One Million Plan

The plan included detailed proposals for immigration and transit camps; the subsequent Immigrant camps and *ma'abarot* have been described as "a product of" the One Million Plan.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The One Million Plan (Hebrew: תוכנית המיליון, romanized: Tochnit hamillion) was a strategic plan for the immigration and absorption of one million Jews from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa into Mandatory Palestine, within a timeframe of 18 months, in order to establish a state in that territory.^[4] After being voted on by the Jewish Agency for Palestine Executive in 1944, it became the official policy of the Zionist leadership.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] Implementation of a significant part of the One Million Plan took place following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.^[9]^[10]

When the extent of the decimation of Jews in the Holocaust became known in 1944, the Biltmore Conference ambition of two million immigrants was revised downwards, and the plan was revised to include, for the first time, Jews from the Middle East and North Africa as a single category within the target of an immigration plan.^[11] In 1944–45, Ben-Gurion described the plan to foreign officials as being the "primary goal and top priority of the Zionist movement."^[12]

The ongoing immigration restrictions of the British White Paper of 1939 meant that such a plan was not able to be put into immediate effect. Upon the establishment of Israel, Ben Gurion's government presented the Knesset with a new plan – to double the population of 600,000 within four years. Israeli historian Devorah Hacohen describes the opposition against this immigration policy within the new Israeli government, such as those who argued that there was "no justification for organizing large-scale emigration among Jews whose lives were not in danger, particularly when the desire and motivation were not their own",^[13] as well as those who argued that the absorption process caused "undue hardship".^[14] However, the force of Ben-Gurion's influence and insistence ensured that unrestricted immigration continued.^[15]^[16] The plan has been described as "a pivotal event in 'imagining' the Jewish state"^[4] and "the moment when the category of Mizrahi Jews in the current sense of this term, as an ethnic group distinct from European-born Jews, was invented."^[11] The large scale immigration in the first few years after Israel's declaration was the product of this policy change in favour of mass immigration focused on Jews from Arab and Muslim countries.^[10]

^ Cite error: The named reference Katz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Kozlovsky was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Rossetto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Barell & Ohana 2014, p. 1.
^ Ehrlich, Mark Avrum (2009), Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, vol. 1, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-1-85109-873-6, A Zionist plan. designed in 1943–1944, to bring one million Jews from Europe and the Middle East to Palestine as a means and a stage to establish a state. It was the first time the Jews of Islamic countries were explicitly included in a Zionist plan.
^ Meir-Glitzenstein 2004, p. 44 #1: "After it was presented to the Jewish Agency Executive, the One Million Plan became the official policy of the Zionist leadership. The immigration of the Jews of Islamic countries was explicit or implicit in all the declarations, testimonies, memoranda and demands issued by the Jewish Agency from World War II until the establishment of the state."
^ Ofer 1991, p. 239:"This tactical approach, the demand for "control of aliyah" and the immediate immigration of two million (later, one million) Jews, was the declared policy of the Jewish Agency Executive until the end of the war."
^ Ohana 2017, p. 31: "The Million Plan was not an intellectual project or an abstract utopia with merely propagandist goals. It was a strategic move with extremely ambitious national, political, and techno-scientific goals, while being specific and concrete at the same time."
^ Ohana 2017, p. 31b: "...the research carried out by the [One Million Plan] Planning Committee's various teams created the know-how that was used after the state's establishment. An important part of the Planning Committee's plans and recommendations were implemented after the establishment of the State of Israel. The committee's first working premise - a rapid Jewish mass migration - was indeed implemented immediately after the establishment of Israel, as well as its recommendations concerning the setting up of immigrant camps and the request for compensation (reparations) from Germany. The Planning Committee's work also served as a basis for some of the State of Israel's initial plans and development projects such as the National Water Carrier and the first National Outline Plan."
^ ^a ^b Picard 2018, pp. 4–5: "There were two major changes in Zionist aliya policy in the first half of the 1940s. The first was the replacement of the preference for selective aliya by support for mass aliya. In 1944, Ben-Gurion called for bringing a million Jews to Palestine, even if public soup kitchens had to be set up to feed them... The second change was the decision to extend the aliya net to include the Jews of Muslim countries. It had become clear that they, too, would be needed to create a Jewish majority in Palestine... Independence and the removal of the British restrictions on Jewish immigration made it possible to implement these policy changes. The large-scale aliya of the next few years was the product of these two changes: it was mass aliya and it included Jews from Muslim countries."
^ ^a ^b Eyal 2006, p. 86: "The principal significance of this plan lies in the fact, noted by Yehuda Shenhav, that this was the first time in Zionist history that Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries were all packaged together in one category as the target of an immigration plan. There were earlier plans to bring specific groups, such as the Yemenites, but the "one million plan" was, as Shenhav says, "the zero point," the moment when the category of mizrahi Jews in the current sense of this term, as an ethnic group distinct from European-born Jews, was invented."
^ Hacohen 1991, p. 262 #2: "In meetings with foreign officials at the end of 1944 and during 1945, Ben-Gurion cited the plan to enable one million refugees to enter Palestine immediately as the primary goal and top priority of the Zionist movement."
^ Hacohen 2003, p. 46: "After independence, the government presented the Knesset with a plan to double the Jewish population within four years. This meant bringing in 600,000 immigrants in a four-year period. or 150,000 per year. Absorbing 150,000 newcomers annually under the trying conditions facing the new state was a heavy burden indeed. Opponents in the Jewish Agency and the government of mass immigration argued that there was no justification for organizing large-scale emigration among Jews whose lives were not in danger, particularly when the desire and motivation were not their own."
^ Hacohen 2003, pp. 246–247: "Both the immigrants' dependence and the circumstances of their arrival shaped the attitude of the host society. The great wave of immigration in 1948 did not occur spontaneously: it was the result of a clear-cut foreign policy decision that taxed the country financially and necessitated a major organizational effort. Many absorption activists, Jewish Agency executives, and government officials opposed unlimited, nonselective immigration; they favored a gradual process geared to the country's absorptive capacity. Throughout this period, two charges resurfaced at every public debate: one, that the absorption process caused undue hardship; two, that Israel's immigration policy was misguided."
^ Hacohen 2003, p. 47: "But as head of the government, entrusted with choosing the cabinet and steering its activities, Ben-Gurion had tremendous power over the country's social development. His prestige soared to new heights after the founding of the state and the impressive victory of the IDF in the War of Independence. As prime minister and minister of defense in Israel's first administration, as well as the uncontested leader of the country's largest political party, his opinions carried enormous weight. Thus, despite resistance from some of his cabinet members, he remained unflagging in his enthusiasm for unrestricted mass immigration and resolved to put this policy into effect."
^ Hacohen 2003, p. 247: "On several occasions, resolutions were passed to limit immigration from European and Arab countries alike. However, these limits were never put into practice, mainly due to the opposition of Ben-Gurion. As a driving force in the emergency of the state, Ben-Gurion—both prime minister and minister of defense—carried enormous weight with his veto. His insistence on the right of every Jew to immigrate proved victorious. He would not allow himself to be swayed by financial or other considerations. It was he who orchestrated the large-scale action that enabled the Jews to leave Eastern Europe and Islamic countries, and it was he who effectively forged Israel's foreign policy. Through a series of clandestine activities carried out overseas by the Foreign Office, the Jewish Agency, the Mossad le-Aliyah, and the Joint Distribution Committee, the road was paved for mass immigration."

[Katz-1] Cite error: The named reference Katz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Kozlovsky-2] Cite error: The named reference Kozlovsky was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Rossetto-3] Cite error: The named reference Rossetto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEBarellOhana20141-4] Barell & Ohana 2014, p. 1.

[5] Ehrlich, Mark Avrum (2009), Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, vol. 1, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-1-85109-873-6, A Zionist plan. designed in 1943–1944, to bring one million Jews from Europe and the Middle East to Palestine as a means and a stage to establish a state. It was the first time the Jews of Islamic countries were explicitly included in a Zionist plan.

[FOOTNOTEMeir-Glitzenstein200444_#1-6] Meir-Glitzenstein 2004, p. 44 #1: "After it was presented to the Jewish Agency Executive, the One Million Plan became the official policy of the Zionist leadership. The immigration of the Jews of Islamic countries was explicit or implicit in all the declarations, testimonies, memoranda and demands issued by the Jewish Agency from World War II until the establishment of the state."

[FOOTNOTEOfer1991239-7] Ofer 1991, p. 239:"This tactical approach, the demand for "control of aliyah" and the immediate immigration of two million (later, one million) Jews, was the declared policy of the Jewish Agency Executive until the end of the war."

[FOOTNOTEOhana201731-8] Ohana 2017, p. 31: "The Million Plan was not an intellectual project or an abstract utopia with merely propagandist goals. It was a strategic move with extremely ambitious national, political, and techno-scientific goals, while being specific and concrete at the same time."

[Ohana31-9] Ohana 2017, p. 31b: "...the research carried out by the [One Million Plan] Planning Committee's various teams created the know-how that was used after the state's establishment. An important part of the Planning Committee's plans and recommendations were implemented after the establishment of the State of Israel. The committee's first working premise - a rapid Jewish mass migration - was indeed implemented immediately after the establishment of Israel, as well as its recommendations concerning the setting up of immigrant camps and the request for compensation (reparations) from Germany. The Planning Committee's work also served as a basis for some of the State of Israel's initial plans and development projects such as the National Water Carrier and the first National Outline Plan."

[Picard45-10] Picard 2018, pp. 4–5: "There were two major changes in Zionist aliya policy in the first half of the 1940s. The first was the replacement of the preference for selective aliya by support for mass aliya. In 1944, Ben-Gurion called for bringing a million Jews to Palestine, even if public soup kitchens had to be set up to feed them... The second change was the decision to extend the aliya net to include the Jews of Muslim countries. It had become clear that they, too, would be needed to create a Jewish majority in Palestine... Independence and the removal of the British restrictions on Jewish immigration made it possible to implement these policy changes. The large-scale aliya of the next few years was the product of these two changes: it was mass aliya and it included Jews from Muslim countries."

[Eyal-11] Eyal 2006, p. 86: "The principal significance of this plan lies in the fact, noted by Yehuda Shenhav, that this was the first time in Zionist history that Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries were all packaged together in one category as the target of an immigration plan. There were earlier plans to bring specific groups, such as the Yemenites, but the "one million plan" was, as Shenhav says, "the zero point," the moment when the category of mizrahi Jews in the current sense of this term, as an ethnic group distinct from European-born Jews, was invented."

[Hacohen262-12] Hacohen 1991, p. 262 #2: "In meetings with foreign officials at the end of 1944 and during 1945, Ben-Gurion cited the plan to enable one million refugees to enter Palestine immediately as the primary goal and top priority of the Zionist movement."

[Hacohen46-13] Hacohen 2003, p. 46: "After independence, the government presented the Knesset with a plan to double the Jewish population within four years. This meant bringing in 600,000 immigrants in a four-year period. or 150,000 per year. Absorbing 150,000 newcomers annually under the trying conditions facing the new state was a heavy burden indeed. Opponents in the Jewish Agency and the government of mass immigration argued that there was no justification for organizing large-scale emigration among Jews whose lives were not in danger, particularly when the desire and motivation were not their own."

[H2467-14] Hacohen 2003, pp. 246–247: "Both the immigrants' dependence and the circumstances of their arrival shaped the attitude of the host society. The great wave of immigration in 1948 did not occur spontaneously: it was the result of a clear-cut foreign policy decision that taxed the country financially and necessitated a major organizational effort. Many absorption activists, Jewish Agency executives, and government officials opposed unlimited, nonselective immigration; they favored a gradual process geared to the country's absorptive capacity. Throughout this period, two charges resurfaced at every public debate: one, that the absorption process caused undue hardship; two, that Israel's immigration policy was misguided."

[Hacohen47-15] Hacohen 2003, p. 47: "But as head of the government, entrusted with choosing the cabinet and steering its activities, Ben-Gurion had tremendous power over the country's social development. His prestige soared to new heights after the founding of the state and the impressive victory of the IDF in the War of Independence. As prime minister and minister of defense in Israel's first administration, as well as the uncontested leader of the country's largest political party, his opinions carried enormous weight. Thus, despite resistance from some of his cabinet members, he remained unflagging in his enthusiasm for unrestricted mass immigration and resolved to put this policy into effect."

[H247-16] Hacohen 2003, p. 247: "On several occasions, resolutions were passed to limit immigration from European and Arab countries alike. However, these limits were never put into practice, mainly due to the opposition of Ben-Gurion. As a driving force in the emergency of the state, Ben-Gurion—both prime minister and minister of defense—carried enormous weight with his veto. His insistence on the right of every Jew to immigrate proved victorious. He would not allow himself to be swayed by financial or other considerations. It was he who orchestrated the large-scale action that enabled the Jews to leave Eastern Europe and Islamic countries, and it was he who effectively forged Israel's foreign policy. Through a series of clandestine activities carried out overseas by the Foreign Office, the Jewish Agency, the Mossad le-Aliyah, and the Joint Distribution Committee, the road was paved for mass immigration."

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One Million Plan

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