White Paper of

The White Paper of 1939 was a policy issued by the British government in which the idea of partitioning the British Mandate of Palestine was abandoned in favour of Jews and Arabs sharing one government.

In January 1938, the Woodhead Commission was established to explore ways to implement the recommendations made by the Peel Commission. Its report was published on November 9, 1938 (the same day as the Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany). The idea of partition was upheld, but the proposed Jewish state was to be substantially smaller, receiving only the coastal plain.

In February 1939, the St. James Conference (also known as the Round Table Conference of 1939) convened in London, but the Arab delegation refused to formally meet with its Jewish counterpart or to recognize them. The Conference ended on March 17 without making any progress.

The White Paper, unilaterally concieved by Britain, was published on May 17. It called for the creation of a unified Palestinian State. Even though the White Paper stated that it was committed to the Balfour Declaration of 1917, it imposed very substantial limits to both Jewish immigration and ability to purchase land. In terms of the status quo, it was a significant defeat for the Jewish side who viewed this as a great betrayal of British promises for a Jewish National Homeland in Palestine.

Due to impending World War II and the opposition from all sides, the plan was dropped.

References

British White Paper of 1939 (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/brwh1939.htm) at Yale University

White Paper of

References

See also