Churchill, Palestine and Zionism, 1904-1922 - Douglas J. Feith

246 DOUGLAS J. FEITH
Storrs [British governor of Jerusalem] would press for his appointment purely on
the grounds of hostility to Zionism .
. . . [S]ooner or later his appointment will be bitterly regretted by us. I spoke
to Churchill about it today, but he did not seem to be much interested and in any
case said he could do nothing about it.95
(Haj Amin over the coming decades instigated a series of anti-Jewish and
anti-British riots and murders and terrorized his Arab opponents. During
the Second World War, having engineered the pro-Nazi coup in Iraq in
1941, which Britain suppressed, he fled to Berlin and aided Hitler's efforts
against the Allies and the Jews.)
In early May, soon after Churchill departed Palestine, several days of
fatal attacks on Jews by Arabs began in Jaffa. Samuel promptly sought
to placate the Arabs. He suspended Jewish immigration into Palestine,
explaining to Churchill that the Arab rioters were distressed by the
two hundred Jewish Bolshevik immigrants who had recently arrived,
though he also noted that there was some Arab opposition to any Jewish
immigration, "no matter what might be its character, on grounds of principle.,,96
Samuel also proposed immediate establishment of "representative
institutions," which Arab leaders had been demanding so that the
current Arab majority could block Jewish immigration. Churchill ratified
Samuel's immigration ban, though his reply cable observed: "The present
agitation is doubtless engineered in the hope of frightening us out of
our Zionist policy .... We must firmly maintain law and order and make
concessions on their merits and not under duress.,,97 On 23 May, General
Congreve advised Churchill: "[I]f we are to continue our Zionist policy
you must be prepared to pay for British troops to the full 5,000 effectives
for a long time to come, or else risk a general Jew baiting and killing ... and
even with the 5,000 I think we take a risk in the event of an organised
attack.,,98
Churchill understood that "representative institutions" was a slogan
connoting the end of Jewish immigration. 99 (Haj Amin over the coming decades instigated a series of anti-Jewish and
anti-British riots and murders and terrorized his Arab opponents. During
the Second World War, having engineered the pro-Nazi coup in Iraq in
1941, which Britain suppressed, he fled to Berlin and aided Hitler's efforts
against the Allies and the Jews.)
In early May, soon after Churchill departed Palestine, several days of
fatal attacks on Jews by Arabs began in Jaffa. Samuel promptly sought
to placate the Arabs. He suspended Jewish immigration into Palestine,
explaining to Churchill that the Arab rioters were distressed by the
two hundred Jewish Bolshevik immigrants who had recently arrived,
though he also noted that there was some Arab opposition to any Jewish
immigration, "no matter what might be its character, on grounds of principle.,,96
Samuel also proposed immediate establishment of "representative
institutions," which Arab leaders had been demanding so that the
current Arab majority could block Jewish immigration. Churchill ratified
Samuel's immigration ban, though his reply cable observed: "The present
agitation is doubtless engineered in the hope of frightening us out of
our Zionist policy .... We must firmly maintain law and order and make
concessions on their merits and not under duress.,,97 On 23 May, General
Congreve advised Churchill: "[I]f we are to continue our Zionist policy
you must be prepared to pay for British troops to the full 5,000 effectives
for a long time to come, or else risk a general Jew baiting and killing ... and
even with the 5,000 I think we take a risk in the event of an organised
attack.,,98
Churchill understood that "representative institutions" was a slogan
connoting the end of Jewish immigration. He advised Samuel not to use
it, but tried to mollify the high commissioner by saying he would not
99 He advised Samuel not to use
it, but tried to mollify the high commissioner by saying he would not
95 Meinertzhagen, Middle East Diary, 97-8 (April 27, 1921, entry).
96 WSC IV 585-6.
97 Churchill to Samuel, telegram, May 14, 1921, in WSC IV C 1466-7.
98 WSC IV C 1473.
99 Regarding a report by Churchill on Palestine, the May 31, 1921, cabinet minutes state
that "development of representative institutions ... was at present suspended owing to
the fact that any elected body would undoubtedly prohibit further immigration of Jews."
WSC IV C 1484.