The 1943 ‘Reconstruction Plan’ for Mandatory Palestine: The Controversy within the Jewish Community

Abstract

In 1943, the British Colonial Office initiated a far-reaching process of arrangements to prepare plans for detailed reconstruction in the territories subject to British control. Reconstruction as a concept, a tendency and an action plan was basically directed at building and constructing that which had been destroyed in the war, based on a plan thought out in advance. This article explores the struggle between the British plan for the reconstruction of Mandatory Palestine and the Jewish interpretation that the main aim of their steps is to implement the White Paper policy of May 1939. After six months of confrontation, the British intention to promote economic steps while presenting them as separate from the political tension over Palestine's political future and the Jewish-Arab confrontation proved to be a false assumption.

Notes

‘Planning Palestine's Future’, Palestine Post, 24 March 1943.

On Palestine, Britain and the Jews during the Second World War see, for example, Wasserstein, Britain and the Jews of Europe; Zweig, Britain and Palestine.

See, for example, Cohen, The British Cabinet; Cohen, Palestine, 160–71; Zweig, Britain and Palestine, 170–75. An exception is Hacohen, From Fantasy to Reality, 64–81, which addresses a few issues discussed in this article.

Louis, Imperialism at Bay, 251–58; Butler, ‘Reconstruction, Development and the Entrepreneurial State’, 29–55.

‘Notices’, The Palestine Gazette, 25 March 1943, 263.

‘Official Communique’, Davar, 23 March 1943; ‘Planning Palestine's Future: High Commissioner, in Broadcast, Outlines Reconstruction Programme’, Palestine Post, 24 March 1943.

Winston Churchill, ‘A Four Years’ Plan', 21 March 1943, in Eade, ed., Onwards to Victory, 33–45.

Carr, Conditions of Peace, 280.

See, for example, Bevin, Job to Be Done; Einzig, Can We Win the Peace?; Jordan, ed., Problems of Post-War Reconstruction.

Brooke, Labour's War, 171–72.

See, for example, Addison, Road to 1945, 164–89, 211–28; Calder, People's War, 524–50.

‘Planning Palestine's Future’, Palestine Post, 24 March 1943.

Horowitz, Palestinian Economy, 180–237; Gross and Metzer, ‘Palestine in World War II’, 59–82.

Letter, MacMichael to Stanley, 21 Jan. 1943, The National Archives, London (TNA), CO 852/506/22. See the remarks added to this letter in the file.

Letter, Macpherson (officer administering the Palestine government) to Stanley, 19 April 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/12. See the remarks added to this letter in the file.

Minutes of Assembly of Delegates, 24 March 1943, Central Zionist Archive, Jerusalem (CZA) J1/7220.

‘From Day to Day: The Government and the Future of the Country’, Ha'aretz, 25 March 1943.

R. G. C[asey], ‘War Cabinet: Palestine—Memorandum by the Minister of State’, 21 April 1943, in Cohen, The British Cabinet, 131.

Ibid, 128; Gelber, ‘British and Zionist Policies’, 342–4.

See, Alan Saunders, Palestine Police Inspector General, ‘Jewish Affairs: The Jews and Reconstruction’, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), 28 May 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Porat, Blue and the Yellow Stars, 56–87.

Letter, Sir Douglas Harris to Aryeh Shenkar, 28 April 1943, CZA S53/1874.

Harris, Post-War Reconstruction, 8.

Harris, Supplies in War-Time, 1.

Harris, Post-War Reconstruction, 10–11.

Peretz Berenshtein, ‘The Hour Questions: Construction or Reconstruction’, Ha'boker, 9 April 1943; Letter, Shenkar to Shmorak, 7 May 1943, CZA S8/856.

Minutes of Jewish Agency Executive, 9 May 1943, CZA.

Letter, Robert Scott, Deputy Chief Secretary, Jerusalem, to E. B. Boyd, Colonial Office, London, 2 June 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Saunders, ‘Jewish Affairs’, 28 May 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Minutes of Jewish Agency Executive with some participants to discuss the reconstruction plan, 16 May 1943, CZA.

Saunders, ‘Jewish Affairs’, 28 May 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Minutes of Jewish Agency Executive, 18 May 1943, CZA.

On Ben-Gurion's faint, see Teveth, Zeal of David, 111–12.

On the notes exchanged between Ben-Gurion and Shertok, see Sharett, Personal Diary, 184–6.

Minutes of Jewish Agency Executive, 9 May 1943, CZA.

See letter, Harold MacMichael to Oliver Stanly, 17 July 1943, PRO, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Teveth, Zeal of David, 112.

Letter, Auster, Hoofien, Sapir, Rosenblitt, Rokach and Shenkar to the Jewish Agency Executive, 23 May 1943, CZA S53/1786; letter, Hoofien to the Secretary of the Jewish Agency Executive, 28 May 1943, CZA S25/300.

Minutes of the limited Zionist Executive Committee, 11 July 1943, CZA.

Letter, MacMichael to Stanley, 17 July 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Ibid.

Minutes of the limited Zionist Executive Committee, 5 July 1943, 11 July 1943, CZA.

‘The Decisions of the Zionist Executive Committee on the Reconstruction’, Davar, 13 July 1943.

Ibid.

David Ben-Gurion lecture in a seminar to Jewish immigrants from Central Europe in Kfar Yedidya, 5 Nov. 1943, Ben-Gurion Archives, Sede Boqer (BGA), Department of Lectures and Articles.

See, Tzahor, Vision and Reckoning, 211–33.

‘Planning Palestine's Future’, Palestine Post, 24 March 1943.

Harris, Post-War Reconstruction, 14.

Minutes of Jewish Agency Executive, 18 July 1943, CZA.

Letter, Senator to Weizmann, 24 Aug. 1943, TNA, CO 733/443/24.

See, for example, Teveth, Zeal of David, 116–38.

Memo on Casey-Weizmann interview, 15 July 1943, Weizmann Archives (WA), Rehovot.

Minutes of the Political Committee of the Jewish Agency Executive in London, 8 July 1943, 9 July 1943, WA.

Letter, Robert Scott, Deputy Chief Secretary, Jerusalem, to E. B. Boyd, Colonial Office, London, 19 Aug. 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Minutes of Jewish Agency Executive, 25 July 1943, 12 Sept. 1943, 19 Sept. 1943, CZA; Minutes of the Vaad Leumi Executive, 12 July 1943, CZA J1/7256; Minutes of a special consultation on the Reconstruction Committee, 9 Aug. 1943, CZA S53/1786; Minutes of the Committee for examining Reconstruction matters, 22 Oct. 1943, 12 Nov. 1943, 10 Dec. 1943, 23 Jan. 1944, 2 Feb. 1944, CZA J1/3023.

Letter, Robert Scott, Deputy Chief Secretary, Jerusalem, to E. B. Boyd, Colonial Office, London, 19 Aug. 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Walter Elliot, ‘A Time for Greatness’, The Daily Mail, 9 July 1943; letter, Robert Scott, Deputy Chief Secretary, Jerusalem, to E. B. Boyd, Colonial Office, London, 29 July 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Douglas Harris, ‘Readers’ Letters: From the Commissioner For Reconstruction', Palestine Post, 21 July 1943; letter, Scott, Deputy Chief Secretary, Jerusalem, to Boyd, Colonial Office, London, 29 July 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14; Minutes of Assembly of Delegates, 24 March 1943, CZA J1/7220.

Douglas Harris, ‘Note of two interviews with Mr. Shenkar’, 19 Aug. 1943, 27 Aug. 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14; Letter, Shenkar to Ben-Gurion, 12 Oct. 1943, CZA S53/1786.

‘The Farmers’ Union Won't Collaborate with the Reconstruction', Ha'aretz, 30 July 1943.

Letter, Robert Scott, Deputy Chief Secretary, Jerusalem, to E. B. Boyd, Colonial Office, London, 6 Sept. 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Internal correspondence between the Colonial Office's functionaries, 6 Sept. 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/14.

Letter, MacMichael to Stanley, 7 July 1943, TNA, CO 733/449/12; letter, Secretary of the Colonies to MacMichael, 3 Dec. 1943, ibid.

Minutes of a countrywide meeting of Mapai branch representatives, 8 July 1943, BGA, Department of Lectures and Articles.

Ibid.