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Excerpt from League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, July 24, 1922.

League of Nations Mandate for PalestineThis document is the Mandate given by the League of Nations to Great Britain, which gave the U.K. power of administration and jurisdiction in Palestine in order to facilitate the development of self-governing institutions and of a Jewish National Home. It also includes a memorandum from the British Government in which Trans-Jordan, originally considered part of Palestine and the future Jewish National Home, was excluded from the provisions made for the Jewish National Home.

Preamble, p. 2

“Whereas the Principle Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country;
and Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country….”

Article 2, p. 2

“The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and the development of self-governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.” p. 3

Article 4, p. 3

-Formation of Jewish Agency

Article 6, p. 2

“The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.” p. 3

Article 13, p. 5

-Responsibility for Holy Places in Palestine

Article 15, p. 5

“No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the ground of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his religious belief.

The right of each community to maintain its own schools for the education of its members in its own language…shall not be denied or impaired.”

Article 22, p. 8

“English, Arabic, and Hebrew shall be the official languages of Palestine. Any statement or inscription in Arabic on stamps or money in Palestine shall be repeated in Hebrew and any statement or inscription in Hebrew shall be repeated in Arabic.”

Article 25, p. 8

“In the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate as he may consider inapplicable to the existing local conditions.”

Note by Secretary-General Relating to Application of Mandate to Trans-Jordan, pp. 10-11
Memorandum by the British Representative regarding Trans-Jordan presented on September 16th, 1922

– Limits Jewish National Home to west of Jordan River

“The following provisions of the Mandate for Palestine are not applicable to the territory known as Trans-Jordan…

Article 2 – The words ‘placing the country under such political administration and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home…’

Article 7 – The sentence ‘There shall be included in this law provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine.’

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