Hope+Simpson+Report

In 1930, upon the recommendation of the Shaw Commission investigating the Arab Riots (1929) the British authorities decided "...an expert inquiry would have to be made into the questions of immigration, land settlement, and development." A commission was established headed by Sir John Hope-Simpson, who had spent very little time in Palestine ("Hope-Simpson Report (1930)"). Hope-Simpson's main concern was that there was not enough land to keep immigration going at such a high rate. Along with this, Arab farmers were suffering from severe economic difficulties because many were tenant farmers who owed large amounts of money. He was worried that adding more people into the area would send workers further into debt (more mouths to feed, more money needed to cover this).
 * The report indicated that the Jewish policy of hiring only Jews was responsible for the deplorable conditions in which the Arabs found themselves ("Report on Immigration, Land Settlement and Development").

Due to these conditions, Hope-Simpson recommended stopping Jews from immigrating. Only after new agricultural methods would be introduced in Palestine, would room be made for an additional number of immigrants. In response, Jewish leaderssaid that Hope-Simpson had ignored the capacity for growth in Palestine's industry. Stimulating economic growth through increased demand would most likely benefit the Arab economy as well, so letting the Jews in would be beneficial.
 * Hope-Simpson disagreed, seeing the future of Palestine in agriculture, not in industry. Jews also claimed that since they only used Jewish labor and functioned among themselves, halting immigration would in fact have no effect on Arab unemployment.
 * ** "The report indicated that the Jewish policy of hiring only Jews was responsible for the deplorable conditions in which the Arabs found themselves and for widespread unemployment. In fact, there had been considerable Arab population increase since 1917, and a considerable rise in standard of living. The statistics presented in the report indicate less than 4,000 unemployed in a population of over a million" ( **"MidEastWeb").

Many issues were raised about Hope-Simpson's methodology, in particular the land surveys he used to reach his conclusions. Among the issues criticized were air vs. land-based cultivatable land analysis, mistakes in interpretation due to harvesting of crops just prior to the survey, ambiguities in the process of land acquisition, the vague status of some state lands, and Zionist compensation to squatters which was not legally required. In these and other cases, Hope-Simpson seems to have always drawn pro-Arab conclusions even when the supporting facts were less than complete or solidly based("Hope-Simpson Report (1930)") The report was published in October, 1930. At the same time, the Passfield White Paper was issued, clarifying British intentions in Palestine.

"Hope-Simpson Report (1930)." //Welcome to Palestine Facts//. Web. 09 Oct. 2009. .

"MidEastWeb The Report of Sir John Hope Simpson, 1930." //Middle East: MidEastWeb//. Web. 09 Oct. 2009.

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"Report on Immigration, Land Settlement and Development, Cmd. 3686 -." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Web. 09 Oct.

2009. .