Passfield white paper facts for kids

The Passfield White Paper was an important statement from the British government about its plans for Palestine. It was released on October 20, 1930. The paper was named after Lord Passfield, who was the British Colonial Secretary at the time. This new policy updated an earlier one from 1922 called the Churchill White Paper.

The Passfield White Paper was created after a special group, the Hope-Simpson Commission, looked into the reasons behind the 1929 Palestine riots. These riots had started over access to the Western Wall. The new paper aimed to address some of the problems that led to the unrest. One of its main points was to limit how many Jewish people could officially move to Palestine.

The paper also criticized some Jewish organizations, like the Histadrut (a labor group) and the Jewish Agency. These groups encouraged Jewish people to hire only Jewish workers. This policy sometimes meant that Arab farmers, who had worked on the land for a long time, lost their jobs when the land was sold. The Passfield White Paper, like the Hope-Simpson Report before it, said this was not fair to the Arab population.

What the Paper Said

The Passfield White Paper made several key points about the future of Palestine. It suggested that Jewish immigration should be carefully controlled. The paper also said that buying land for Jewish settlement should be limited. This was because it believed there wasn't enough land for everyone.

Land and Jobs

The paper stated that Jewish immigration was causing Arab farmers, called fellahs, to lose their land. To fix this, it suggested that future land sales to Jewish settlers should be restricted. It also said that the number of Jewish people allowed to move to Palestine should depend on how many Arab people were unemployed. This was to make sure that everyone had a fair chance at work.

A New Government Idea

The Passfield White Paper also proposed creating a special council to help govern Palestine. This council would represent the majority of the population, which at the time was Arab. This idea aimed to give the Arab community more say in how the land was managed.

Reactions to the Paper

Many Zionists (people who supported a Jewish homeland in Palestine) were very upset by the Passfield White Paper. They felt it went against promises made in the Balfour Declaration. They believed the paper would stop Jewish people from moving to Palestine and building their home there.

British Promises

The White Paper did say that building a Jewish National Home in Palestine was important. However, it also made it clear that this was not the only goal of British rule. The paper stated that Britain wanted to fulfill its duties to both Palestinians and Jews. It promised to solve any problems that came up between their different needs.

The MacDonald Letter

Jewish organizations around the world strongly protested the Passfield White Paper. This led to the British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, clarifying the paper. He did this in front of the British House of Commons and in a letter to Chaim Weizmann in 1931. This letter became known as the MacDonald Letter.

The MacDonald Letter tried to calm the Zionists without upsetting the Palestinians too much. Many Zionists saw the letter as a way to undo parts of the White Paper. However, Palestinians called it the 'black letter' because they felt it still favored Jewish immigration. Prime Minister MacDonald himself said the letter was not meant to be as important as the Passfield White Paper.

The MacDonald Letter also said it wanted to be fair to "non-Jewish sections of the community." But by confirming that Jewish immigration would continue, the letter actually made it easier for more Jewish people to move to Palestine. This was especially important during the 1930s, when many Jewish people faced difficult times in Europe.

See also

• Peel Commission, 1937