The History Book

302

THE NAME OF

OUR STATE

SHALL BE ISRAEL

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ISRAEL (1948)

A

s the sun rose on May 14,

1948, the British flag was

lowered at Government

House, on Jerusalem’s Hill of Evil

Counsel, ending the 26-year British

mandate over Palestine. David

Ben-Gurion, the longtime leader

of the Jewish settlers, or Zionists,

who had fled to Palestine from

Europe, proclaimed the news of

the establishment of the Jewish

state in Palestine.

Israel’s Muslim neighbors,

united as the Arab League,

rejected the state’s creation and

reacted with an attack. Troops

moved in from Transjordan, Egypt,

Lebanon, and Syria. Hardened to

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Creation of Israel

BEFORE

1897 Zionism becomes an

organized movement and calls

for a Jewish state in Palestine.

1917 In the Balfour Declaration,

Britain promises to help the

Jews establish a homeland

in Palestine.

1946 As part of its campaign

of terrorism against Palestine

and Britain, the Jewish

underground army bombs the

King David Hotel, killing 91.

AFTER

1967 During the Six Day War,

Arabs unite against Israel, but

Israel is victorious and captures

swathes of Arab territory.

1993 Oslo Peace Accords try

to initiate peace between

Palestinians and Israel.

2014 Sweden becomes the

135th country to recognize

the state of Palestine.

Zionist theorists

envisage the possibility of

a Jewish homeland.

Many Palestinians are

forcibly displaced and

become refugees.

Jews escaping Nazi control flee to Palestine.

Jews begin settling in

and developing

Palestine.

The United Nations grants the land of Israel

to the Jewish people.

Wars break out

periodically between

Arab states and Israel.

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303

The flag of Israel was adopted in

1948, a few months after the birth of

the state. It was originally designed in

1891 for use by the Zionist movement

and has the Star of David at its center.

See also: The Young Turk Revolution 260–61 ■ The Treaty of Versailles 280 ■ The Suez Crisis 318–21 ■

The 9/11 attacks 327 ■ The founding of the United Nations 340

THE MODERN WORLD

fighting after years of protecting

their settlements in Palestine, the

Jews thwarted the Arabs.

A troubled land

Jews had immigrated to Palestine

to avoid persecution in Europe since

the 1880s, believing it to be the

land promised to them by God. With

the Balfour Declaration in 1917, the

British government supported a

Jewish homeland. The majority-

Arab population objected to the

settlers’ claim on their country.

Facing increasing attacks, the Jews

formed local defense groups under

the umbrella term the Haganah.

Escalation of violence

In 1939, the rise of anti-Semitism

in Europe, particularly in Nazi

Germany, forced Jews to flee to

Jerusalem. Facing a much larger

influx of settlers than they had

anticipated, the British proposed

a restriction on the free settlement

of Jewish refugees in Palestine.

After World War II, violence in

Palestine escalated, and in 1947 the

British government said it would

terminate its rule and hand the

“Palestine problem” to the United

Nations. The Holocaust convinced

the UN that the Jewish people

needed a homeland, so they resolved

to partition Palestine into an area

for Arabs (about 44 percent) and the

rest for a Jewish state. The Jews

agreed with the plan, but the Arabs

refused it. Despite this, on May 14,

1948 the state of Israel was born.

Israel’s immediate priority was to

build a credible defense force from

the Haganah. After the Six Day War

(1967), Israel controlled the Sinai,

Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan

Heights, and Jerusalem. It faced

many attacks from Arab neighbors,

in addition to threats from the

paramilitary Palestine Liberation

Army (PLO), formed in 1964.

Arab Palestinians repeatedly

called for an independent state in

the West Bank and Gaza. In the

occupied zones, they suffered from

poor living conditions, military

raids, and restricted movement. ■

David Ben-Gurion The founder and first prime

minister (1948–63) of the state

of Israel, David Ben-Gurion was

born in 1886 to Zionist parents

in Poland. In 1906, he immigrated

to Palestine, where he became an

active supporter of the struggle

for an independent Jewish state.

He led the Jewish campaign

against the British in Palestine,

authorizing acts of sabotage.

When he became the nation’s

leader, he established the Israeli

Defense Force and guided the

modern development of Israel.

He promoted the use of Hebrew

as the language of the country.

His “Law of Return,” announced

in 1950, granted permission for

Jews from around the world to

immigrate to Israel.

He briefly retired in 1953,

and in his later years in power

he initiated secret talks with

Arab leaders in an attempt to

gain peace for the Middle East.

In 1970, Ben-Gurion retired

fully from the Knesset (Israeli

parliament) and devoted himself

to writing his memoirs in Sde-

Boqer, a kibbutz (communal

settlement) in the Negev Desert

in southern Israel. He died in

1973 and is still a revered figure.

We shall live at

last as free men on

our own soil.

Theodor Herzl

Zionist writer

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