Zionism vs. the British

During the First World War, the British, including two Jewish battalions of the Royal Fusiliers, conquered the Ottoman-ruled Land of Israel (then known as Palestine). After the war, the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate for the establishment of a Jewish national home there. While the Jewish community grew under British rule, Britain also became less than enthusiastic about a Jewish national home. In May 1939, Britain issued a white paper that restricted land purchases by Jews and limited Jewish immigration to 75,000 over the next five years. After that, the Arabs would have to approve any future Jewish immigration. This effectively relegated the Jews to permanent minority status in their homeland and rendered a Jewish state an impossibility. In response, a Jewish revolt arose to expel Britain and establish a Jewish state.