economic conditions
as will
secure the establishment of the Jewish
National
Home, as laid down in the preamble,
and the development
of self-governing institutions, and
also for safeguarding the civil and
religious rights
of all the inhabitants of Palestine,
irrespective of
race and religion."
Article 6. "The Administration of
Palestine,
while ensuring that the rights and
position of
other sections of the population are
not prejudiced,
shall facilitate Jewish immigration
under
252 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
suitable conditions, and shall
encourage, in cooperation
with the Jewish Agency referred to in
Article 4, close settlement by Jews on
the land,
including State lands and waste lands
not required
for public purposes ."
Article 9 . "The Mandatory
shall be responsible
for seeing that the judicial system
established
in Palestine shall assure to
foreigners, as well as
to natives, a complete guarantee of
their rights .
"Respect for personal status of
the various
peoples and communities and for their
religious
interests shall be fully guaranteed .
In particular,
the control and administration of
Wakfs shall be
exercised in accordance with religious
law and
the disposition of the founders
."
Article 13- "All
responsibility in connection
with the Holy Places and religious
buildings or
sites in Palestine, including that of
preserving existing
rights and of securing free access to
the
Holy Places, religious buildings and
sites, and the
free exercise of worship, while
ensuring the requirements
of public order and decorum, is
assumed by the Mandatory, who shall be
responsible
solely to the League of Nations in all
matters
connected herewith, provided that
nothing
in this article shall prevent the
Mandatory from
entering into such arrangements as he
may deem
reasonable with the Administration for
the purAPPENDIX
VII
253
pose of carrying the provisions of
this article into
effect, and provided also that nothing
in this
Mandate shall be construed as
conferring upon
the Mandatory authority to interfere
with the
fabric or the management of purely
Moslem
sacred shrines, the immunities of
which are guaranteed
."
Article i S. "The Mandatory
shall see that
complete freedom of conscience and the
free
exercise of all forms of worship,
subject only to
the maintenance of public order and
morals, are
ensured to all. No discrimination of
any kind shall
be made between the inhabitants of
Palestine on
the ground of race, religion or
language . No person
shall be excluded from Palestine on
the sole
ground of his religious belief.
"The right of each community to
maintain its
own schools for the education of its
own members
in its own language, while conforming
to
such educational requirements of a
general nature
as the Administration may impose,
shall not
be denied or impaired .
"On the other hand, special
reference to the
Jewish National Home and to Jewish
interests
are contained in Article 4:
Article 4. "An appropriate
Jewish Agency
shall be recognised as a public body
for the purpose
of advising and co-operating with the
Ad2S4
THE GREAT BETRAYAL
ministration of Palestine in such
economic, social
and other matters as may affect the
establishment
of the Jewish National Home and the
interests
of the Jewish population in Palestine,
and,
subject always to the control of the
Administration,
to assist and take part in the
development
of the country.
"The Zionist organisation, so
long as its organisation
and constitution are in the opinion of
the
Mandatory appropriate, shall be
recognised as
such agency. It shall take steps in
consultation
with His Britannic Majesty's
Government to secure
the co-operation of all Jews who are
willing
to assist in the establishment of the
Jewish
National Home."
Article 6. (Already quoted above
.)
Article z i . "The
Administration of Palestine
shall take all necessary measures to
safeguard the
interests of the community in
connection with
the development of the country, and,
subject to
any international obligations accepted
by the
Mandatory, shall have full power to
provide for
public ownership or control of any of
the natural
resources of the country or of the
public
works, services and utilities
established or to be
established therein . It shall
introduce a land system
appropriate to the needs of the
country,
having regard, among other things, to
the desiraAPPENDIX
VII
25
bility of promoting the close
settlement and intensive
cultivation of the land.
"The Administration may arrange
with the
Jewish Agency mentioned in Article 4
to construct
or operate, upon fair and equitable
terms,
any public works, services and
utilities, and to
develop any of the natural resources
of the country,
in so far as these matters are not
directly undertaken
by the Administration. Any such
arrangements shall provide that no
profits distributed
by such agency directly or indirectly,
shall exceed a reasonable rate of
interest on the
capital, and any further profits shall
be utilised
by it for the benefit of the country
in a manner
approved by the Administration ."
8. In the first place, it will be
observed that
Article 2 makes the Mandatory responsible for
safeguarding the civil and religious
rights of all
the inhabitants of Palestine,
irrespective of race
or religion ; and secondly, that the
obligation contained
in Article 6 to facilitate Jewish
immigration
and to encourage close settlement by
Jews
on the land, is qualified by the
requirement to
ensure that the rights and position of
other sections
of the population are not prejudiced .
Moreover,
by Article i i, "the
Administration of
Palestine is required to take all
necessary measures
to safeguard the interests of the
community in
2S6 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
connection with the development of the
country."
It is clear from the wording of this
Article
that the population of Palestine as a
whole, and
not any sectional interest, is to be
the object of
the Government's care, and it may be
noted that
the provision for arranging with the
Jewish
Agency for the construction or
operation of public
works, services and utilities, is only
permissive
and not obligatory, and could not be
allowed to
conflict with the general interests of
the community.
These points are emphasised because
claims have been made on behalf of the
Jewish
Agency to a position in regard to the
general administration
of the country, which His Majesty's
Government cannot but regard as going
far beyond
the clear intention of the Mandate .
Moreover,
attempts have been made to argue, in
support
of Zionist claims, that the principal
feature
of the Mandate is the passages
regarding the
Jewish National Home, and that the
passages
designed to safeguard the rights of
the non-Jewish
community are merely secondary
considerations
qualifying, to some extent, what is
claimed
to be the primary object for which the
Mandate
has been framed .
This is a conception which His
Majesty's Government
have always regarded as totally
erroneous.
However difficult the task may be it
would,
APPENDIX VII
257
in their view, be impossible,
consistently with the
plain intention of the Mandate, to
attempt to
solve the problem by subordinating one
of these
obligations to the other . The British
Accredited
Representative, when appearing before
the Permanent
Mandates Commission on the 9th of June
last, endeavoured to make clear the
attitude of
His Majesty's Government towards the
difficulties
inherent in the Mandate . In
commenting on
his statements in their report to the
Council, the
Permanent Mandates Commission made the
following
important pronouncement :
"From all these statements two
assertions
emerge, which should be emphasized :
` (i) that the obligations laid down
by the
Mandate in regard to the two sections
of the
population are of equal weight ;
(2) that the two obligations imposed
on the
Mandatory are in no sense
irreconcilable .'
"The Mandates Commission has no
objection
to raise to these two assertions,
which, in its view,
accurately express what it conceives
to be the
essence of the Mandate for Palestine
and ensure
its future."
His Majesty's Government are fully in
accord
with the sense of this pronouncement
and it
is a
258 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
source of satisfaction to them that it
has been
rendered authoritative by the approval
of the
Council of the League of Nations .
It is the difficult and delicate task
of His
Majesty's Government to devise means
whereby,
in the execution of its policy in
Palestine, equal
weight shall at all times be given to
the obligations
laid down with regard to the two
sections of
the population and to reconcile these
two obligations
where, inevitably, conflicting
interests are
involved.
It is hoped that the foregoing
explanation of
the nature of the task imposed by the
Mandate
upon His Majesty's Government will
make clear
the necessity, already emphasised, for
willing cooperation
with the Palestine Administration and
with His Majesty's Government on the
part both
of Arab and Jewish leaders .
9. The preceding paragraphs contain an
exposition
of the general principles which have
to
be taken into account as governing
policy in
Palestine and the limiting conditions
under which
it must be carried out . The practical
problems
with which His Majesty's Government
are faced
in Palestine must now be considered in
detail .
These may be regarded as falling
roughly under
three heads :
APPENDIX VII
2S9
(i) Security,
(2) Constitutional development,
(3) Economic and Social development .
They will be dealt with in that order
.
(i) Security
io. It is a primary duty of the
Administration
to ensure peace, order and good
government in
Palestine . In an earlier paragraph
His Majesty's
Government have intimated that they
will not
be moved from their duty by any
pressure or
threats.
Outbreaks of disorder in the past have
been
promptly repressed and special
measures have
been taken to deal with any future
emergencies .
It must be clearly understood that
incitements
to disorder or disaffection, in
whatever quarter
they may originate, will be severely
punished and
the powers of the Administration will,
so far as
may be necessary, be enlarged to
enable it to deal
the more effectively with any such
dangerous and
unwarrantable attempts.
His Majesty's Government have decided
to retain
in Palestine, for the present, two
battalions
of infantry ; in addition to these,
two squadrons
of aircraft and four sections of
armoured cars
will be available in Palestine and
Trans-Jordan.
260 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
It will be recalled that Mr .
Dowbiggin, Inspector-
General of Police, Ceylon, was sent to
Palestine
to enquire into the organisation of
the Palestine
Police Force. His elaborate and
valuable report
has been received and is under
detailed consideration.
Certain of his recommendations have
already
been carried out, including those
involving an increase
in the strength of the British and
Palestinian
sections of the Force and those
providing
for a scheme of defence for Jewish
Colonies, to
which reference was made in paragraph 9 of the
statement with regard to British
Policy in Palestine,
published as Command Paper 3582 . The
remainder of the many recommendations
in Mr .
Dowbiggin's report are under
consideration in
consultation with the High
Commissioner for
Palestine, and further changes will be
made when
decisions are taken on these
recommendations .
His Majesty's Government avail
themselves of
this opportunity to reiterate' their
determination
to take all possible steps to suppress
crime and
maintain order in Palestine. They
desire to emphasise,
in this connection, that in
determining
the nature and composition of the
security forces
necessary for this purpose they must
be guided
by their expert advisers, and must aim
at ensuring
that the forces employed are suitable
for the
APPENDIX VII
261
duties which they have to carry out,
without regard
to any, political considerations.
(2) Constitutional Development
11 . Reference has already been made to the
demands of Arab leaders for a form of
constitution
which would be incompatible with the
mandatory
obligations of His Majesty's
Government .
It is, however, the considered opinion
of His
Majesty's Government that the time has
now
come when the important question of
the establishment
of a measure of self-government in
Palestine must, in the interests of
the community
as a whole, be taken in hand without
further
delay.
It may be convenient, in the first
instance, to
give a brief resume of the history of
this question
since the establishment of the civil
administration.
In October, 1920, there was set up in
Palestine
an Advisory Council composed in equal
parts of
official and nominated unofficial
members . Of the
ten unofficial members, four were
Moslems, three
were Christians and three were Jews.
On the ist September, 1922, the Palestine Order
in Council was issued, setting up a
Government
in Palestine under the Foreign
Jurisdiction
Act. Part 3 of the Order in Council directed the
262 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
262 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
establishment of a Legislative Council
to be composed
of the High Commissioner as President,
with ten other official members, and 112 elected
non-official members . The procedure
for the
selection of the non-official members
was laid
down in the Legislative Council, Order
in Council,
1922, and in February and March, 1923, an
attempt was made to hold elections in
accordance
with that procedure .
The attempt failed owing to the
refusal of the
Arab population as a whole to
co-operate (a detailed
report of these elections is contained
in the
papers relating to the elections for
the Palestine
Legislative Council, 1923, published as Command
Paper 18 8 9) .
The High Commissioner thereupon
suspended
the establishment of the proposed
Legislative
Council, and continued to act in
consultation
with an Advisory Council as before.
Two further opportunities were given
to
representative Arab leaders in
Palestine to cooperate
with the Administration in the government
of the country, first, by the
reconstitution
of a nominated Advisory Council, but
with
membership conforming to that proposed
for
the Legislative Council, and,
secondly, by a proposal
for the formation of an Arab agency .
It
was intended that this Agency should
have funcAPPENDIX
VII
263
tions analogous to those entrusted to
the Jewish
Agency by Article 4 of the Palestine
Mandate .
Neither of these opportunities was
accepted
and, accordingly, in December, 1 923, an Advisory
Council was set up consisting only of
official
members. This position still continues
; the only
change being that the Advisory Council
has
been enlarged by the addition of more
official
members as the Administration
developed .
It will be recalled that, under the
terms of
Article 2 of the Mandate, His Majesty's Government
are responsible for placing the
country under
such political, administrative and
economic
conditions as will secure the
establishment of the
Jewish National Home and the
development of
self-governing institutions, and for
safeguarding
the civil and religious rights of the
inhabitants .
The action taken with regard to
constitutional
development in the early years of the
Civil Administration
is briefly described above .
With the object of enabling the people
of
Palestine to obtain practical
experience of administrative
methods and the business of government
and to learn discrimination in the
selection of
their representatives, Lord Plumer,
who was
High Commissioner for Palestine from 1925 to
1928, introduced a wider measure of local
self264
THE GREAT BETRAYAL
government than had previously
obtained under
the British regime .
Sir John Chancellor considered the
question
of constitutional development on his
assumption
of the office of High Commissioner in
December,
1928. He consulted representatives of various
local interests and, after a careful
examination
of the position, put forward certain
proposals in
June, 1929. Discussion of the question was, however,
suspended in consequence of the disturbances
in August, 1929.
12. His Majesty's Government have now carefully
considered this question in the light
of the
present stage of progress and
development and
with special regard to their
obligation to place
the country under such political,
administrative
and economic conditions as will secure
the development
of self-governing institutions . They
have decided that the time has arrived
for a further
step in the direction of the grant to
the
people of Palestine, of a measure of
self-government
compatible with the terms of the
Mandate .
His Majesty's Government accordingly
intend
to set up a Legislative Council
generally on the
lines indicated in the statement of
British policy
in Palestine issued by Mr . Churchill
in June,
1922, which
is reproduced as Appendix 5 to the
APPENDIX VII
265
Report of the Commission on the
Palestine disturbances
of August, 1929.
His Majesty's Government trust that on
this
occasion they will secure the
co-operation of all
sections of the population of
Palestine. His
Majesty's Government desire to make it
quite
clear that while they would deeply
regret an attempt
on the part of any section of the
population
to prevent them from giving effect to
their decision,
all possible steps will be taken to
circumvent
such an attempt, if made, since they
consider it in
the interests of the population of the
country as a
whole that the further step now
proposed should
no longer be deferred .
His Majesty's Government would point
out
that had this Legislature been set up
at the time
when it was first contemplated the
people of
Palestine would by now have gained
more experience
of the working of constitutional
machinery.
Such experience is indispensable for
any
progress in constitutional
development. The
sooner all sections of the population
show a desire
to co-operate with His Majesty's
Government in
this respect, the sooner will it be
possible for such
constitutional development to take
place as His
Majesty's Government hope to see in
Palestine .
There are obvious advantages to be gained
by
266 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
all sections of the population from
the establishment
of such a Council. It should be of
special
benefit to the Arab section of the
population,
who do not at present possess any
constitutional
means for putting their views on social
and economic
matters before the Government. Their
representatives on the Council which
is to be set
up will, of course, be in the
position, not only to
present the views of the Arab section
of the
population on these and other matters,
but also to
participate in discussions thereon . A
further advantage
may accrue to the country as a whole
from the establishment of the
Legislative Council,
viz ., that the participation of
representatives
of both sections of the community as
members of
the Legislative Council, will tend to
improve the
relations between the Jews and the
Arabs .
13 . As stated above, the new
Legislative Council
will be on the lines indicated in the
statement
of policy issued in 1922. It will consist of
the
High Commissioner and 22 members, of whom
i o will be official members and 12 unofficial
members. Unofficial members of the
Council
will normally be elected by primary
and secondary
elections. It is, however, in the view
of His
Majesty's Government, so important to
avoid the
repetition of the deadlock which
occurred in
1923, that steps will be devised to
ensure the
APPENDIX VII
267
appointment of the requisite number of
unofficial
members to the Council in the event of
one
or more members failing to be elected
on account
of the non-co-operation of any section
of the
population, or for any other reason.
The High
Commissioner will continue to have the
necessary
power to ensure that the Mandatory
shall be enabled
to carry out its obligations to the
League of
Nations, including any legislation
urgently required,
as well as the maintenance of order.
When difference arises as to the
fulfilment by
the Government of Palestine of the
terms of the
Mandate, a petition to the League of
Nations is
admissible under Article 8 5 of the Order in
Council of 1922.
(3) Economic and Social Development
14. Under this head the practical problems to
be considered are mainly concerned
with questions
relating to land, immigration and
unemployment.
These three questions are intimately
interrelated, with political as well
as economic
aspects, and upon their solution must
depend any
advance that can be hoped for towards
settled
conditions of peace and prosperity in
Palestine .
Since attention was drawn to these
matters in
the Report of the Shaw Commission, they
have
formed the subject of detailed
investigations on
268 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
the spot by a Committee appointed by
the High
Commissioner in April, to examine into
the
economic condition of agriculturists
and the fiscal
measures of Government in relation thereto,
and also by Sir John Hope Simpson who,
on instructions
from the Secretary of State for the
Colonies, proceeded to Palestine in
May, in order
to examine the questions of
immigration, land
settlement and development.
15 . As a result of these extensive and
elaborate
investigations, certain conclusions
have emerged
and certain facts have been
established which will
now be set out briefly :
(i) Land
It can now be definitely stated that
at the
present time and with the present
methods of
Arab cultivation there remains no
margin of land
available for agricultural settlement
by new
immigrants, with the exception of such
undeveloped
land as the various Jewish Agencies
hold in
reserve.
There has been much criticism in the
past in
regard to the relatively small extent
of State land
which has been made available for
Jewish settlement.
It is, however, an error to imagine
that the
Palestine Government is in possession
of large
areas of vacant land which could be
made availAPPENDIX
VII
269
able for Jewish settlement . The
extent of unoccupied
areas of Government land is negligible
.
The Government claims considerable
areas which
are, in fact, occupied and cultivated
by Arabs .
Even were the title of the Government
to these
areas admitted, and it is in many
cases disputed,
it would not be possible to make these
areas available
for Jewish settlement, in view of
their actual
occupation by Arab cultivators and of
the importance
of making available additional land on
which to place the Arab cultivators
who are now
landless.
The provision of a margin available
for settlement
depends upon the progress made in
increasing
the productivity of the land already
occupied.
16. It now appears, in the light of
the best
available estimates, that the area of
cultivable
land in Palestine (excluding the
Beer-Sheba
region) is 6,S44,ooo dunams . This
area is considerably
less than had hitherto been estimated,
previous official estimates being in
the neighbourhood
of i o to x i million dunams .
It also appears that while an area of
at least
13o dunams is required to maintain a
fellah
family in a decent standard of life in
the unirrigated
tracts, the whole of the cultivable
land in
the country, excluding the area
already in the
270 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
hands of the Jews, would, were it
divided among
the existing Arab cultivators, provide
an average
holding of not more than 9o dunams .
In
order to provide an average holding of
130
dunams for all Arab cultivators, about
8 million
dunams of cultivable land would be
required .
It also appears that of the 86,980 rural Arab
families in the villages, 29.4 per cent. are landless.
It is not known how many of these are
families who previously cultivated and
have
since lost their land . This is one
point, among
others, upon which, at present, it is
not possible
to speak with greater precision, but
which will,
it is hoped, be ascertained in the
course of the
Census which is to be taken next year.
17. The condition of the Arab fellah
leaves
much to be desired, and a policy of
land development
is called for if an improvement in his
conditions
of life is to be effected .
The sole agencies which have pursued a
consistent
policy of land development have been
the
Jewish Colonisation organisations,
public and
private.
The Jewish settlers have had every
advantage
that capital, science and organisation
could give
them. To these and to the energy of
the settlers
themselves their remarkable progress
is due. On
the other hand, the Arab population .
while lackAPPENDIX
VII
271
ing the advantages enjoyed by the
Jewish settlers,
has, by the excess of births over
deaths, increased
with great rapidity, while the land
available for
its sustenance has decreased by about
a million
dunams. This area has passed into
Jewish hands .
18 . Reference has been made to the
energy
evinced and the remarkable progress
made in
Jewish land settlement . It would be
unjust to
accept the contention, which has been
advanced
in the course of the controversy
regarding relations
between Jews and Arabs in Palestine,
that
the effect of Jewish settlement upon
the Arab
population has in all cases been
detrimental to
the interests of the Arabs . This is
by no means
wholly true, but it is necessary in
considering
this aspect of the problem to
differentiate between
colonisation by such bodies as the
Palestine
Jewish Colonisation Association
(commonly
known as the P. L C. A.) and
colonisation under
Zionist auspices .
In so far as the past policy of the P
. I. C. A. is
concerned, there can be no doubt that
the Arab
has profited largely by the
installation of the
Colonies, and relations between the
colonists and
their Arab neighbours have in the past
been excellent.
The cases which are now quoted by the
Jewish authorities in support of the
contention
that the effect of Jewish colonisation
on the
272 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
Arabs in the neighbourhood has been
advantageous,
are cases relating to Colonies
established
by the P. I. C. A. before colonisation
financed
from the Palestine Foundation Fund,
which is the
main financial instrument of the
Jewish Agency,
came into existence .
Some of the attempts which have been
made to
prove that Zionist colonisation has
not had the
effect of causing the previous tenants
of land
acquired to joinn the landless class
have on examination
proved to be unconvincing, if not
fallacious.
19. Moreover, the effect of Jewish colonisation
on the existing population is very
intimately
affected by the conditions on which
the various
Jewish bodies hold, utilise and lease
their land . It
is provided by the Constitution of the
Enlarged
Jewish Agency, signed at Zurich on the
14th
August, 1929 (Article 3 (d) and (e), that the
land acquired shall be held as the
"inalienable
property of the Jewish people,"
and that in "all
the works or undertakings carried out
or furthered
by the Agency, it shall be deemed to
be a
matter of principle that Jewish labour
shall be
employed") . Moreover, by Article
23 of the draft
lease, which it is proposed to execute
in respect
of all holdings granted by the Jewish
National
Fund, the lessee undertakes to execute
all works
APPENDIX VII
273
connected with the cultivation of the
holdings
only with Jewish labour . Stringent
conditions are
imposed to ensure the observance of
this undertaking.
An undertaking binding settlers in the
Colonies
of the Maritime Plain to hire Jewish
workmen
only, whenever they may be obliged to
hire
help, is inserted in the Agreement for
the repayment
of advances made by the Palestine
Foundation
Fund. Similar provision is contained
in the
Agreement for the Emek Colonies .
These stringent provisions are
difficult to reconcile
with the declaration at the Zionist
Congress
of 1921 of "the desire of the Jewish people to
live with the Arab people in relations
of friendship
and mutual respect, and, together,
with the
Arab people, to develop the homeland
common to
both into a prosperous community which
would
ensure the growth of the
peoples."
2o. The Jewish leaders have been perfectly,
frank in their justification of this
policy . The
Executive of the General Federation of
Jewish
Labour, which exercises a very
important influence
on the direction of Zionist policy,
has
contended that such restrictions are
necessary to
secure the largest possible amount of
Jewish
immigration and to safeguard the
standard of
274 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
life of the Jewish labourer from the
danger of
falling to the lower standard of the
Arab .
However logical such arguments may be
from
the point of view of a purely national
movement,
it must, nevertheless, be pointed out
that they
take no account of the provisions of
Article 6
of the Mandate, which expressly
requires that, in
facilitating Jewish immigration and
close settlement
by Jews on the land, the Administration
of
Palestine must ensure that "the
rights and position
of other sections of the population
are not
prejudiced ."
(2) Agricultural Development
21 . As indicated in the immediately preceding
paragraph, it is the duty of the
Administration
under the Mandate to ensure that the
position of
the "other sections of the
population" is not
prejudiced by Jewish immigration .
Also, it is its
duty under the Mandate to encourage
close settlement
of the Jews on the land, subject
always
to the former condition.
22. As a result of recent investigations, His
Majesty's Government are satisfied
that, in order
to attain these objects, a more
methodical agricultural
development is called for with the
object
of ensuring a better use of the land .
23 . Only by the adoption of such a policy will
APPENDIX VII
275
additional Jewish agricultural
settlement be possible
consistently with the conditions laid
down
in Article 6 of the Mandate . The
result desired
will not be obtained except by years
of work . It
is for this reason fortunate that the
Jewish organisations
are in possession of a large reserve
of
land not yet settled or developed .
Their operations
can continue without break, while more
general steps of development, in the
benefits of
which Jews and Arabs can both share,
are being
worked out. During this period,
however, the
control of all disposition of land
must of necessity
rest with the authority in charge of
the development.
Transfers of land will be permitted
only in so far as they do not
interfere with the
plans of that authority . Having
regard to the
responsibilities of the Mandatory
Power, it is
clear that this authority must be the
Palestine
Administration .
24. Among the problems which will have to
be considered are those of irrigation,
the coordination
of development with the activities of
the Department of Agriculture and
other Government
Departments, and the determination of
their respective spheres of action so
as to avoid
friction and overlapping, and to
obtain the
greatest efficiency in co-ordinated
effort .
Consideration must also be given to
the pro276
THE GREAT BETRAYAL
276 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
tection of tenants by some form of
occupancy
right, or by other means, to secure
them against
ejectment or the imposition of
excessive rental .
Closely associated with any
development must
be the acceleration of the work of
settlement by
the ascertainment of title and the
registration
of tenancies . In this connection an
important
problem is presented by the large
proportion of
Arab village land which: is held under
the tenurein-
common known as mesha.•a. Nearly half of
the Arab villages are held on masha'a
tenure and
there is a consensus of opinion that
this system is
a great obstacle to the agricultural
development
of the Country.
The constitution of co-operative
societies
among the fellahin appears to be an
important
preliminary to their advancement . The
whole
question has recently been under
examination on
behalf of the Palestine Government by
an expert
with great experience.
2 5 . The finances of Palestine have been severely
strained by the necessity of providing
for large
increases in its security forces.
These increases
have been deemed essential in the
light of the
events of the autumn of 1929, and it is not possible
to forecast the time that must elapse
before
it will be thought safe to reduce
expenditure on
this account . That must largely
depend on the
APPENDIX VII
277
success of the policy now envisaged,
and on the
extent of the improvement in mutual
relations
between Arabs and Jews which His
Majesty's
Government hope will be one of its
results.
It is part of the general policy of
His Majesty's
Government that Palestine should be
self-supporting.
The improvement of agricultural
conditions
contemplated will not only take time,
but
will involve considerable expenditure,
though it
is to be hoped that part of the outlay
will prove
to be recoverable . His Majesty's
Government are
giving earnest consideration to the
financial position
which arises out of this situation,
and steps
are being taken to concert the
necessary measures
to give effect to their policy .
(3) Immigration.
26. The whole system under which
immigration
into Palestine is controlled by the
Administration
has recently been most carefully
examined,
and in the month of May, it was
considered
necessary by His Majesty's Government,
whilst leaving undisturbed Jewish
immigration
in its various other forms, to suspend
the further
issue of certificates for the admission
of immigrants
under the Labour Schedule-i.e., as
employed
persons (over and above the 95o
already
sanctioned) for the half year ending
the 3oth
278 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
September, 1930, pending the result of
this examination
and the determination of future policy
.
This examination has revealed certain
weaknesses
in the existing system. It has been
shown that under
it there have been many cases of
persons being
admitted, who, if all the f acts had
been
known, should not have received visas
. No effective
Government control exists in regard to
the
selection of immigrants from abroad,
with the
result that there are no adequate
safeguards
against irregularities in connection
with the issue
of immigration certificates and also
against the
immigration of undesirables. A further
unsatisfactory
feature is that a large number of
travellers,
who enter Palestine with permission to
remain
for a limited time, stay on without
sanction .
It is calculated that the number of
such cases during
the last three years amounted to 7,800
.
Another serious feature is the number
of persons
who evade the frontier control .
In any attempt to devise adequate
Government
machinery for the control of
immigration,
account must be taken of the important
part at
present played in connection with
Jewish immigration
by the General Federation of Jewish
Labour.
The influence of the General
Federation is
far-reaching and its activities are
manifold . It
constitutes an important factor within
the World
APPENDIX VII
279
Zionist movement, and at the last
Zionist Congress
more than a quarter of the total
number of
delegates represented such Zionist
circles, both in
Palestine and abroad, as are
identified with the
Federation. The influence which the
Federation is
able to exert upon immigrants is shown
by the
fact that its members are not
permitted to have
recourse to the Courts of the country
in cases of
dispute with another member. It has
its own
Courts of First and Second Instance
and its Labour
High Court, to which appeals from the
subordinate Tribunals lie . The
Federation has
adopted a policy which implies the
introduction
in Palestine of a new social order
based on communal
settlements and the principle of
"self -
labour" (i.e., that each man
should work for
himself and avoid the employment of
hired labourers)
. Where self-labour is impossible it
insists
on the employment of Jewish labour
exclusively
by all Jewish employers.
In view of its responsibilities under
the Mandate,
it is essential that the Palestine
Government,
as the agent of the Mandatory Power,
should be
the deciding authority in all matters
of policy
relating to immigration, especially
having regard
to its close relation to unemployment
and land
development policy. No adequate
improvement
in existing machinery can be devised
unless a
280 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
modus vivendi is established
between the Government
on the one hand and the Jewish Agency
on
the other, in regard to their
respective functions,
and full account must be taken of the
influence
exerted in the policy of the Agency by
the General
Federation of Jewish Labour .
27. As regards the relation of immigration
to
unemployment, great difficulties at
present exist
owing to the absence of efficient
machinery for
estimating the degree of unemployment
existing
at any time . This is especially true
as regards the
Arab section of the community . While
no reliable
statistics are available, sufficient
evidence has
been adduced to lead to the conclusion
that there
is at present a serious degree of Arab
unemployment,
and that Jewish unemployment likewise
exists to an extent which constitutes
a definitely
unsatisfactory feature . It may be
regarded as
clearly established that the
preparation of the Labour
Schedule must depend upon the
ascertainment
of the total of unemployed in
Palestine.
It follows that the extent of that
unemployment
must be accurately determined, and His
Majesty's
Government will give serious
consideration
to devising machinery for this
purpose. The
economic capacity of the country to
absorb new
immigrants must therefore be judged
with reference
to the position of Palestine as a
whole in
APPENDIX VII
281
regard to unemployment, and care must
also be
exercised in ascertaining that
economic capacity,
to make allowances for any demand for
labour,
which, owing to increased circulation
of money
connected with expenditure on
development or
for other causes, may be regarded as
of a temporary
character.
28 . Article 6 of the Mandate directs that the
rights and position of the other
sections of the
population shall not be prejudiced by
Jewish
immigration. Clearly, if immigration
of Jews results
in preventing the Arab population from
obtaining
the work necessary for its
maintenance,
or if Jewish unemployment unfavourably
affects
the general labour position, it is the
duty of the
Mandatory Power under the Mandate to
reduce,
or, if necessary, to suspend, such
immigration until
the unemployed portion of the
"other sections"
is in a position to obtain work . It
may here
be remarked that in the light of the
examination
to which immigration and unemployment
problems
have been subjected, His Majesty's
Government
regard their action in the suspension
of
immigration under the Labour Schedule
last May
as fully justified .
It has been argued that the High
Commissioner's
approval of the issue of Immigration
Certificates
under the Labour Schedule implied that
282 THE GREAT BETRAYAL
there was room for the admission of
immigrants
of the working class, and that, in
consequence,
His Majesty's Government, in
suspending the
issue of those certificates, must have
been influenced
by political considerations . This is
not
the case . In arriving at their
decision to suspend
the issue of the certificates, His
Majesty's Government
had in mind the opinions expressed in
the Report of the Shaw Commission that
there
was a shortage of land and that
immigration
should be more closely controlled . It
was realised
that these issues called for expert
examination,
but His Majesty's Government felt that,
until
they had been so examined, no steps
should be
taken which might aggravate an
economic situation
which, in the opinion of the majority
of the
Shaw Commission, was already such as
to afford
ground for anxiety .
Any hasty decision in regard to more unrestricted
Jewish immigration is to be strongly
deprecated, not only from the point of
view of
the interests of the Palestine
population as a
whole, but even from the special point
of view
of the Jewish community. So long as
widespread
suspicion exists, and it does exist,
amongst the
Arab population, that the economic
depression,
under which they undoubtedly suffer at
present,
is largely due to excessive Jewish
immigration,
APPENDIX VII
283
and so long as some grounds exist upon
which
this suspicion may be plausibly
represented to be
well founded, there can be little hope
of any improvement
in the mutual relations of the two
races. But it is upon such improvement
that the
future peace and prosperity of
Palestine must
largely depend .
It is hoped that changes may be
devised in the
method of the preparation of the
Labour Schedule,
which will tend to promote amicable
relations
between the Jewish authorities in
Palestine
and the Immigration Department. It is
clearly
desirable to establish closer-co-operation
and consultation
between the Jewish authorities and the
Government, and the closer and more
cordial cooperation
becomes, the easier it should be to
arrive
at an agreed Schedule based upon a
thorough
understanding, on both sides, of the
economic
needs of the country.
29. As has been shown in the foregoing
paragraphs,
the three problems of development,
immigration and unemployment are
closely inter-
related, and upon the evolution of a
policy
which will take full account of these
three factors
must depend the future of Palestine.
It is
only in a peaceful and prosperous
Palestine that
the ideals of the Jewish National Home
can in
any sense be realised, and it is only
by cordial co284
THE GREAT BETRAYAL
operation between the Jews, the Arabs
and the
Government that prosperity can be
secured .
The situation revealed by exhaustive
examination
of the various economic, political and
social
factors involved, makes it clear that
Palestine has
reached a critical moment in its
development . In
the past it may be said that the
Government has
left economic and social forces to
operate with
the minimum of interference or
control, but it
has become increasingly clear that
such a policy
can no longer continue. It is only the
closest cooperation
between the Government and the
leaders of the Arab and Jewish
communities that
can prevent Palestine from drifting
into a situation
which would imperil, on the one hand,
the
devoted work of those who have sought
to build
up the Jewish National Home, and, on
the other,
the interests of the majority of the
population
who at present possess few resources
of their own
with which to sustain the struggle for
existence .
What is required is that both races
should consent
to live together and to respect each
other's needs
and claims. To the Arabs His Majesty's
Government
would appeal for a recognition of the
facts
of the situation, and for a sustained
effort at
co-operation in obtaining that
prosperity for the
country as a whole by which all will
benefit .
From the Jewish leaders, His Majesty's
GovernAPPENDIX
VII
28
ment ask a recognition of the
necessity for making
some concessions on their side in
regard to the
independent and separatist ideals
which have been
developed in some quarters in
connection with
the Jewish National Home, and for
accepting it
as an active factor in the orientation
of their
policy that the general development of
the country
shall be carried out in such a way
that the interests
of the Arabs and Jews may each receive
adequate consideration, with the object
of developing
prosperity throughout the country
under
conditions which will give no grounds
for
charges of partiality upon the one
side or upon
the other, but will permit of the Arab
and Jewish
communities developing in harmony and
contentment.
APPENDIX VIII
WINSTON CHURCHILL'S VIEWS
The Former British Colonial
Secretary's Answer
to Pass field.
THERE
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