at nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.'" This way the British lubricated the way between the two opposite parties and kept them both at least somehow connected to Britain. This White Paper saved very few Jews from the gas chambers in Germany, but this was the first sign of British gesture of self-preservation, which preceded the actual fight for survival. These acts secured the Arab compliance to Great Britain over World War II. Britain was forced to take the side of the Arabs toward the end of the 1930's. Middle East was thought of as the center of all Great Britain's empire; it was the Suez Canal that was considered the lifeline for the British-Indian trade. The British needed to have full control over this area and to do so they had to have full relationship with the Arab countries in the area. Britain had failed every new method to control the rebellions in Palestine, and had lost a lot of prestige due to Mussolini's attack on Ethiopia in 1935, and the German invasion of Sudentenland, and Prague. It would not have been long before the German's got the support of the Arabs. The only sure thing that Great Britain could do to satisfy the Arabs and keep them as followers of the British was to control Jewish immigration to Palestine. This was not thought of as inhumane, but it was the only thing to do. The control over Middle East and the ultimate existence of Britain was on the line, and it was not to be jeopardized for the extremely small population of Jews. If the White Papers of 1939 was not published, the Arabs might have gone to the German side, and provided the Germans not only bases on the Middle East to inhibit the British trade to Asia, but also to provide the Germans with oil. This could have meant a great defeat of the allies in World War II....
