The first St. James Conference became a conference on the partition of once Turkish-held territories in the Balkans, particularly Scutari. It took place on 3 December 1912 during the First Balkan War. The second St. James Conference (also Round-Table-Conference or London Conference) was a conference on the Partition for Palestine. It began on 7 February 1939 and lasted until 17 March 1939 at St James's Palace in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The conference followed the British Government statement of policy rejecting Partition Plan as impracticable in the light of the

Woodhead Commission The Woodhead Commission (officially the Palestine Partition Commission''Palestine Partition Commission Report'', Command Paper 5854, Printed and published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1938 (310 pages and 13 maps)) was a British techn ...

's report, suggesting that Arab-Jewish agreement might still be possible. An invitation was therefore extended to representatives of the Palestine Arabs, the neighboring Arab states and the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

to confer with the British Government in London. The conference was led by

Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle ...

, the British colonial secretary, but no progress was made as the Arab delegates even refused to sit at the same table with the Jewish representatives. The Jewish delegation was headed by

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israe ...

and the Arab delegation by followers of the Mufti of Jerusalem.St. James Conference
/ref> The meeting adjourned without result on 17 March 1939, and two months later Britain issued the

White Paper of 1939 The White Paper of 1939Occasionally also known as the MacDonald White Paper (e.g. Caplan, 2015, p.117) after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary, who presided over its creation. was a policy paper issued by the British governmen ...

References

{{Reflist History of Palestine (region)

See also

References