The first St. James Conference became a conference on the partition of once Turkish-held territories in the Balkans, particularly

Scutari Scutari may refer to: * Shkodër, in Albania; also known as ''Scutari'' in Italian and traditional English usage * Sanjak of Scutari, Ottoman province centred on the city * Pashalik of Scutari, a semi-independent Albanian state during Ottoman rule ...

. 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 St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. 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 tech ...

'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 (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

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

Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm John MacDonald (17 August 1901 – 11 January 1981) was a British politician and diplomat. He was initially a Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP), but in 1931 followed his father ...

, 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 ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

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

History of Palestine (region) {{Asia-hist-stub