Arab Welcome of Jews
There was no remarkably uncompromising, popular, and organized opposition from the Arabs to Jewish migrants arriving in Palestine during the first half of the 20th century. The Jews who were scattered around the world were only seeking to return to their ancient homeland and settle there for a peaceful living.
The Faisal Weizmann Agreement
Emir Faisal I, son of the Hashemite king of Hejaz, the state on the western half of Arabia that included the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina, signed an agreement with the Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann in 1919 on behalf of the Arab kingdom and called for “The most cordial goodwill and understanding, to work together to encourage immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale, while protecting the rights of the Arab peasants and tenant farmers.” He further stated “We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement... We will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home," and openly expressed support for the Jewish national home.
Faisal later became the king of Greater Syria, and went on to become the king of Iraq and founder of the Hashemite dynasty that ruled Iraq till 1958. Weizmann became president of World Zionist Organization before becoming the first president of Israel (1949-1952).
Balfour Declaration
The British Foreign Secretary during WW I Arthur Balfour had declared in 1917 that the government viewed “With favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.” Britain was at war with Turkey at the time and was eager to get the support of both Jews and the Arabs.
Increase in Jewish Population of Palestine
Immigration of Jews to Israel increased considerably as a result of the efforts of the Zionist Movement. A few major waves of Jewish migration (called 'Aliyah' in Hebrew) from the European countries dramatically raised the percentage of the Jews in Israel.
It is estimated that there were only 25,000 Jews in a total population of 750,000 in Palestine in 1920, while the rest were Arabic speaking Muslims and Christians. This meagre number of about 3.5 per cent rose to above 50 per cent by 1948 when the Jews in Palestine numbered 1,203,000.
British Rule of Palestine and the Beginning of Discord
During the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948 armed Jewish groups attacked the British on a number of occasions, notably between 1938 and 1949, mainly for imposing restrictions on immigration.
In the meanwhile, Arabs began to view the immigration of Jews as a threat on religious grounds and rioted in many places. They were also afraid of losing land ownership rights.
Arabs in Israel
When Israel became independent, the nascent state was attacked by surrounding Arab nations that wanted to completely erase it from the map. Increasing anti-Jewish sentiments in the Arab countries led to the exodus of about 500,000 Jews from these countries to Israel.
On the other hand, the tense situation prompted the Arabs living in Israeli territory to migrate to Arab countries. Israel took the opportunity to reciprocate the goodwill of the Arabs and offered to grant citizenship to all Arabs and asked them to stay back. Ben Gurion, the Israeli prime minister, promised the Arabs full citizenship of Israel.
But, apparently, the relationship between the two communities had ruptured beyond repair.
