Anglo+American+Committee+British+Frustration

Jon Borchert Mr. Griffin November 30, 2010 Vocabulary


 * Sources of frustration for Britain**

In 1945 during the time of The Anglo-American Committee of Enquiry, the British were frustrated with the events that were going on in Palestine. A little background of the Anglo-American Committee of Enquiry was a joint British and American attempt in 1945 to agree upon a policy as regards the admission of Jews to Palestine. The Committee was tasked to consult representative Arabs and Jews on the problems of Palestine, and to make other recommendations 'as may be necessary' to the British and American governments. The Committee's recommendations addressed the matter of immigration and the future government of Palestine. Although one of many committees of inquiry which examined the situation in Palestine, the Anglo-American committee was the only one to also examine the conditions of Jews in Europe. The British frustration started in the beginning of May 1945 when the United States had admitted fewer than 6,000 Jewish refugees. On the other hand the British had 80,000 troops in Palestine at the end 1945, the Jewish terrorist activity spiked. Between November 1945 and July 1946 approximately 20 British army personnel had been killed and over 100 wounded. Also, the police had about the same number casualties handling the terrorist groups of Irgun and Stern. The British also had the burden on paying for the installations of railways and airfields across Palestine, and when they were attacked by various Jewish terror organizations the country had to pay a whopping four million dollars in damages. So overall the British frustration is understandable and justified by the various terrorist attacks by Jewish groups such as Irgun and Stern.