What was the McDonald White Paper of 1939?
In 1939 the British called for a conference of Arabs and Jews to discuss various scenarios. The St. James Conference, also known as the Round Table Conference of 1939, brought together Arab and Jewish delegations, each with their own internal differences. On the Jewish side, both Zionist and non-Zionist groups within the Jewish Agency attended, organized under the leadership of Chaim Weizmann. The Arabs were led by the Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, and included the more moderate party of the well-known al-Nashashibi family. In addition to the Arabs of Palestine, the Arabs of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Transjordan, and Yemen were also represented. From the start, the conference was fraught with difficulties. The Arab delegates refused to meet directly and formally with the Jewish representatives, since they did not recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish Agency. As a result, the British were forced to negotiate with each delegation individually. British proposals at the conference were met
