Anglo American Palestine Commission of 1946 Richard Crossman

Anglo American Palestine Commission of 1946  
  12/8/18

This book is both as history and tour or Eretz Israel at the time. In reading this book one can see problems that we have in the present Middle East.  He was invited into the Committee in Oct 1945. Recommendations made in April 1946 and the book was published in August 1946.

 Richard Crossman 1907 till 1974 Studied in Oxford and became a lecturer in philosophy and was later MP. He had spent a year in Germany and later he realized that all the academics he had been associated with there were Jewish. During the war he worked in propaganda against the Nazis. Was appointed to this commission as he had never said anything about the Palestine issue which he knew nothing about.  Jews of Western Europe could go back home and put their lives together but not those of Eastern. Before the War, Zionism attracted a small middle class but this group after the war it became a real Jewish expression. On the 12 members of the commission one American was a committed Zionist.
In America Judge Louis Brandeis had been a Zionist supporter. Crossman got to know a lot of important people in the Jewish community like Steven Wise as well as Loudermilk and David Horowitz.
With Rommel attacking in Africa the White paper was "necessary" as Britain did not want to upset the Arabs during the war before America and Russia entered.
The one thing that was perplexing was taking Judaism as a religious minority in the world and giving them a national state. What it the status of Jews not in the national state. He predicted the kind of anti Israel antisemitism that we have become familiar with today.
In Cairo the consular officials were not the types very aware of what was going on in the country and the British army provided protection for them. They took a train from Cairo to Jerusalem where they met with the Governors officials. We find 2 ruling classes the British with the Arabs and the Jews on the other side.
Jehuda Magnes says that the university being called Hebrew university and not Palestine university is correct,  Ben Gurion says he disagrees with his Crossman's views on Aristotle. The editor of the Palestine Post tells him about censorship which he did not know.
He meets Weitzman at Rehovot who talks to him his peaceful negotiation with the British,. but the Yishuv (Jewish community) are more militant over the White Paper. In Naharia he finds Yekke (German immigrants) culture that has disappeared from Germany and they want a peaceful solution or binational state.  He finds that all Jewish kids are getting an education but the Arabs are waiting for the government to provide it and the next generation as being left illiterate. Arab upper class did not want the peasants to get an education.
He felt that the Haganah could defeat the Arabs easily. The British could not manage to tax the wealthy Arabs while the Jewish Agency which was a state within a state was being well run. The Arabs did not like that the Jews were better off. The British civil servant were not very capable but pro Arab.
He met Golda Meyerson (Meyer) the head of the Histadrut. The Jews had set up a socialist system but many were refugees from Bolshevism and would not allow Russian influence. He met Gershon Agnon the editor or the Palestine Post
During the war the Arabs were not concerned whether Britain of the Germans won while the Yishuv helped the British setting up the Palmach which then became the Hagenah.
The commission suggested 1) revoking the white paper 2) Immediately allowing 100 000 Jewish refugees in. 3)Partition.
At the time Britain never had enough coal and were changing over to oil for their trains and were worried about access to Mideast oil. At the same time Britain knew she had to get out of Egypt.
As a result of not implementing the commissions finding immediately we see that on 17 June Night of the Bridges, Here both Hagana and Irgun blew  up all the bridges connecting Palestine rail the other countries, followed by
29 June 1946 King David Hotel attack.