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Unlock This Course'The Middle East: Conflict, Crisis and Change, 1917-2012' is one of the eight Paper 2 Section B breadth studies in change. Students study only one of them, so only follow this one if it is one of your chosen options.
For about 400 years Palestine had been part of the Ottoman Empire, which was ruled from Constantinople (now Istanbul). Most people living there were Arab Muslims. There were also Arab Christians and a smaller Jewish community, and the holy city of Jerusalem was important to all three faiths.
Key terms:
In the First World War the Ottomans fought on Germany's side against Britain. Britain made promises to different groups, and they did not fit together:
British troops took Jerusalem in December 1917. Ottoman rule in Palestine was over, and Britain was left to deal with these promises.
On 2 November 1917 the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, wrote a letter to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the Jewish community in Britain. It became known as the Balfour Declaration. The key line said that the British government viewed 'with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people'. It then added that nothing should be done to harm 'the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine'.
Britain hoped Jewish support in countries such as the USA and Russia would help the war effort. Some British leaders were sympathetic to Zionism. Palestine was also close to the Suez Canal, Britain's route to India, so a friendly presence there suited Britain.
The phrase 'national home' was not clearly explained. Most people in Palestine were Arabs, yet the letter did not call them Arabs and spoke only of 'non-Jewish communities'. Arabs felt that their own promise had been ignored.
After the war the League of Nations gave Britain a Mandate to govern Palestine. It was agreed in 1920, approved by the League in 1922 and began in 1923. The Mandate included the wording of the Balfour Declaration. Britain was meant to help the country towards self-government, but it had promised support to both sides. The first High Commissioner, who ran Palestine for Britain, was Sir Herbert Samuel. Britain also made the land east of the River Jordan a separate territory, Transjordan.
The Mandate meant that Britain, not local people, decided who could enter Palestine. That is why immigration became such a key issue.
Jewish people came to Palestine in several waves. Some came because of Zionism, some to escape poverty and persecution, especially in Poland and Russia. In the early 1920s Jews were roughly one in ten of the population. Britain set limits on numbers, based on how many newcomers the country's economy could support.
In January 1933 Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. His Nazi government persecuted Jewish people, taking away their rights and jobs. Many Jews tried to leave Germany, but few countries would take large numbers. Palestine became a main place of safety. In 1935 alone more than 60,000 Jews arrived legally. By 1939 there were about 450,000 Jews in Palestine, around 30% of the population.
Jewish settlers bought land and built farms and towns, such as Tel Aviv, and set up their own schools, a trade union and a defence force. Many Arab farmers, whose families had worked the land for generations, lost their homes when land was sold. Arabs feared they would become a minority in their own country and lose control of Palestine's future. This fear is the root of the tension you will meet in the next lesson, Clashes in Palestine and the Peel Commission.
Palestine changed from an Ottoman province to a British Mandate, and the population balance shifted sharply. But some things stayed the same: two peoples with strong links to the land, and an outside power deciding its future. These are key themes of this whole option: international involvement and disputed territorial claims.
Explain TWO causes of the growth in Jewish immigration to Palestine between 1933 and 1939. [8 marks]
Remember: one cause on its own cannot score more than half marks, so write two paragraphs, one per cause.
One cause was the rise of the Nazis. After Hitler became Chancellor in January 1933, Jewish people in Germany lost their jobs and rights. Many wanted to leave, but few countries would accept large numbers. Palestine, unlike most countries, still allowed Jewish immigration within British limits, so it became a main place of safety, and in 1935 more than 60,000 Jews arrived there. The persecution therefore pushed people out of Germany and towards Palestine.
A second cause was that the Balfour Declaration and the Mandate had already made Palestine a possible home. The Declaration of 1917 supported a Jewish 'national home' and the Mandate included it, so a legal route for immigration existed. Jewish settlers had already built farms, towns such as Tel Aviv and organisations that could welcome newcomers. This meant Palestine was ready to take large numbers, so immigration could rise quickly once people needed to flee.
What lifts this to the top level: each cause is backed by precise facts and the answer shows exactly how the cause led to the rise in immigration.
For 'Explain two causes', begin each paragraph with the cause, add a date, name or figure, then finish by linking back to the outcome in the question, such as 'so immigration rose'.