Born in 1882, Sir Harold MacMichael begins his career as a British Civil Servant in Sudan. After four years serving as Governor of Tanganyika, he is appointed as the fifth British High Commissioner to Palestine. MacMichael arrives in Palestine amid a shift in British policy, which changes from supporting Zionist aspirations to blocking them as a result of untenable inter-communal violence. As part of that shift, MacMichael oversees the implementation of the 1939 White Paper, which greatly restricts Jewish immigration and land purchases in Palestine. In 1942, MacMichael refuses to allow the nearly 800 refugees aboard the SS Struma for entry into the Land of Israel. When the ship sinks in the Black Sea, presumably by a Russian submarine, MacMichael is held responsible for the nearly 800 deaths by many in the Jewish community. He continues to serve as High Commissioner until August 1944.
March 3, 1939
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