The Riots of 1936 and the Revolt that lasted from 1937-39 demonstrated to the British that they could not afford further uprisings in Palestine if war broke out. So to placate the Arab population, the White Paper of 1939 limited Jewish immigration. And this caused the Jews to start making trouble.

The Great Depression of the 1930's deepened Arab discontent, and violence broke out again in 1936. The Peel Commission investigated the riots, and proposed that Palestine should be partitioned into separate Jewish and Arab states. This proposal only led to further violence.

Jewish immigration to Palestine dropped off during the 1920's. This was due to divisions within Zionist leadership about the type of Jews they wanted in the Jewish state, and also to prosperity and success that Jews enjoyed outside Palestine. Then the violence of the Riot in 1929 made many Jews afraid to come.