The Passfield White Paper of October 1930 called for tighter controls on Jewish immigration and land purchases. Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald’s letter to Chaim Weizmann in February 1931 clarified the policy and eased its practical effect. The 1939 White Paper imposed a five-year limit of 75,000 Jewish immigrants and made further immigration dependent on Arab consent.
Passfield and the 1931 clarification
Issued after the 1929 disturbances and the Shaw Commission inquiry, the 1930 policy emphasized Britain’s obligations to both communities and proposed stronger limits on immigration and land transfer. In February 1931, MacDonald wrote that economic absorptive capacity remained the criterion for immigration and that protections for Arab interests did not freeze existing conditions. The government’s retrospective account summarizes the policy shift, and the 1922 statement of policy gives the framework that the 1931 letter interpreted.
The 1939 quota and land rules
Published in May 1939, the new White Paper set a total quota of 75,000 Jewish immigrants over five years, including 25,000 refugees, subject to economic conditions. After that period, further immigration would require Arab consent. It also divided the country into zones with restrictions on land transfers and proposed an independent state within ten years. The government framed these measures as a route to shared government; Jewish leaders opposed the restrictions, and Arab leaders rejected the plan as insufficient. Read the full 1939 White Paper for its quota, land policy, and constitutional provisions.
The restrictions shaped the refugee voyages organized during and after the war. See Aliyah Bet and the refugee ships.