The Creation of Israel

Timeline:
- AD 63 Jewish Homeland in Judea invaded by Roman Armies
- AD 70 – Destruction of Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans led to the “Diaspora”. Remains of this
temple are known as the Wailing Wall. Muslims then built the Dome of the Rock on the same site.
Created tensions because of the sacred value of this site for both sides.
- 1881 – Assasination of Alexander II of Russia followed by pogroms against the Jews.
- 1882 – First Aliyah (ends in 1903) 30,000 migrated
- 1986 – Theodore Herzl publishes “the state of the Jews”
- 1897 – World Zionist organisation established
- 1904 – Second Aliyah begins (ends in 1914)
- 1905 – League of Arab fatherland established and revolted against the Turks
- 1914-18 – WWI, which is very important to the development of the conflict
- 1915-16 – McMahon-Hussein correspondence. Favoured Palestinian Arabs as GB said they would give the
Arabs a nation if they revolted against the Turks
- 1916 – Sykes-Picot Agreement. GB and F divided up the Ottoman empire for themselves.
- 1917 – The Balfour Declaration. GB said to the Zionists that if they could convince the USA to join the
war they will give the Jews a homeland.
- 1919 – 3rd Aliyah begins (ends in 1923) brings 37,000 jews
- 1919 – Paris Peace Conference where it is decided that Palestine will become a British Mandate.
- 1920 – San Remo Conference. League of Nations ratifies the British Mandate over Palestine based on the
Balfour declaration. This means that the Arabs fell completely ripped off by the British because they miss
out completely.
- 1920 – Jewish immigration is controlled so that only 16,500 Jews allowed to immigrate each year
- 1920-21 – Arab Riots. Violence became a part of the landscape from this point on.
- 1922 – Transjordan separated from Palestine. Terms of British Mandate determined by the League of
Nations
- 1924 – 4th Aliyah begins (ends in 1928) brings 78,000 Jews
- 1929 – Arab Riots after a Jewish boy kicked a ball into an Arab garden. He went to retrieve it and was
killed. Tension rose when Jews erected a partition at the Wailing Wall to separate men from women
worshippers
- 1930 – Passfield White Paper. This was a British enquiry into the escalating violence in Palestine, it
handed down recommendations one of which was that Jewish immigration should be discouraged to help
Arab employment
- 1931 – The Macdonald Letter. Zionists lobbied the British Prime Minister who replied ensuring that land
acquisition and immigration would continue for Jews.
- 1932 – 5th Aliyah begins (ends 1939) brings 227,000 Jews. These were more cultured, educated and
richer immigrants. Hitler’s rise to power and anti-sematic laws are the cause for this sharp rise in
immigration to Palestine.
- 1935 – Nazi’s denied Jewish Citizenship. (the Nuremburg Laws)
- 1936 – Arabs organised a massive Labour strike. The Arab Revolt
- 1936-39 – Arab Riots and revolts against Britain
- 1937 – The Peel Commission Recommends the partition of Palestine
- 1938 – Kristalnacht. Purge of Jewish homes and businesses in Germany
- 1939 – The MacDonald White Paper restricts Jewish immigration, 75,000 places for 5 years before it
ceases altogether.
- 1939-45 – WWII and the holocaust.
- 1942 – “The Final Solution to the Jewish Question”. Biltmore Program was the official Zionist policy from
1942
- 1945 – Formation of the Arab League which included Eqypt, Iraq, Saudi-Arabia, Syria, Lebanon,
Transjordan, Yemin
- 1945-47 – Jewish Uprising and terrorist activities in Palestine
- 1947 – Britain turned Palestine over to the UN. On 29th November the UN passed resolution 181, which
partitioned Palestine into 2 separate states. 33 had voted for the resolution 12 against and 10
abstentions. The divide was awkward and the Arabs were short changed again. Partition meant that the

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 Jews, who made up nearly 1/3 of the population and owned 6-8% of the land were to receive 56% of the
land and the Arabs only 43% of the land in less fertile areas
- 1947 - Arab League to form a “united Islam” throughout the region formed on 22nd March
- 1947-48 – Civil War breaks out between Jews and Arabs after resolution 181, which the Jews agree to but
the Arabs don’t
- 1948 – On May 31st Israel is declared an independent state. The first Arab Israeli war breaks out.

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 Summary of the Terms What did the British hope Who did it
of the Agreement to achieve? favour?
McMahon In return for Arab support GB needed the support of The Arabs
Letters against Turkish forces in the Arabs to defeat the because GB
1915 the region, GB promised Turks, and they wanted to needed to use
Hussein of Mecca that they encourage an armed Arab them so
would support Arab revolt therefore
independence supported them
Sykes- Made by the Allies. France Again wanted more The Allies and
Picot and GB would recognise influence in the Middle East. Great Powers
Agreeme and protect an They got control over the
nt 1916 independent state. Arab South, East and Coastal
land would be divided up areas
for themselves and
Palestine was to become
an internationalised zone
Balfour GB would support the GB wanted to gain the The Zionists as
Declarati establishment of a Jewish support of the Jews in it supported the
on 1916- home in Palestine but America, so that the USA establishment of
17 nothing was to be done would join forces with the a home for
that would prejudice the Allies and the Jews in Russia Jewish people
civil and religious rights of would urge their country to
the current inhabitants of stay in the war. GB wanted
the land to gain more influence in the
Middle East

These 3 agreements promised Palestine to different group and thus they

contradicted each other. This obviously created problems for the future of
Palestine. GB wanted to control Palestine for it’s own imperial reasons, but they
were bound to allow Jewish immigration but not disadvantage the P.A. These 3
aims were incompatible.

- The White Paper of June 1922 states “in order that this (Jewish) Community should have the best
prospect of free development and provide a full opportunity for the Jewish people to display it’s
capacities, it is essential that is should know that it is in Palestine as of right and not on sufferance.
That is the reason why it is necessary to that the existence of a Jewish national home in Palestine
should be internationally guaranteed…” It was a reinterpretation of the Balfour declaration as it
confirmed Britains support of the establishment of a Jewish homeland and says that it shouldn’t
affect the rights and culture of the Arab population
- The 1931 Passfield White Paper recommended that Jewish Immigration be stopped if it
prevented Arabs from gaining employment
- The Peel Commission report of 1937 outlines the main differences between the Arabic and Jewish
population and states that these differences are “the greatest bar to peace”. It then states that a
compromise between these people is not possible and therefore assimilation is not possible.
“Neither Arab nor Jew had any sense of service to a single state”
- The White paper of 1939 was the declaration that Jewish immigration will be restricted to 75,000
for the next five years and that neither shall have an independent state. Instead they shall “share in
government in such as way as to ensure that the essential interests of each community is
safeguarded”. Palestine would be made independent after 10 years, justifying their actions by
saying that the conditions of the Balfour declaration had been fulfilled. The Arabs said formally that
10 years was too long to wait but in fact they were delighted. For the yishuv this change in British
policy was nothing less than a disaster. David Ben Gurion stated: “We shall fight with GB in this way
as if there was no White Paper, and we shall fight the White Paper as if there was no war”

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Jewish People to 1914:
- Victims of persecution all over the world, since they were forced out of Judea by the Roman
Empire. They fled all over Europe and to many part of the East
- In the middle ages rich Jews were encouraged to be money lenders while Christians were
banned from this job. This made them seem greedy and miserly and they were particularly
hated by the poor.
- Jews blamed when things went wrong, accused for many crimes without evidence. Eg blamed
for the black death plague
- Spanish parliament proclaimed Jews “evil and rash men, enemies of God and all Christianity” in
1371
- Blamed by Christians for the death of Christ
- Diaspora – because they’re so spread out they’re always a minority
- Always made sure they preserved their traditions and religion so they were often different from
their neighbours
- Different religious practices, special food and distinctive clothes make them an easy target
- Basle Declaration outlined the aims of Zionism
- Within the Jewish population there was an obvious difference between those that had chosen to
go on aliyah and the vast majority who stayed where they were. Even some of the yishuv,
members of families who had lived in Palestine for centuries, did not agree with Zionism. Some
believed that the Zionists were wrong because they were pre-empting the role of the messiah.
- Zionism was founded by Austrian Theodore Herzl. Zionism spread throughout Europe and USA
(not just Russia and Poland) after the his writings were published. Although his book was
controversial he had enough support to hold a conference of 200 in Basle, Switzerland in 1897,
and the congress issued an official statement outlining the aims of Zionism. David Ben Gurion
was a prominent Jewish leader during the mandate period
- Jewish defence force is called the Haganah

Arab People to 1914:

- much of the persecution suffered by Arabs has been a result of the Jews
- until the Ottoman empire took control of the Arab Muslims they had a huge following and their
own homeland
- Arab land the birthplace of 3 religions
- Arab nationalism was established in the early 20th cent as resistance to Zionist immigration. It
developed in an organised form after WWI. Inspired by Germans and Italians
- Jerusalem fell to the Turks in 1517 and remained under Turkish rule until 1917
- Strong class divisions existed in the PA society, especially between the large absentee
landholders (effendi) and the peasants (fellahin) who made up 70% of the Arab population.
Politics were controlled by the elite, who spend more time squabbling amongst themselves than
presenting a united opposition to the Zionist threat.

Palestine becomes a British Mandate

Britains first task was to reconstruct and expand the country’s infrastructure of roads, rail and
telegraphs, schools, hospitals, police, agriculture and industry. They tried to do so against a
backdrop of increasing hostility and conflict between Arabs and Jews as both sides made
contradictory and impossible demands on the mandate administration.

As British rule continued, riots, demonstrations, outbreaks of violence, strikes and boycotts
became increasingly frequent and violent. By the late 1930’s Palestine was in a state of chaos and
virtual war. More than 20 000 British troops were deployed in Palestine to keep law and order and
to put down a country wide Arab strike and revolt. 5000 Arabs had been killed.

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Jewish Migration and land purchase pre 1939:
- Weizmann said that the Zionist aim was to make “Palestine as Jewish as America is American or England
English”
- The rise of anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe during the 1880’s had resulted in a flood of Jewish emigrants
who were anxious to escape the persecution and pogroms in Russia.
- Zionists had more trouble getting Jews to come to Palestine than worrying about the Balfour Declaration
saying that immigration was not to exceed capacity. In the late 1920’s more Jews left than immigrated to
Palestine.
- 30,000 came in the first Aliyah
- Inspired by Jewish nationalism they wanted to build a society where they were the majority, and the obvious
choice for this place was their historic homeland, Eretz Yisrael
- Many worked on agricultural settlements as farmers. Kibbuts were people dedicated to the idea of “self
labour” and were based on many socialist ideas
- By 1914 there were 90,000 Jews in Palestine
- They settle in particular suburbs despite the fact that the Zionists wanted them to be independent and work
on the land. Rural settlement would have also meant that the Jews could spread out and buy land scattered
all over Palestine, creating political and military advantage when the show-down eventually came. This
spread greatly increased the impact that they Jews had on Palestinian Arabs.
- Majority of P.A. who sold land were absentee landlords who ere displaced by previous tenants
- J’s had a lot of money to spend and many refused to settle on the land and preferred to remain Urban
dwellers
- The J’s made Palestine productive, as it had been very barren beforehand. This was apparently a result of
fertilisers, irrigation and hard work because the Jews were so determined to make the land their own.
- The Jews that arrived in the 1930’s were more cultured and educated (in a Western European sense) but
most importantly they were much richer.
Zionist historians argue that Zionists brought much needed energy, innovation and capital to Palestine,
expanding and modernising agricultural production. They argue that the Zionists radical European political ideas
galvanised the local population into formulating and shaping their own political identity which they had not done
until the arrival of the Zionists. They conclude that the Palestinians failed to see the opportunities provided by
the arrival of the Zionists and their short sighted, hostile response closed the door to a future relationship.
- Disadvantaged Arabs because they had no respect for their blame to the land and had a huge amount of
support from powerful and rich nations like America. The Jewish settlers were also ignorant of local customs
and offended local farmers. New agricultural settlements created problems

The Arab Response to Zionist Immigration:

- The Arabs wanted rapid movement towards independence, as promised by the mandate concept, and very
restricted J immigration. By not cooperating with the British they appeared intransigent but if they had
cooperated they would appear to accept J immigration and ambitions.
- Regarded new comers with much suspicion and resentment, in particular the new agricultural settlements
created considerable problems with neighbouring Arab villages. The Jewish Settlers were ignorant of Arab
customs offended farmers and disputes often broke out.
- Many wealthy Arab landholders sold land to the Jews without any consideration to current tenants who were
then forcibly evicted
- Arabs protested that Jews were getting control of local commerce as they refused to use any Palestinian
labour on their land.
- In the cities the situation was extremely different. It took the Arabs a few years to respond to the
immigrants, and when they did they signed a petition demanding that the Ottoman govt stop Jewish
immigration and land purchase, and 3 important points came from this protest: both Muslims and Christians
sign the petition, it was in response to their fear that Zionists would take control of their land and commerce,
and they spelt out 2 demands which they never abandoned.
- Jews are referred to in a negative way in the Koran because of their rejection of Mohammed’s claim of being
a prophet of Allah. Christian Arabs also despised Jews who are blamed in the Bible for killing Jesus.
- Opposition took on a nationalist flavour by the beginning of the 20th Century, although it did not develop in
an organised form until 1908 following the revolution of the young Turks, and again after WW1.
- In 1905 “The League of the Arab Fatherland” was set up with the aim of removing the Ottomans and
establishing Arab rule in the Middle East.
- After the Balfour declaration Arab leaders refused to cooperate with the mandate administration and
rejected all efforts to create self governing institutions that included Jewish participation
- They turned to strikes and boycotts and in doing so they alienate the mandate authorities and weakened the
economic and political opportunities of the Arab sector of Palestine
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 Escalating Violence in Palestine:
- Relatively few major violent disputes or long legal cases until the late 1920’s, however
tension was always present
- In 1929 there was a major riot over the Wailing Wall as members of the yishuv tried to get
better access to it, which resulted in bloody rioting. 130 Jews were killed by Arab mobs, most
of them defenceless citizens. The British enquiry into this incident blamed the Arabs but said
they had been provoked by the way the Jews bought Arab land and then evicted the
cultivators. Later this means that the British restricted Jewish immigration which the Jews
said was an unforgivable betrayal.
- The Arab revolts of 1936-39 started with a strike in April led by the Mufti of Jerusalem, which
soon became violent. Nearly 200 Arabs were killed, mainly by British troops, and 80 Jews
were also killed before the strike ended in October. One unintended result of this was that
Jews moved into the jobs left by striking Arabs.
- These revolts claimed several thousand lives.
The British used 20 000 troops to try and contain the upheaval but the violence maintained
until 1939. By then:
o 5000 Arabs had been killed
o 15 000 wounded
o 5 600 arrested / detained / expelled
o 500 Jews were killed
o 15 000 Jews were trained with the British to help suppress the uprising
- In 1944 Irgun leader Manachem Begin urged his fellow Jews to embark on a campaign of terror to
overthrow the British government in Palestine. This made GB extremely angry but also caused
tensions within the Jewish population because the Jewish Agency handed over 700 Irgun names to
GB
- Zionist see the violence as fanatical attacks on defenceless dues while as the Arabs say they were
reacting to defend their rights against aggressive Zionism which was trying to take away their land.

Britain, Palestine and WWII:

- Continued to prevent wartime “illegal” Jewish migration to Palestine. For example in 1940 3 ships
with a total of 3500 “illegal” immigrants arrived and the British refused to let them land and
transferred them to an ocean liner where they were to be shipped to an island in the Indian
Ocean. The Haganah attempted to prevent their departure by planting explosives on board but
this sank the ship and 250 refugees drowned.
- In November 1944 Churchill met Weizmann to discuss the future of Palestine. Although Churchill
was in favour of a Jewish state he encouraged Weizmann to accept part of it, and asked that the
terrorism ended. Two days later the new British high commissioner who had expressed opposition
to Jewish immigration, was killed by Stern gang members.
- In the 2 years following the war GB became obsessed with stopping future J immigration to P. This
resulted in increased hostility and violence and by the end of 1946 GB regarded the J’s as
enemies.
- Within GB there was two attitudes to the problem of whom to support. Those in Palestine saw the
Jews us devious and unsound, well as those in GB, who were more easily influenced by lobbying
Zionists, tended to favour the Jews.
- ON the 28thof June 1946 the Jewish Agency was closed and around 3,000 Jews arrested. Irgun
terrorists responded by blowing up a way of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem
- Jewish organisations that protected Jewish interests in post WWII era:
o World Zionist Organisation
Palmach

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Nazi anti-sematic policy, WWII and their impact on the creation of Israel:
- The outbreak of WWII added new and terrible urgency to Zionist efforts to create a Jewish
homeland in Palestine. As the war progressed, Nazi persecution of the Jews became a deadly
holocaust, it was designed to rid Europe of all Jews. A Jewish state was the only way Jews could
be free of and same from Christian anti-Semitism. The Jews were well armed and better
financed and they had support form the outside. They were more attuned to events unfolding in
post war Europe than the Palestinians. They were overall successful .
- Arabs saw WWII as an opportunity to rid themselves of both the British and the Jews and to
achieve independence. This meant that they backed the axis powers (Italy and Germany). There
was little they could do and the British were victorious in the Middle East. Palestinian Arabs were
poorly led and organised, poorly armed and financed, received little external support and their
leaders were inept in reading the post war situation. The overall outcome was a catastrophe.
- It was a systematic attempt to completely and totally annihilate all Jews of Europe. No other
mass murders had ever aimed to eliminate an entire people
- 1st Step was defining Jews by race. The Nuremburg Laws came into place which stripped Jews
of their citizenship (1935) In 1938 Nazi gangs started destroying Jewish homes, property,
businesses and synagogues. The start of this was Kristalnacht. In 1939 Jews were rounded up
and concentrated in ghettos, and in 1942 the conference was held where the Nazis
determined the “final solution to the Jewish problem”
- Many other nations refused to help until it was too late. For example many countries rejected
Jewish immigrants and GB refused to lift the restrictions of immigration to Palestine
- The war left 200,000 Jews without a home, many were housed in UN camps
- None of the major powers offered to take many Jewish refugees, but many Zionists were
happy with this are they wanted Jews to go to Palestine and nowhere else.
- Most Jews had no friends or family left.
- Historians are divided on the holocausts importance in the creation of Israel. Some stress that
the Allied victory was important in influencing the newly formed UN to opt for partitioned P.
Bauer argues that the question of the future of the holocaust survivors had a great impact
- Palestinians did not participate in the holocaust, and their hatred and resentment is directed
more at Western Europeans than the Jews. They feel they have been made to pay the price for
the actions of Europeans.
- Jewish population went from 16.5 million to 6 million. Of the 7 million European Jews only 1
million survived
- For Zionists it added a terrible urgency to their efforts to create a Jewish homeland in
Palestine. The WZO and Jewish Agency renewed their determination to transform Palestine
into a Jewish state.
- P.A. saw WWII as an opportunity to rid themselves of both the British and the Jews, and
achieve independence, so they backed the axis powers, Germany and Italy. However there
was little they could do and the British were victorious in the Middle East.
- P.A. were poorly led, organised, financed and armed. They received very little external support
and their leaders were inept at reading the post-war situation.
- Zionists were much better off in this situation because hey had strong support from wealthy
American Zionists and the British.
- The Jewish agencies response to WWII and the post war situation was determined and well
organised. This was a big contrast to the situation of the P.S.
- 30,000 Jews had served in the British army made them more experienced and prepared for
war.
- There existed several organisations to help protect and further Jewish interests such as the
Haganah (defence force), Jewish Agency, World Zionist Organisation, Palmach (permanently
mobilised task force) and the terrorist organisations Irgun and the Stern Gang
- During the war several more “kibbutzim” were established to expand Zionist efforts, despite
the White Paper ban on land sales to Jews.
- The Arabs openly supported British enemies during WWII (Axis powers)

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Influence of the Great Powers in the creation of Israel:
- Zionist pressure greatly influenced US policy and their interest in Arab oil prompted them to
make good relations
- US supported a revolutionary change in P
- Britain wanted to control Palestine for it’s own imperial interests, but they were bound by the
Balfour declaration to allow J immigration but not disadvantage the PA. These 3 aims were
incompatible.
- Soviets welcomed the idea of a Jewish state as a way of extending their influence in the
Middle East
- UN recommended the partition because the committee was disturbed by the treatment of
displaced Jews
- 4.5 million Jews in the USA. American Jews contributed 40,000,000 pounds to the yishuv
between 1918 and 1930, and much more since then.
- Weizmann convinced many American Jews to back Zionism financially, this support was a vital
factoring the survival and expansion of the yishuv
- Before WWII USA had regarded Palestine as GB’s responsibility.
- Jews had more Western support and more determination to have the land after World War
Two
- Middle East was an area of interest for countries like Britain and France for:
o Oil. A vast oil pipeline from Iraq to Haifi was completed in 1932.
o Located on the crossroad between 3 continents: Europe, Africa and Asia
o Imperialism. Later an important sea plane base and a large airfield shows how
strategically useful Palestine was.
o Pressure from certain influential groups, eg Zionists
- By 1943 the US State Department was concerned about American production of oil for
the war and the supply of oil for post-war Europe and in May 1943 it advised President
Roosevelt that she should reassure the Arab world of American friendship.

- In the United States, groups sympathetic to Zionism were able to have resolutions introduced
the congress calling on the US to urge Britain to permit unrestricted Jewish immigration into
Palestine. But national interest, defined in military and strategic terms by the State
Department, won out over moral and humanitarian considerations.

United nations Partition of Palestine

In the UN Partition.:
Jewish: the Jewish state would contain 538 000 Jews and 397 000 Arabs.
Arab: the Arab state would contain 800 000 Arabs and 10 000 Jews.

Of the 26 000km2 of Palestine, the Jews who at the time made up nearly one third of the total
population and owned 6-8% of the land were to receive 56% of the land and the Arabs to
retain only around 43%. The Arab territory was to be less fertile hill country of central
Palestine and northern Galilee while the Jewish territory was to be the more fertile, coastal
plain. The Jewish state would include the Negev but would exclude the most holy places for
Jews, Jerusalem and Hebron.

Israel’s declaration of independence

Despite the ongoing violence and uncertainty, on 14th May the day before the British
departed Palestine, David Ben-Gurion read out the proclamation inaugurating the State of
Israel in a ceremony in Tel Aviv and members of the Jewish Agency signed Israel’s Declaration
of Independence.

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 Core issues surrounding the partition of Palestine and the establishment of Israel
The events surrounding the establishment of Jewish state in Palestine had major implications
for the future, many of which we are still witnessing today. The core reality for both sides is:

Israelis:
- the Arabs – not only Palestinian Arabs but most if not all Middle Eastern Arab states –
have not accepted and remain unwilling to accept a Jewish state or the idea of the a
Jewish state in the region
- that the majority of the Arab world has not given up and will not give up and use the
force of weapons to destroy Israel
- that they have been forced to and must continue to defend themselves by
demonstrating unassailable military superiority

Palestinians:
- during the British mandate and immediately following WWII they lost their country to
Zionists
- from the outset the intention of the Zionists was to occupy all the land west of the
Jordan River
- since the formation of Israel that have been fighting a war of liberation to regain their
land from an expansionist colonial state

Main issues:
- Both sides are not prepared to compromise on less that 100% ownership.
- Neither side acknowledges the other’s relationship to the land
- Religion, location of holy sites
- Strategic importance to Western nations
- Nearly every aspect of the Arab-Israeli conflict is contested.

Christopher Sykes
The Birth of Israel:
- Re Balfour: “Influenced by various considerations of policy (all based on misinformation) and
prompted by genuine idealism”
- Uneasy peace existed from 1917 until 1928
- The rise of the new Arab leader helped the tension increase. “he have his fellow Palestinians a simple
and fanatic cause: Holy war against non-muslims”
- White paper of 1939 “succeeded in taking the sting out of Arab hostility to GB…. But the paper
caused lasting Jewish embitterment”
- “As the war went on the Zionists of Palestine had become suspicious of or indifferent to British
overtures” 2 things responsible: Ben Gurion taking over from Weizmann as he was more of a ruthless
leader, and also that Zionism had become fully nationalist, prepared to accept only statehood as a
solution, and this aim became more and more associated with violence.
- The terrorists saw the British administration in Palestine as an actively anti-Jewish organisation
- The last hope lay in the private meeting between Churchill and Weizmann in 1944 and two days later
Lord Moyne, who the agreement largely depended, was assassinated by Jewish terrorists.
- “The difficulties of the Palestine situation were increased by a colossal political blunder made by the
Labour Party” Devember 1944, Lbour announced that they favoured massive Jewish immigration
- US became deeply involved in middle east politics, particularly because they had an interest in Saudi
Arabian oil. The US and Zionists made recommendations to the British to allow 100,000 displaced
Jews into Palestine which were refused. The US government needed the electoral support of the
Zionist Jews in the US.
- “British policy seemed determined to end the mandate in the most disorderly way possible”
o announced they would withdraw totally from Palestine on the 15th of May 1948
o they refused the UN’s request to enter Palestine to arrange an orderly transfer of
Authority
o a secret agreement was made with King Abdullah of Transjordan ensured that the Arab legion would
take over the military positions in the non-Jewish area. They basically encouraged Arab troops and
guerrilla bands into the country.
- The moral effect on the Jews after Truman recognised Israel straight away was great and immediate

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Zionist historians
- Zionism says that Jews have a historical birthright to Israel as a homeland or state
- This is based on continuous Jewish entitlement to the region over the past 4000 years, and
partly on religious tradition that the God of the ancient Israelites promised the land to Moses
and his descendants, the Jews.
- Zionist narratives reflect these beliefs and they portray the establishment of Israel a heroic
effort involving great sacrifices and hardships against overwhelming odds
- Zionism is a reasonable and justified solution to some of the issues that have caused the
persecution of the Jews. If they had a homeland they could make their own laws and they would
no longer be a minority and as the Jewish people have a strong connection to the land in
Palestine, so it makes sense as a homeland.
- Argue that Palestine was neglected, sparsely settled part of the Ottoman Empire, that those
Arabs living in Palestine were migratory and poor, that they had little or nor political identity,
that the land was poorly used and that the new settlers brought capital, skills and population
that led to the economy and political development of region.
- Argue that the Arabs, rather than recognising the opportunities the new settler provided them,
reacted negatively and with violence toward the peaceful Zionist settlers.

Efraim Karsh:
“In the four centuries before WWI, the Middle East was a singularly unchanging place. Since that
time, it has been perhaps the most hyperactive of regions”.

Walter Laqueur: “The tragedy of Zionism was that it appeared on the international scene when
there were no longer empty spaces on the world map”.

Arab historians
- They claim that there was thriving Palestinian Arab population, that the land was well and
productively used, that there was an awakening sense of national consciousness and political
awareness and that the region was experiencing economic growth through reforms instituted by the
Ottoman rulers in the middle of the nineteenth century.
- Argue that the Zionist settlers, through their unwillingness or inability to accommodate local
customs, provoked, if not initiated the violence that occurred in this period
- They believe that they are descendants of the original inhabitants of the region, and Palestine is
theirs by birthright.
- They believe they have been engaged in an equally heroic attempts to resist the takeover of their
homeland, and to create an independent Palestine despite overwhelming odds.

New Historians/Post Zionists: re-examine history of Israel and Zionism.

- Not all Arabs had to be displaced to achieve Jewish homeland
- During 1948, portion of P. refugees were driven from homes rather than fleeing by choice as
Israeli historians have written
- Israel and Arab countries both share equal responsibility for conflict
- Zionism is an aggressive and expansive movement and an offshoot of European imperialism

Ze’ev Jabotinsky: (founder of Revisionist Zionism):

“It was naïve to expect Arab nationalists to welcome a Jewish state in Palestine”.

Zeev Sternhell: "Contrary to the claim that is often made, Zionism was not blind to the presence
of Arabs in Palestine. If Zionist intellectuals and leaders ignored the Arab dilemma, it was chiefly
because they knew that this problem had no solution within the Zionist way of thinking…. In general
both sides understood each other well and knew that the implementation of Zionism could be only
at the expense of the Palestinian Arabs."

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