(ZIONISM)

The first item was issued by the Colonial Secretary, Lord Passfield (Sidney Webb), in the wake of the riots of 1929 and the findings of the Shaw Commission. A central theme of this White Paper, was the argument that under the terms of the Mandate and the Balfour Declaration, "a double undertaking is involved, to the Jewish people on the one hand and to the non-Jewish population on the other." It rejected the view that the passages regarding the Jewish National Home were the principal feature of the Mandate and recommended the restriction of Jewish migration to Palestine and restrictions on the purchase of land by Jews. The White Paper further whittled down the intent of the Balfour Declaration and foreshadowed fresh limitations on Jewish immigration and settlement in Palestine. It was received unfavorably by public opinion in Great Britain and, understandably met with protest from supporters of a Jewish National Homeland who condemned it soundly. Dr. Chaim Weizmann resigned his presidency of the Jewish Agency in protest, declaring that the White Paper went far toward "denying the rights and sterilizing the hopes of the Jewish people in regard to the National Home." See EJ, IX, cols. 343-4" The second pamphlet also contained conclusions detrimental to Jewish interests. It states "It is the duty of the Administration under the Mandate to ensure that the position of the Arabs is not prejudiced by Jewish immigration" (p. 142). Also noted are that the terms on which the Jewish National Fund purchases and leases land "are objectionable and should be radically altered" (ibid)