Population increase 5 th aliyah (immigration wave)  Jews = doubling of Yishuv Arab population increase  more inhabitants in 1936 than in 1922

Land purchase o Jewish National Fund purchased land and leased it exclusively to Jews o JNF assisted immigrants to settle on the land o By % of cultivable land Jewish-owned o Arab tenant farmers evicted o British tax policies problematic for small proprietors  indebted  forced to sell o Arab large landholders moneylenders  buyers of smaller farms  “Increased impoverishment and marginalization of the Palestinian Arab peasantry”

Wailing Wall Disturbances of 1929 Conflicting claims to western wall of Haram al- Sharif or the Temple of Herod Wall under Muslim jurisdiction, Jews had access to the wall 1928; Jewish activists provoked the mufti to launch a campaign against the Zionist threat to the holy places Violent confrontations in 1929  quelled by the British

Causes? Religion Shaw commission(1929): frustrated landless peasants; discontent and fear among the Arabs Hope-Simpson Commission  Passfield White Paper (1930) Recommendations: – Britain’s dual obligation -> land needed for Arab peasants – Restrictions on Jewish immigration should be introduced The British PM “postponed” the implementation of the White Paper in 1931 in the “Black Letter “ from British PM to Weizmann – the result of Zionist and Conservative pressure

From bad to worse Depression + 5 th aliyah = unemployment Moderate leadership of Arab Community criticized Istiqlal established; anti-British, pro-Arab Arab-Jewish confrontations spring ‘36  general strike among Arabs  violence throughout the summer – Demands: Restrictions on immigration, land sales and establishment of democratic government April: Arab Higher Committee established; Palestinian factions united Riots crushed by the British in October 1936 (Cleveland) Strike called off as a result of appeals from Arab governments – significant involvement (Yapp)

Peel Commission Partition of Palestine recommended Neither of the parties accepted – Zionists not satisfied with size of territory allocated – Arab Higher Committee saw partition as violation of rights of the Arabs Arab violent protests started up again in July of 1937; spontaneous and locally led, not planned or nationally organized

Arab leadership paralyzed British official murdered in October ‘37  British retaliation: – Arab Higher Committee dissolved – Members of Committee arrested and deported – Mufti escaped to Damascus; limited influence on Palestinian Arabs Arab rebel bands continued attacks on infrastructure, British administration and Jewish property and settlers  by summer ‘38 rebels controlled much of countryside and several major towns

What was the Arab Revolt? Anti-British Anti-Zionist But also a peasant social revolution; Arab landowners/notables also a target Yapp: factional disputes within villages, peasants against landlords, Muslim against Jew, Christian and Druze and political rivalries…Economic misery does not seem to have been a major factor

British reaction troops poured into Palestine Collective punishments Order restored in March 1939 Results: – Arabs killed – Jews killed – 600 British killed – Economy of Palestine in chaos – Arab leaders in exile or under arrest

White Paper of 1939 Reassessment of British policy in Palestine Increased Arab involvement in Palestine + British needed oil & airbases from Arab countries = British placated Arabs by issuing new policy on Palestine: – Palestine should not become a Jewish state – Jewish immigration should be limited in number and time – Land transfer to Jews restricted – Independence in ten years Jewish outrage and Arab satisfaction Process halted due to outbreak of WWII

WWII - world Holocaust  Jewish homeland in Palestine could “ for horrors and suffering in Europe Idea supported by American Jews; expressed in the Biltmore Program of 1942 US became the center for international Zionist activity Biltmore Program supported by President Truman Growing power of Zionist lobby within the Democratic Party

WWII - Palestine Restrictions on Arab political activity The exiled Arab leaders were not allowed to return Yishuv: “We shall fight with GB in this war as if there was no White Paper, and we shall fight the White Paper as if there was no war.” Thousands of Jewish volunteers fought with/assisted GB  combat experience & acquisition of weapons British attempted restriction on immigration  Jewish determination to get rid of British control

Phase One Yishuv’s campaign of sabotage against the British administration  the British would want to leave Palestine – The Irgun (military arm of the revisionists) – Jewish Agency and Haganah  Britain referred the Palestine matter to the UN UNSCOP (UN Special Committee on Palestine) – recommended termination of mandate and independence – Majority report recommended partition of Palestine – Zionist leaders accepted, Arab leaders rejected – General Assembly approved under pressure and lobbying from pro-Zionist US politicians

Who represented the Arab Palestinians? No effective leadership since 1936 Arab League represented the Palestinian Arab case – Domestic unrest in several Arab countries – Ruling elite adopted uncompromising stance in order to gain domestic support – Promised military support to the Palestinian Arabs

Civil War – phase two Civil War between the Arab and Jewish communities Sept ’47 – May ’48 – Britain declared withdrawal  chaos – Jewish forces attempted to secure the territory allotted to them in the UN partition plan  Arab resistance – Arab bands no match for Haganah forces  Jewish control over main centers by spring ‘48 – Palestinians fled – Britain did nothing except prepare its departure No transfer of power to anyone in Palestine – there was no government! The state of Israel declared May 15, 1948

Phase 3: 1948 Arab-Israeli war Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan and Iraq went to war against Israel on May 15, 1948 Alliance characterized by internal political rivalry and lack of coordination on the battlefield Arab forces outnumbered and poorly prepared, equipped and led Outcome of the war: – Arab forces thoroughly defeated – Israeli territory enlarged – Collapse of UN proposal for a Palestinian Arab state; territory divided between Israel, Egypt and Transjordan – More than Palestinians had become refugees