Northumbria Research Link Citation: Simpson, Paul (2020) Socialism, internationalism and Zionism: the independent Labour Party and Palestine, c.1917–1939. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University. This version was downloaded from Northumbria Research Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/44090/ Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. Single copies of full items can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given, as well as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata page. The content must not be changed in any way. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holder. The full policy is available online: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/policies.html SOCIALISM, INTERNATIONALISM AND ZIONISM: THE INDEPENDENT LABOUR PARTY AND PALESTINE, C. 1917–1939 P.T. SIMPSON PhD 2020 0 Socialism, Internationalism and Zionism: The Independent Labour Party and Palestine, c. 1917–1939 Paul T. Simpson Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Northumbria at Newcastle for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Research Undertaken in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences May 2020 1 Abstract Using the Independent Labour Party (ILP) as its case study, this thesis examines the relationship between the labour movement’s interpretations of internationalism and its attitudes towards Zionism during the interwar years. The study locates responses to developments in Palestine within the broader framework of the labour movement’s conceptualisation of internationalist thought and practice with regard to issues such as immigration, imperialism and nationalism. Moreover, it examines the phenomenon of left- wing anti-Zionism, which has often been inadequately explored in the existing historiography of the interwar period. The ILP contained within it a broad spectrum of opinion; its intra-sectional debates therefore frequently reflected the diversity of thought within the labour movement. Furthermore, an analysis of the ILP’s debates requires a consideration of transnational perspectives because of the party’s involvement in networks and organisations such as the League Against Imperialism (LAI). Because of the party’s manifold links to variety of actors on political scene, it can serve as a prism through which we can explore the breadth of political debates within the left, both within Britain and at an international level. The thesis is divided into five thematic chapters, starting with a broad discussion of internationalist thought within in the ILP. The second chapter examines internal ILP debates on Palestine, while the third analyses how international left-wing organisations – notably the Labour and Socialist International (LSI) and the LAI – approached the issue. This is followed by an analysis of how ILPers interpreted the role of League of Nations Mandates, with particular focus on Palestine. Finally, the question of anti-Semitism and its influence on the ILP’s stance regarding mandatory rule and Zionism is considered. This study draws extensively on records relating to the Labour Party, the ILP, the LSI and the LAI, using sources such as conference reports, pamphlets, and newspapers. In addition, the personal papers and correspondence of key figures such as Ramsay MacDonald and James Maxton have been consulted. 2 Declaration I declare that the work contained in this thesis has not been submitted for any other award and that it is all my own work. I also confirm that this work fully acknowledges opinions, ideas and contributions from the work of others. Any ethical clearance for the research presented in this thesis has been approved. I declare that the Word Count of this Thesis is 91,066 words Name: Paul T. Simpson Signature: Date: 1.5.2020 3 Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. 6 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 8 The British Labour Movement ............................................................................................. 14 The ILP .................................................................................................................................. 17 Labour Party Foreign Policy ................................................................................................ 20 Zionism .................................................................................................................................. 31 British Labour and Zionism ................................................................................................. 35 International Labour and Zionism ....................................................................................... 41 Labour and Anti-Semitism ................................................................................................... 43 Chapter 1: The Internationalisms of the ILP in the Interwar Years....................................... 44 Internationalism Before the First World War, 1892-1914 ................................................... 45 The Challenges of World War, 1914-1918 ............................................................................ 51 Reconstructing and Constructing Internationalism in the Post-War World, 1918-1926 .... 54 Anti-Colonialism and the League Against Imperialism: 1927-1932 .................................... 59 Disaffiliation and ‘Revolutionary Socialism’: 1932-1939 ..................................................... 77 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 81 Chapter 2: The ILP and Palestine in the Interwar Years ........................................................ 86 Ramsay MacDonald: ‘A Socialist in Palestine’ .................................................................... 89 H. N. Brailsford and the New Leader .................................................................................... 92 Labour in Government: 1929-1931 ....................................................................................... 99 ‘A Socialist Policy for Palestine’: 1932-1939 .......................................................................107 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................116 Chapter 3: Transnational Labour and Zionism in the Interwar Years .................................118 The British Commonwealth Labour Conference ................................................................120 The Labour and Socialist International: 1923-1931 ............................................................123 The League Against Imperialism: 1927-1932 ......................................................................131 The International Bureau of Revolutionary Socialist Unity: 1932-1939.............................135 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................142 Chapter 4: Labour, the ILP and League of Nations Mandates ..............................................144 4 Debates within the Labour movement on the Palestine Mandate and the Mandates system, 1918-1924 ..............................................................................................................................147 The First Labour Government, 1924 ...................................................................................151 Developing a Mandates Policy, 1924-1929 ...........................................................................153 The Second Labour Government and the Crisis in Palestine, 1929-1931 ...........................159 ‘A Socialist Policy for Palestine’ and the Mandatory System, 1932-1939.......................... 174 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................178 Chapter 5: The ILP, Anti-Semitism and Palestine, 1918-1939 ...............................................181 Anti-Imperialism, Immigration and Anti-Semitism, 1900-1918 .........................................182 Pro-Zionism, Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism, 1918-1932 ................................................186 Responses to the Rise of Political Anti-Semitism in Europe, 1932-1939 .............................194 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................209 Conclusions ..............................................................................................................................212 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................219