White Paper of 1939

White Paper of 1939
1939 White Paper cmd 6019
Created	May 1939
Ratified	23 May 1939
Purpose	Statement of British policy in Mandatory Palestine

The White Paper of 1939 was a policy paper issued by the British government under Neville Chamberlain in response to the 1936–39 Arab Revolt, and approved by the House of Commons on 23 May 1939. Although never formally approved, it acted as the governing policy for Mandatory Palestine between 1939 and 1945.

The policy, first drafted in March 1939, was prepared by the British government unilaterally as a result of the failure of the Arab-Zionist London Conference. The paper called for the establishment of a Jewish national home in an independent Palestinian state within 10 years, rejecting the idea of the creation of a Jewish state and the idea of partitioning Palestine. It also limited Jewish immigration to 75,000 for 5 years, and ruled that further immigration was to be determined by the Arab majority (section II). Restrictions were put on the rights of Jews to buy land from Arabs (section III). Further, it promised that only with Palestinian support would Britain allow a Jewish state. This greatly upset Zionists because of the increasing persecution of Jews in Europe at the onset of World War II, particularly in Germany. (See Persecution of Jews)

The policy was accepted by Amin al-Husseini of the Arab Higher Committee. Zionist groups in Palestine immediately rejected the White Paper. There was a campaign of attacks on government property and Arab civilians, which lasted for several months. On 18 May a Jewish general strike was called. Although it acted as the de facto policy of the government until 1945, its key provisions were ultimately never to be implemented, initially because of Churchill's opposition following the change in government, and later because of preoccupation with World War II.

During World War I, the British had made two promises regarding territory in the Middle East. Britain had promised the Hashemite governors of Arabia, through Lawrence of Arabia and the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence, independence for a united Arab country covering Syria in exchange for their supporting the British against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Caliphate had declared a military jihad in support of the Germans and it was hoped that an alliance with the Arabs would quell the chances of a general Muslim uprising in British-held territories in Africa, India, and the Far East. Great Britain had also negotiated the Sykes-Picot Agreement, agreeing to partition the Middle East between Britain and France.