Faith & Fate
MIRACLE OF ISRAEL 1945 – 1948
LESSON 11 HOW BRITAIN OF 1939 CONTRADICTED BRITAIN OF 1917 AND THE BALFOUR DECLARATION
GOALS OF THE LESSON
- A. To show how and why Britain severely limited Jewish immigration to Palestine even after World War II and the Holocaust
- B. To demonstrate how British immigration policies in Palestine were illegal and contradicted its own declaration of 1917
View Video 2:43 min
SYNOPSIS OF FILM CLIP
Even though most of the Holocaust survivors wanted to go to Palestine, the British who controlled the country did not allow them to enter. They remained adamant in upholding the While Paper policy from 1939, which severely restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine to 15,000 a year and only then if the Arabs agreed. This contradicted the stated goal of England’s Balfour Declaration in 1917, in which they committed to facilitate a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This White Paper was illegal, based on the terms of the original Mandate given to Britain by the League of Nations, when they were allowed to rule the area as the basis of making possible a Jewish homeland. Shortly after receiving the Mandate, they gave away three quarters of Palestine to the Arabs in 1923 (in what became Jordan). Then, from 1939-1948, the British severely restricted Jews from entering the land promised to them. The British called survivors trying to enter Palestine “illegal” immigrants, when, in reality, it was their policies that were illegal.
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS
- 1. Demonstrate how the British White Paper of 1939 negated the Balfour Declaration, both psychologically and practically. How did this White Paper affect the Jewish people both during the Holocaust, as well as after World War II?
- 2. The League of Nations gave Britain the Mandate to rule Palestine in 1922. Describe the purpose of the Mandate and the role Great Britain was meant to play. How and why did Britain deviate from that role?
- 3. Explain the reasons that the British established their policy (through a series of White Papers) that greatly hampered the Jews who desired to make Aliyah to Palestine. Discuss the illegality of the British position.