THE FIRST OFFICIAL REPLY TO THE 1930 PALESTINE WHITE PAPER

STEIN, Leonard. The Palestine White Paper of October, 1930. Memorandum. London: Jewish Agency for Palestine, 1930. Slim octavo, original printed teal paper wrappers; pp. 89. $2500.

First edition of the first official reply to the British Government's Palestine White Paper of 1930, issued by Leonard Stein on behalf of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, strenuously criticizing the White Paper for ignoring the language and intention of the Mandate and for intentionally disadvantaging the Jewish community.

"The Jewish reply to the White Paper which was issued by the British government on Oct. 20th, and which aroused world-wide criticism, is contained in a memorandum which has been submitted to the British government. The memorandum, which constitutes the first official Jewish reply to the White Paper, has been prepared under the auspices of the Jewish Agency by Leonard Stein, well known expert on Palestinian and Zionist affairs and former political secretary of the World Zionist Executive. The document, which characterizes the White Paper as 'unfortunate in its contents and not less unfortunate in its tone and outlook,' criticizes the White Paper" (contemporary report, Jewish Telegraphic Agency). In his reply, Stein attacks the alleged false misrepresentations of the Mandate, citing the original language from Lord Balfour, Lloyd George, General Smuts and Lord Robert Cecil, which stated that the primary purpose of the Mandate was the establishment of a Jewish National Home. Instead, Stein argues, the authors of the White Paper approached the issue of a Jewish homeland grudgingly and with no real intention of establishing the aforementioned National Home. He also criticized the introduction of allegations and insinuations against the Jews, apparently intended to spark Arab vitriol. Stein further asserts that the White Paper intentionally misinterpreted the findings of a report by Sir John Hope Simpson in order to disadvantage the claims of the Jewish community. The result, according to Stein, was a paper that fails to meet the obligations of the British Government in its original promise to help provide and secure a Jewish homeland. The controversy over the 1930 White Paper continued for years, intensifying as Europe became increasingly unsafe for Jews. In 1939, after the outbreak of war, the British Government issued a new White Paper rejecting a proposed plan for partition and instead setting strict immigration limits for five years (with the Arab community's consent required thereafter) as well as stringent regulations regarding Jewish land acquisition. The Jewish Agency for Palestine again objected, but to no avail. Another route for Jews trying to escape the Holocaust was effectively cut off. Even after news of the extermination of the Jews became widespread knowledge, immigration limits were kept in place. In response to the revelation of mass murder, the British government permitted Jewish children and refugees who reached neutral countries to use some of the remaining 34,000 immigration certificates; however, thousands remained unused at the end of the war. British policies restricting Zionism remained in place in the years that followed, despite the desperate desire of many Jewish survivors to reach Palestine (common second choices of relocation after Israel were "death" and "Auschwitz"). The ongoing tension between the British government and the Jewish community resulted in catastrophes like the Exodus. Israel was finally granted statehood by the UN in 1947; the U.K. abstained from the vote.

Wrappers with a bit of expert paper restoration. A near-fine copy.