One Million Plan
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]
The Planning Committee[edit]
Ben-Gurion had requested an initial analysis on the absorptive potential on the country in early 1941, and in late 1942 commissioned a "master plan" for the proposed immigration.[18] He appointed a committee of experts, a Planning Committee, to explore how the economy of Mandatory Palestine could support a million new Jewish Immigrants.[19]
The Planning Committee (ועדת התיכון, also known as "The Committee of the Four"), was established in order to develop a blueprint and decide its guiding principles, and to create sub-committees of experts for various sectors, and supervise their work. Ben-Gurion believed that by choosing the members of the committee, he would be able to garner support both for the planning arrangements and their political aspects. Ben-Gurion was chairman of the committee, which also included Eliezer Kaplan, treasurer of the Jewish Agency, Eliezer Hoofien, Chairman of the Anglo-Palestine Bank, Emil Shmorek, head of the department of trade and industry at the Jewish Agency, and a three-person secretariat consisting of economists.[20][21]
The committee convened for the first time on October 11, 1943, at Kaplan's home, where the decision was taken to convene weekly at the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem. Ben-Gurion participated regularly and examined the sub-committee reports in detail. The committee established sub-committees consisting of experts to examine the planning issues regarding development of land, water, settlement, industry, transportation, habitation, finance and more.[20][21] The Planning Committee submitted reports throughout 1944 and the beginning of 1945.[22]
Among the first things discussed by the committee was the definition of its goals. Ben-Gurion declared two goals: 1. The settlement of two million Jews within 18 months, and the elaboration of a plan to facilitate such settlement, and 2. Scientific investigation of the facts related to such settlement, such as the quantity of water required, the nature of the soil, climate, and so on. The other members of the committee found the first goal unrealistic. Eventually Ben-Gurion relented and agreed to two plans. The "big" plan – rapid settlement of a million Jews and the creation of a Jewish majority and Jewish rule – and the "small" plan, the settlement of another million Jews within a few years.[20]
Following establishment of Israel[edit]
Implementation of a significant part of the One Million Plan's plans and recommendations took place in the newly established State of Israel, following its creation of in 1948.[9] This included mass Aliyah, the setting up of Immigrant camps and Ma'abarot, the Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany, the National Water Carrier of Israel and the National Outline Plan.[9]
As a result of the withdrawal of British forces and the declaration of the State of Israel in May 1948, the immigration restrictions to the country were removed, making it possible to implement the policy changes relating to large-scale Aliyah focused on Jews from Arab and Muslim countries.[10] Ben Gurion's government subsequently presented the Knesset with a plan to double the population of 600,000 within four years. This immigration policy had some opposition 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]
According to Dr Irit Katz, the ma'abarot camps were the product of the One Million Plan.[1] Dr Roy Kozlovsky notes that the prior existence of the One Million Plan suggests that "the concept of the ma'abara was in fact the precondition for, not the effect of, mass immigration".[2] Dr Piera Rossetto described the debate around the conditions of the Ma'abarot, stating her opinion that "the most controversial issue in this respect is not the outcome (e.g. the ma’abarot) of the choice, rather the choice in itself to bring to Israel so many thousands of immigrants, following the idea of the “One Million Plan” unveiled by Ben Gurion in 1944".[3]