Anglo-American Committee on the Question of Palestine

In 1917, Great Britain drafted the Balfour Declaration , becoming the first great power to support the Zionist movement's aspirations to create a “Jewish national home in Palestine.” After the victory of the Entente and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War, the Balfour Declaration was recognized by the great powers and included in the Treaty of Sevres . She was also in the draft British Mandate in Palestine, approved by the League of Nations. ^[one]

Due to the fact that the US Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles , the United States of America did not join the League of Nations . However, the Senate and the House of Representatives adopted a joint resolution ^[2] in favor of creating a Jewish national center in Palestine. September 21, 1922 it was signed by President Warren Harding .

Despite the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany and the increasing number of Jewish refugees, the violent opposition of the Arabs to their immigration to Palestine led the British leadership to a practical departure from the Balfour Declaration and the adoption, after the Arab uprising of 1936-1939. , The White Paper (1939) . According to this decision, Jewish immigration for the next 5 years was limited to 75,000, after which, reaching 1/3 of the population, it should have been stopped "if the Palestinian Arabs object to immigration." By 1948, an independent state with an Arab majority was to be created in Palestine. In accordance with the White Book, in 1940 a law was passed strictly restricting the sale of land to Jews. ^[3]

By the end of World War II, after the Holocaust, hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees remained in Europe. American public opinion supported the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, but Britain continued its policy of countering Jewish immigration, fearing damage to its vast but unstable empire in the Middle East. At that time, it ruled over oil-rich regions such as Kuwait , the United Arab Emirates , Oman, and Bahrain . In addition, it controlled Transjordan and Yemen , a series of treaties it was associated with Iraq (where the oil industry belonged to a British company) and with Egypt , where Britain controlled the Suez Canal .

Given the clandestine Jewish war of Palestine against British occupation, the situation of refugees became critical, leading to a conflict between the politicians of Great Britain and the United States. In November 1945, the British government initiated the creation of a commission to investigate the situation ^[4] . The UK hoped that this commission would agree with its policy of ending Jewish immigration to Palestine, and thus the outcome of the Committee’s work would help it withstand US pressure. In this regard, it agreed to submit to the conclusions of the Committee, proposing as members of the British part of those who supported the aspirations of the Arabs of Palestine. ^{[ specify ]}

Members

The commission included 12 people, six on each side.

On the US side, the panel included Texas judge Joe 'Hutcheson - co-chair, Frank Aydelotte, diplomat William Phillips , Frank Buxton, future first US ambassador to Israel James MacDonald and lawyer Bartley Cram .

On the British side, the commission included Sir John Singleton, co-chairman, representative of the ruling Labor Party, Lord Robert Morrison , Sir Frederick Leggett, Wilfrid Crick, lawyer Reginald Manningham-Buller writer and Labor Richard Crossman .

Investigation

Initially, committee members visited Washington, DC, and London to determine their future work. The committee's work continued in Austria , and included visits to the camps of displaced survivors after the Holocaust.

According to the commission, 98% of the surviving Jews named Palestine as the place where they would prefer to leave Europe: “in Poland , Hungary and Romania , the main desire of refugees is to go to where there is a chance to start a new life , at least some happiness and living in peace and security . ”

Similar data were obtained in Germany , where of the 500 thousand Jews in 1933 , after the war ended, only about 20 000 remained - the preferred goal of most surviving Jews was Palestine.

In Czechoslovakia , especially in Bohemia and Moravia , and in Austria, the situation regarding the restoration of the Jewish population was more encouraging. However, the vast majority of Jewish refugees believed that Palestine was the only place for a new post-war life. ^[5]

After visiting Cairo , where meetings were organized with representatives of the Arab point of view, committee members visited Palestine, where they met with representatives of the British administration, Arab, Jewish and other communities.

The final stage of the work of the committee took place in Switzerland , and culminated in the development of its recommendations.

Recommendations

In April 1946, the Committee published its recommendations ^[6] .

Recommendation No. 1.

We must report that, in accordance with the information we have received, not a single country, except Palestine, has any hope of substantial assistance in finding a new home for Jews who want or are forced to leave Europe.
But Palestine alone cannot provide immigration for (all) Jewish victims of Nazi and fascist persecution; this responsibility to refugees should be shared by the whole world.
Therefore, we recommend that our governments, together with other countries, try to immediately find new opportunities for all such “displaced people”, regardless of their views or nationality, as their ties with former communities were hopelessly broken. Although emigration will solve the problems of some of the victims of the persecution, the vast majority, including a significant number of Jews, will continue to live in Europe. In this regard, we recommend that our governments make the necessary efforts to ensure such an opportunity that is fully consistent with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations , calling for "universal respect and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of gender, language, religion ... ".

Recommendation No. 2.

We recommend that
(a) 100,000 Jewish refugees who were victims of Nazi and fascist persecution were immediately allowed to enter Palestine;
(b) most of these refugees received permission to enter as early as 1946 so that their actual immigration would take place as soon as possible.

Recommendation No. 3.

In connection with the mutually exclusive requirements of Jews and Arabs on Palestine, we consider it necessary to declare compliance with the following principles:

1. In Palestine, there should not be any dominance of one community (Jewish or Arab) over another.
   
2. Future Palestine should not be exclusively a Jewish or Arab state.
   
3. Any future form of government should be given international guarantees of the full protection and observance of the interests of the Christian world and Muslim and Jewish faiths in the Holy Land .
   

Thus, Palestine should ultimately become a state protecting the equal rights and interests of Muslims, Jews and Christians, both the community and its inhabitants, and its system of government must comply with the three main principles formulated above.

The following seven out of ten recommendations suggested:

• to continue the existing mandatory form of government of Palestine under the care of the United Nations until the level of existing hostility between the Arab and Jewish communities is reduced, since the formation of one or two states in the current situation would lead to civil war;
• to take the necessary measures to ensure the economic, educational (including the introduction of compulsory education within an appropriate time) and the political progress of the Arab community to the level of the Jewish community, in order to bridge the existing gap between them;
• continue Jewish immigration to Palestine “under suitable conditions” and without prejudice to other parts of the population;
• repeal the Instructions on the transfer of land, adopted in 1940 during the implementation of the White Book (1939) and practically prohibiting the transfer of land to Jews, replacing it with instructions based on the policy of freedom to sell, rent or use land, regardless of nationality, and providing protection of interests of small land owners and tenants;
• the inclusion in the scope of Palestine of potential large-scale agricultural and industrial projects not only of the Jewish Agency , but also of neighboring Arab states.
• in the event the Commission Report is adopted, resolutely suppress violent ( terrorist or military) attempts to interfere with its implementation, no matter which side they are taken.

Immediately after the publication of the Committee's report, its implementation was in jeopardy. The British Labor Party expressed dissatisfaction with the statement by US President Harry Truman , who issued a statement in support of the immigration of 100,000 Jewish refugees to Palestine, but refused, according to the British, to recognize other aspects of the report. The British government asked the United States to help implement the Committee's recommendations, but according to the US military, to help the British government maintain order in the event of an Arab uprising, it would have required 300,000 US troops to be sent to Palestine. Moreover, the likelihood of such an uprising in the event of the immediate reception of 100,000 refugees was considered very high. ^[7]

To establish ways to implement the recommendations of the Committee, a new committee was created under the leadership of Morrison - Grady ^[8] . Members of the new committee did not visit Palestine, and his report, published July 25, 1946, was rejected by both Arab and Jewish leaders. Some of his proposals were contrary to the recommendations of the previous Anglo-American committee. ^{[9] [10]}

Since October 1946, a quota of immigration of 1,500 Jews per month was introduced. Half of them were Jews who were in Cyprus in internment camps for illegal immigrants in Palestine . Such a decision was made to indicate that the recommendations of the Committee were binding and reduce pressure from Palestinian Jews. According to some sources, the additional reason for the renewal of Jewish entry permits to Palestine was the fear that their growing number in Cyprus would destabilize British rule on the island. ^{[ specify ]}

• Anglo-American Committee of inquiry text . Avalon Project Date of treatment August 26, 2013. Archived on September 14, 2013.
• Immigration into Palestine - Statement by President Truman . Yale University (October 4, 1946). Date of treatment August 26, 2013. Archived on September 14, 2013.

• Hugh Schonfield. What and Whose is Palestine (The Mondcivitan Writings) // An Historical Survey of the Palestine Problem . Submitted to the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiryby an impartial Committee of the Service-Nation Movement . Herbert Joseph Limited (1946). Date of treatment February 15, 2013. Archived February 17, 2013.
• Amikam Nachmani. Great Power Discord in Palestine: The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry into the Problems of European Jewry and Palestine 1945-46 . - Taylor & Francis, 1987 .-- 296 p. - ISBN 0714632988 , 9780714632988.
• Shai M. Tamari. Conflict over Palestine: Zionism & the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, 1945-1947 (English) 1–70. The Center for Global Initiatives (formerly known as UCIS) at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (No. 11: Spring 2008). Date of treatment February 15, 2013. Archived February 17, 2013.