ICS AI Lesson 3

• DOCUMENT 1 - PAGE 4: British Mandate for Palestine (1922)

• DOCUMENT 2 - PAGE 6: Peel Commission (1937)

• DOCUMENT 3 - PAGE 8: The White Paper (1939)

• DOCUMENT 4 - PAGE 10: United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (1947)

Question 1: What do these documents propose to do with regard to the geographic area and/or populations of Palestine? Question 2: Why was this document made? What circumstances—either in the region or in Europe—brought the decisions about?

Primary Sources & Analysis Questions

Lesson 3 Video

Lesson 3: The Mandate Period Timeline

1922 - The British Mandate for Palestine

In contrast to promises made by the British during the war, after WWI, the League of Nations allocated non-Turkish Ottoman lands to Britain and France as Mandates (as seen in DOCUMENT 1: The British Mandate for Palestine & in the map). The British Mandate for Palestine was intended to be temporary; both Jews and Arabs had been promised sovereign states by the British.

1936 - 1939 Arab Revolt

Throughout the Mandate period, there was violent opposition among the Arab community to British rule and the idea of a Jewish state. This resulted in an Arab Revolt in 1936, which would last nearly 3 years. The British knew that had to resolve this revolt and as a way to deal with the unrest and create a more lasting solution, the British sent a commission to study the situation. This commission did not satisfy the demands of the Arabs, so the violence continued. It was not until 1939 with the proposal of the White Paper that the revolt ended.

The Jews were unhappy because their allotment was much smaller than they expected. The Arabs dismissed the idea of a partition altogether. Ultimately, the recommendation was rejected.

1937 - The Peel Commission

As a way to deal with the unrest from the Arab Revolts and create a more lasting solution, the British sent a commission to study the situation Lord Peel recommended, in the Peel Commission, the partition of Palestine into 3 separate areas:

• a Jewish State
• an Arab State
• a smaller British Mandate that included Jerusalem

(as seen in DOCUMENT 2: The Peel Commission)

1947 - UN Resolution 181

By the end of World War II, the resources of the British Empire were depleted and issue of the future of the Palestine Mandate was handed over to the newly formed United Nations. After conducting a study of its own, the United Nations recommended and approved a partition of the region into an Arab and a Jewish state (as seen in DOCUMENT 4: The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine and on map). On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly, by a 33 to 13 vote, adopted the plan as UN Resolution 181. The Jews accepted the partition plan even though it was less than they believed they had been promised. The Arabs rejected the partition plan and the creation of a Jewish homeland in any part of the area.

Immigration

During the British Mandate period, the land was divded down the Jordan River (see map). To the west, Zionist Jews continued to immigrate, develop the land, and build institutions to support a growing population. Many Jews immigrated to escape the increasing persecution in Europe in the period leading up to the Holocaust. During the same period, the Arab population nearly doubled from natural increase and immigration from neighboring Arab countries. The area east of the Jordan River, Transjordan, was given to Abdullah bin Hussein (the future King of Jordan) to become an Arab state.

1939 - The White Paper

Arab resistance to Jewish immigration grew, causing the British to sharply limit Jewish immigration (as seen in DOCUMENT 3: The White Paper). This White Paper suggests that previous statements regarding British support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine had been misinterpreted and that the British were ultimately interested in the establishment of just one state for both Jews and Arabs. While the Arabs initially felt that the limits on Jewish immigration were insufficient, ultimately, key Palestinian Arab leaders agreed to the terms of the White Paper. The Jewish community in the Mandate rejected the White Paper, seeing it as a reversal of earlier commitments and a callous disregard for Jewish lives at a time of desperate need. The White Paper was never offically approved, however, due to the effects of World War II its implimentantion was not stopped.