Palestine up until 1939 By Hugh, Imogen and Leann

Introduction Non-existent in modern society – currently known as Israel Palestinians lived in Palestine for the past 2000 years under different rulers Descendants of the Canaanites and the Edomites (1517 – Ottoman Empire) Mainly argiculture Many religions – attracted pilgrims and welcomed them Harmony – multi-cultural, multi-confessional 19 th century – pan-Arab nationalism movement began to take shape People began to feel hope for an Arab independent state. National identity for the Arabs Arabs unhappy with the peace treaties 1920 – First Arab group came together to go against Zionism

Jewish Home in Palestine First group to propose idea – Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) after being persecuted First wave of immigrants called the First Aliyah By end of 19 th century – a number of small, Jewish settlements totaling an estimated 4,500 inhabitants Early settlements maintained peaceful relations with locals and went largely unnoticed 1896 – Theodor Herzl wrote The Jewish State which began Zionist movement Jewish people should have a national home to avoid persecution as a minority in other nations 1917 – UK back Jewish national home through Balfour Declaration

Jewish Home Financial backing from National Jewish Fund to purchase Palestinian land Goal for Jews to outnumber Palestinians Land purchased not to be resold to non-Jews Employers encouraged not to employ Palestinians to force them out of area Ideological justification – Jewish Biblical history showed that Jews had lived in Palestine previously Moral justification – show that land belonged to no one Reject Palestinian nationhood “A land without people for a people without land.”

Jewish Organization Establish common history, common language, and common religion as cornerstone for future Jewish nation 1906 – First Jewish political parties, Hebrew newspapers, and collective farms established 1909 – Jewish militia called Hashomer established 1922 – League of Nations ratified Palestinian mandate Article 4 - “an appropriate Jewish Agency would advise and co- operate with the administration for the purpose of establishing the Jewish National Home”

Hostilities Between Jews and Palestinians Local Palestinians were Arabs Palestinians angered at Jewish buy up of land and refusal to employ locals Anger turned to violence which caused Jewish retaliation resulting in British intervention British arrested perpetrators which made them unpopular with the Palestinians British set up a number of commissions to find cause of violence Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary group, was established to fight the Palestinians and protect Jewish farmers

Hostilities UK government published “White Paper” which said that Britain did "not contemplate that Palestine as a whole should be converted into a Jewish National Home, but that such a home should be founded in Palestine” Recommendations made such as controlling the amount of land purchased by Jews Recommendations caused riots and move from militia to underground army

Social/Economic Development From 1930 to 1935 – Jewish population doubled From 1931 to 1935, Tel Aviv expanded from 46,000 to 135,000 By end of 1930s – Jews made up 1/3 of people in Palestine Many immigrants were highly skilled but fleeing from anti- Semitic persecution Brought skills and wealth to Palestinian economy Haifa, the terminus of the oil pipelines linking Mosul to the Mediterranean became major industrial center

Uneven Economic Growth Palestinian farmers could not compete with imported goods and so were forced to sell land and leave to other nations Between 1922 and 1947 Annual growth of Jewish sector was 13.2% while Palestinian annual growth was 6.5% Investment in Jewish establishments were at 12.1 million pounds while in Palestinian establishments they were at 2 million pounds By 1936 – average Jewish worker made 2.6 times more than the average Palestinian worker Economic difference caused Palestinian resentment of Jews

Social/Cultural Growth 1919 – Centralized Hebrew school system 1925 – Two Hebrew universities 1932 – Jewish literacy rate at 86% while Palestinian literacy rate at 22%

Great Arab Revolt of Triggered by murders of two Jews – retaliation by murder of two Palestinians Mob attacks on communities and guerilla attacks on British installations Arab Higher Committee formed and demands made Stop Jewish immigration End transferal of land to Jewish owners Representative government based on democratic rules Palestinians became more organized with better tactics and long term objectives Destruction of crops, pipelines, and roads

Revolt Irgun formed – in response to Palestinian revolt “The national military organization in the land of Israel” Ideology demonstrates the two communities’ inability to harmonize British officials later became targets Revolt caused deaths of 101 Britons, 463 Jews, and approximately 5000 Palestinians

British White Paper of 1939 Much retribution from the British caused many arrests, imprisonments, executions, causing collapse of Arab national movement Arab-Palestinian national identity formed after unity from Palestinians Britain convinced of existence of Palestinian national response White Paper challenged the idea of a ‘Jewish state’ White Paper proposed: Limit of 15,000 Jews a year for 5 years Acceptance of 25,000 refugees Only specific zones of land could be handed to Jews Palestine would be settled with independence within ten years Zionists disagreed with British promise, prompting them to look elsewhere for support