ABSTRACT
The most commonly accepted view of immigration policy conceives it as primarily politically based and disregards, or at least underestimates, economic, psychological and bureaucratic factors, which significantly influenced both the policy and the extent of immigration. According to this version, the Zionists constantly pressed for large-scale immigration, while the Arabs demanded its complete suspension and the British reacted in accordance with these pressures. Herbert Samuel's sensitivity to the controversial nature of the immigration question and its political implications caused him to play it down as far as possible and to ensure that the making of policy would remain exclusively in his hands. The Zionist approach to the question of Jewish immigration during the period concerned was much more complicated and inconsistent than that of the British. The leading principle of the Zionist immigration policy was the principle of selection and regulation. The attitude of the Palestinian Arabs towards the question of immigration was plain, consistent and extremist.
