- Caption
- Group portrait of members of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine after their arrival at the train station in Jerusalem.
Pictured seated from right to left are: Judge Joseph Hutcheson (American chairman), Frank Singleton (British chairman), Frank Buxton (U.S.), and William Phillips (U.S.). Standing from right to left are: R.H.S. Crossman (UK), R.E. Manningham-Buller (UK), James G. McDonald (U.S.), Frank Aydelotte (U.S.), Bartley Crum (U.S.), Sir Frederick Leggett (UK), and W.F. Crick (UK). The twelfth member of the committee was Lord Morrison (UK).
- Photographer
- Tim Gidal
- Date
-
1946 March 06
- Locale
- Jerusalem, Palestine/Israel
- Variant Locale
- Israel
- Photo Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of James McDonald
- Event History
- The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry was established in November 1945 to review the issue of Jewish immigration to Palestine. The British government first proposed the committee as a result of pressure from U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who repeatedly called for the British to allow 100,000 Jewish displaced persons into Palestine. Many considered the committee to be a stalling tactic on the part of the British, who were reluctant to open the gates of Palestine. Truman therefore suggested limiting the timetable of the committee to four months. The committee consisted of twelve members and was co-chaired by Joseph C. Hutcheson, Jr. and Sir John E. Singleton. The six British members were: Sir John E. Singleton, Jr., W.F. Crick, R.H.S. Crossman, Sir Frederick Leggett, R.E. Manningham-Buller and Lord Morrison. The six American members were: Joseph C. Hutcheson, Jr., Frank Aydelotte, Frank W. Buxton, Bartley C. Crum, James G. McDonald and William Phillips, The committee was charged with 1. examining political, economic and social conditions in Palestine as they related to the problem of Jewish immigration and settlement; 2. examining the position of the Jews in Europe who were the victims of Nazi persecution; 3. consulting with representative Arabs and Jews on the problems of Palestine; and 4. making recommendations to the British and American governments about remedial actions that should be taken. The committee assembled in Washington on January 4, 1946, met in London from January 23-February 4, and spent February 5-27 in Europe, where it conducted investigations in France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Italy and Greece. From February 28-March 24 it visited the Middle East, conducting hearings and tours in Cairo (February 28-March 5), Palestine (March 6-28), Damascus and Beirut (March 15-20), Baghdad and Riyadh (March 16-21) and Amman (March 23-24). From the Middle East, the Committee retired to Lausanne, Switzerland, where it concluded its deliberations and prepared its report, which was issued on April 20, 1946. The Committee made several recommendations, including that: 1. 100,000 immigration certificates to Palestine should be issued immediately; 2. Palestine not be allowed to be dominated by either Arabs or Jews; 3. land sales in Palestine not be restricted; 4. the British mandate continue until a future United Nations trusteeship would emerge; and 5. the Jewish Agency for Palestine cooperate with the British government in ending acts of Jewish terrorism in Palestine. The last provision proved a major obstacle. The British government refused to implement the recommendations without the disarmament of the Jewish military underground organizations. The immigration certificates were therefore never issued. Unwilling to implement the recommendations of the committee, the British asked the UN to intervene. It responded by establishing the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) to continue the search for a solution to the Palestine problem.
[Sources: MidEastWeb Historical Documents. "Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, 1946" http://www.mideastweb.org/angloamerican.htm (9 May 2004); World Zionist Organization. "Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry (1945)" http://www.wzo.org.il/home/politic/anglo.htm (9 May 2004).]
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005459.