P F Tinmore
Diamond Member
- Dec 6, 2009
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"In May 1939, the British published a White Paper that marked the end of its commitment to the Jews under the Balfour Declaration. It provided for the establishment of a Palestinian (Arab) state within ten years and the appointment of Palestinian ministers to begin taking over the government as soon as "peace and order" were restored to Palestine; 75,000 Jews would be allowed into Palestine over the next five years, after which all immigration would be subject to Arab consent; all further land sales would be severely restricted. The 1939 White Paper met a mixed Arab reception and was rejected by the AHC. The Jewish Agency rejected it emphatically, branding it as a total repudiation of Balfour and Mandate obligations. In September 1939, at the outset of World War II, Ben-Gurion, then chairman of the Jewish Agency, declared: "We shall fight the war against Hitler as if there were no White Paper, and we shall fight the White Paper as if there were no war."
Ben-Gurion's statement of 1939 set the tone for Jewish Agency policy and operations during World War II. The Jewish Agency represented the World Zionist Organization as its executive body, encouraged and organized immigration of Jews into Palestine. Haganah, or Irgun HaHaganah (defense), was the Jewish defense organization formed in 1919-20 by volunteers in early Jewish communities as home guards for protection against hostile bands. It became the military arm of the Jewish Agency and went underground during the British Palestine Mandate period (1922-48) when it was declared illegal. The Irgun, or Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization), was established in 1937 as an underground Jewish extremist organization, also known as Etzel, derived from the pronounced initials of its Hebrew name. A more extreme group, known as the Stern Gang (or Lehi, the Lohamei Herut Yisrael, literally, Fighters for Israel's Freedom), broke away from it in 1939. Both groups were especially active during and after World War II against the British authorities in Palestine. Both maintained several thousand armed men until all Israeli forces were integrated in June 1948.
Palestine in World War II
Ben-Gurion's statement of 1939 set the tone for Jewish Agency policy and operations during World War II. The Jewish Agency represented the World Zionist Organization as its executive body, encouraged and organized immigration of Jews into Palestine. Haganah, or Irgun HaHaganah (defense), was the Jewish defense organization formed in 1919-20 by volunteers in early Jewish communities as home guards for protection against hostile bands. It became the military arm of the Jewish Agency and went underground during the British Palestine Mandate period (1922-48) when it was declared illegal. The Irgun, or Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization), was established in 1937 as an underground Jewish extremist organization, also known as Etzel, derived from the pronounced initials of its Hebrew name. A more extreme group, known as the Stern Gang (or Lehi, the Lohamei Herut Yisrael, literally, Fighters for Israel's Freedom), broke away from it in 1939. Both groups were especially active during and after World War II against the British authorities in Palestine. Both maintained several thousand armed men until all Israeli forces were integrated in June 1948.
Palestine in World War II