Arieh Kochavi, “The Struggle Against Jewish Immigration to Palestine”

Arieh J. Kochavi, “The Struggle Against Jewish Immigration to Palestine,” Middle Eastern Studies (July 1998), © Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., 1998.

Britain’s policy regarding Palestine from 1939 before World War II through the end of the Mandate in 1948 was biased toward obtaining Arab approval. A central issue was Jewish immigration, which Arab leaders opposed and which was limited by the White Paper of 1939 to a total of 75,000 Jews over five years. Any additional numbers required Arab approval. The British military aimed to stop the resulting Zionist efforts to bring in Jews illegally through an effort known as Aliyah Bet. The British deported more than 50,000 illegal Jewish immigrants to detention camps in Cyprus and Germany, and this British effort probably affected Arab responses to Jewish immigration.