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The State of Israel (Hebrew: מדינת ישראל, Medinat Yisrael) was established in 1948 after nearly two thousand years of Jewish dispersal, and 55 years of Zionist agitation. In the sixty years since it achieved independence, its Arab neighbours have been in constant conflict with Israel and fought a number of wars; however Israel has also engaged in many negotiations and attempts to reach peace. Within Israel, democracy has survived under difficult circumstances and the country has, despite war, ethno-religious conflict, boycotts, mass migration and terror attacks, prospered. Since the foundation of the Zionist movement, a steadily growing percentage of the world's Jews have moved to Israel and, at present, some 40% of the world's Jewish population resides in Israel.[1]
Before Independence
Jewish History in Israel before the formation of the Zionist movement
Evidence of a Jewish presence in Israel dates back 3,400 years, to the formation of the religion. The name "Jews" derives from their origin in Judah. Over the course of this long history, the Jews have several times been dispersed and then returned from exile, buttressed by the power and influence of their holy book, The Tanakh (the Old Testament).
In 66 CE the Jews broke free of Rome (The Jewish-Roman wars), naming their new kingdom, Israel (to distinguish it from Roman-controlled Judah). The revolt was defeated and Jerusalem destroyed by Titus in the year 70 CE. A second Jewish revolt in 135 CE also renamed the country "Israel," and its defeat led to the renaming of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina.[3] Jews were barred from living there and the Roman province, Judah, became known as Palaestina; no other revolt led to a province being renamed. The names "Palestine" (in English) and "Filistin" (in Arabic) derive from this Latin name.[4]
While their numbers were smaller, Jews continued to see the Land of Israel as their spiritual home and Promised Land and maintained a constant presence in the country.
The name Palestine fell out of use under the Crusaders, who called the kingdoms they established there "Outremer" (overseas). During the Crusades, Jews in Israel were massacred, burnt alive or sold into slavery.[5] The murder of Jews began during the Crusaders' travels across Europe and continued in the Holy Land.[6] From 1260 - 1300 Israel became the frontier between Mongol invaders (who were Crusader allies) and the Mamluks of Egypt. The conflict impoverished the area and severely reduced its population. Sultan Baybars of Egypt eventually expelled the Crusaders and Mongols.
The collapse of the Crusades was followed by the expulsion of Jews from England (1290) and later France (1391). Moslem defeats led to expulsions from Austria (1421), Spain (the Alhambra decree 1492) and Portugal (1497). Each expulsion and wave of religious persecution led to movement of Jews to Israel.
Under the Ottomans (1517—1917) and the other Muslim states, the area was part of the province of Syria.
When the British conquered the area in 1917, they named it "Palestine" and defined the boundaries.
By the 19th century, the Land of Israel was a part of the Ottoman Empire populated mostly by Muslim and Christian Arabs, as well as Jews, Greeks, Druze, Bedouins and other minorities. In 1844, Jews constituted the largest population group in Jerusalem and by 1890 an absolute majority in the city, although as a whole the Jewish population made up far less than 10% of the total.[7][8]
1897-1917: The Zionist Revolution
- See also: Antisemitism and Persecution of Jews
During the 19th century the spread of Enlightenment ideals across Europe led to the emancipation of Jews across the continent. It also led to a counter-reaction of Europeans who sought to prevent Jews from being granted citizenship and who saw them as an alien, non-European community. Opponents of Jewish civil rights called themselves antisemites and became increasingly well organized as the century wore on. In Tzarist Russia, the government actively encouraged pogroms in an effort to divert popular resentment at the government and to drive out the Jewish population.
A small section of the millions of Jews who fled Russia, headed for Palestine. Mikveh Israel was founded in 1870 by Alliance Israelite Universelle, followed by Petah Tikva (1878), Rishon LeZion (1882), and other agricultural communities founded by the members of Bilu and Hovevei Zion.
Antisemitism, pogroms and the growth of nationalism in Europe led to an increase in the number of Jews who considered the possibility of re-establishing themselves as an independent nation. Left-wing antisemitism and the desire to preserve their identity led some socialist Jews to seek solutions within their own community.
In 1897, the First Zionist Congress proclaimed the decision "to establish a home for the Jewish people in Eretz-Israel secured under public law."[9] The movement made little political progress before the First World War and was regarded with suspicion by the Ottoman rulers of the Holy Land.
Zionism attracted religious Jews, secular nationalists and left-wing socialists. Socialists aimed to reclaim the land by working on it and formed collectives. This was accompanied by Revival of the Hebrew language.
During World War I, the British sought Jewish support in the fight against Germany. This and support for Zionism from Prime-Minister Lloyd-George[10] led to foreign minister, Lord Balfour making the Balfour Declaration of 1917, stating that the British Government "view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people"..."it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine".
The British invasion force, led by General Allenby, included a force of Jewish volunteers (mostly Zionists), known as the Jewish Legion.[11]
1917-1945: British Mandate: The Jewish National Home
- See also: The Holocaust, Nazi Propaganda, and Jews outside Europe under Nazi occupation
After World War I, the League of Nations formally assigned the Palestine mandate to the United Kingdom, endorsing the terms of the Balfour Declaration and additionally requiring the British an independent Jewish Agency that would administer Jewish affairs in Palestine. An additional treaty was signed with the USA (which did not join the League of Nations) in which the USA endorsed the terms of the mandate.[12]
Following Arab rioting in 1921, the British mandatory authorities enacted a system of immigration quotas to ensure that Jewish immigration did not disrupt Palestine's economy. An exception was made for Jews with over 1000 Pounds in cash (a large sum in those days), or professionals with over 500 Pounds, who would be allowed in despite the quotas. A decision was made to remove Transjordan from the mandate and allow an independent state to be created there.[13]
Arab attacks on isolated Jewish settlements and British failure to protect the Jews, led to the creation of Haganah (Defence) a mainly socialist Jewish militia dedicated to defending Jewish settlements. Following the 1929 Arab riots, the Revisionist Zionist leader, Jabotinsky, created a right-wing militia called the Irgun Tzvai Leumi, (National Military Organization, known by its acronym "Etzel"), in the thirties this merged with Haganah.
Jewish immigration grew slowly in the 1920s. However, the increased persecution of European Jews by the European Fascist powers (such as the Third Reich) resulted in a marked increase in Jewish immigration.
Rapid Jewish migration led to a large-scale Arab rebellion in Palestine (1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine). The Jewish Agency leader, Ben-Gurion responded to the revolt with Havlagah, a policy of not responding to Arab attacks in order to prevent polarization. The Irgun Tzvai Leumi left the Haganah because of its failure to avenge Arab attacks on Jews.
Concerned that sympathy for the Palestinian Arabs would damage Anglo-Arab/Muslim relations, Britain responded by creating a Royal Commission chaired by Lord Peel. The Peel Commission recommended the partition of Palestine into two separate autonomous regions for Jews and Arabs, with Britain maintaining overall control over the territory. However, the increasing probability of major war in Europe prompted Britain to focus on Arab goodwill and prevent immigration by the growing numbers of Jews trying to enter Palestine. The result was the 1939 White Paper which restricted Jewish immigration to 75,000 over the next five years (further levels requiring Arab consent) and a promise to establish an independent Palestine under Arab majority rule within the next ten years.[14]
The 1939 White Paper broke with the terms of the British Mandate as decreed by the League of Nations. Despite this, the Jewish Agency leader, Ben-Gurion, decided to support Britain in the coming conflict with Germany and Palestine's Jewish youth were called on to volunteer for the British Army (both men and women). The Etzel also supported this policy, however a small group dedicated to fighting the British broke away and formed the Lehi (Stern Gang), led by Avraham Stern. According to Arthur Koestler, Stern's parents had been on a boat the British returned to Europe in the 1930's where they were killed by the Nazis.[15]
1945-1948: Jewish uprising against British rule
- See also: Berihah, Displaced persons camp, Sh'erit ha-Pletah, Anti-Jewish violence in Poland, 1944-1946, and Cyprus internment camps
After the end of World War II, The British Labour Party won the elections in Britain with a manifesto which included a promise to create a Jewish state in Palestine and rescind the 1939 White Paper. However the Labour Foreign Minister, Ernest Bevin, decided to persist with existing policy, due to the continued importance of cordial Anglo-Arab relations to British strategic concerns throughout the region. Britain directly controlled Transjordan, Sudan, Kuwait, the Arab Emirates, Bahrain and the Yemen. It had treaties of alliance with Iraq and Egypt.
In 1943 the USSR released the Revisionist Zionist leader, Menachem Begin from the Gulag and he migrated to Palestine, taking command of the Etzel with a policy of increased conflict against the British. Begin's family had been murdered by the Nazis. At about the same time Yitzhak Shamir escaped from the camp in Eritrea where the British had been holding him without trial and assumed command of the Lehi. Shamir's parents were murdered by the Polish villagers they grew up among.
The Second World War left all surviving Jews (the minority) in central Europe as refugees, almost all wanted to leave Europe and many opted to move to Palestine. Growing illegal immigration caused the British to take counter measures against the Jewish community and in June 1946 the British arrested thousands of Jews, including the leadership of the Jewish Agency, holding them without trial.
In July 1946 the Kielce Pogrom in Poland led to a massive wave of Jews seeking to escape Europe (such pogroms were still taking place in Eastern Europe).[16] In Palestine, Jewish militias (the Haganah, Etzel and Lehi) decided to form a unified Jewish resistance movement against the British.
The union broke up over the Eztel's July 1946 bombing of the British Military Headquarters in Palestine the King David Hotel bombing, killing 92 (most of them civilians).[17]
In the days following the attack, Tel-Aviv was placed under curfew and over 120,000 were interrogated by CID.[18] The British government decided to imprison illegal Jewish immigrants to Palestine, holding them indefinitely and without trial on Cyprus. The prisoners were mostly holocaust survivors, including children and orphans. The camps were funded by taxation of the Jewish community in Palestine. Prisoners subsequently began to be released and allowed to move to Palestine at a rate of 750 a month.
Intensifying hostility between the Jewish independence movement and British forces resulted in increased concern over the wider implications of British policy in Palestine. The conflict severely undermined Anglo-American and Anglo-Arab relations, both of which were vital to Britain's post-war international strategy. As a result Ernest Bevin announced the decision to refer the Palestine problem to the UN, which maintained overall responsibility for the region.
In July 1947 Bevin ordred an illegal immigrant ship, the Exodus 1947, to be sent back to Europe. The passengers were forcibly removed at Hamburg.
| 1948 Arab-Israeli War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Arab-Israeli conflict | |||||||||
 David Ben Gurion (First Prime Minister of Israel) publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948. Tel Aviv, Israel, beneath a large portrait of Theodore Herzl, founder of modern political Zionism |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 IsraelHaganah Irgun Lehi Palmach Foreign Volunteers |
 Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen[19], Holy War Army, Arab Liberation Army |
||||||||
| Commanders | |||||||||
| Yaakov Dori, Yigael Yadin |
John Bagot Glubb, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Hasan Salama, Fawzi Al-Qawuqji, Ahmed Ali al-Mwawi |
||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Israel: 29,677 initially rising to 115,000 by March 1949 |
Egypt: 10,000 initially rising to 20,000 Iraq: 5,000 initially rising to 15–18,000 Syria: 2,500–5,000 Transjordan: 6,000–12,000 Lebanon: 1,000 initially rising to 2,000[20] Saudi Arabia: 800–1,200 Yemen: unknown Arab Liberation Army: 3,500-6,000 |
||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 6,373 KIA (4,000 troops and about 2,400 civilians) | Unknown (between 10,000 and 15,000) | ||||||||
In September 1947 the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) reported in favour of partition in Palestine, a suggestion ratified by the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947.[21] The result envisaged the creation of two states, one Arab and one Jewish, with the city of Jerusalem to be under the direct administration of the United Nations.
The General Assembly resolution required Britain to allow unrestricted Jewish migration into a port on the coast, however Britain refused to implement the resolution and continued to incarcerate Jewish migrants in Cyprus.
1948: War of independence and statehood
- See also: Declaration of Independence (Israel), 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and 1949 Armistice Agreements
Concerned that partition would severely damage Anglo-Arab/Muslim relations, Britain refused to cooperate with the UN, denying the UN access to Palestine during the interim period. Final evacuation was completed by May 1948. After the evacuation Britain continued to hold Jews of "fighting age" on Cyprus until March 1949.
Fighting between the Arab and Jewish communities of Palestine began in November 1947, immediately after the UN decision to create a Jewish state. The Arab States declared they would greet any attempt to form a Jewish state with war and leaders of the Palestinian-Arab community promised a "fight to the death".[22]
Fighting spread as the British gradually withdrew. The Arab League could not invade before the British withdrew but planned to invade the day after the British left. In this phase, before the British departure, the struggle was a civil war. Arab forces consisted of village militias buttressed by the Arab Liberation Army, a force of Arab volunteers from across the Middle-East and European mercenaries including British deserters, German Nazis and some Yugoslavs. The Jews had the Haganah militia (including many World War II veterans) and a several thousand strong professional force called the Palmach.
Initially the Arabs had the advantage as the British maintained an embargo on Palestine's seas preventing the Jews from importing arms or man power while Arab states could supply local Arabs who also occupied more strategic areas and out-numbered the Jews. The Jews, however, were better organized and believed themselves to be fighting for their lives. Jewish taxes had funded both the British army in Palestine and British support for the Arab population so the Jewish economy benefited from the British departure while the Arab economy collapsed as the war expanded. The Jews had an independent taxation system through the Jewish Agency and could raise funds more effectively.
In the early stages 100,000 Palestinian Arabs, mainly the upper-classes and better off fled to neighbouring states.[23] Before May 1948, 150,000 more fled or were evicted during fighting as the Jews slowly overpowered the Arab forces. Jewish preparation for the Arab invasion led to the eviction of hostile Arab communities who controlled access routes. In Haifa the Arab Higher Committee (who were based in Syria) refused to allow a negotiated cease fire with the Jews or allow the Arab population to remain under Jewish control thus contributing to the departure of the cities Arab population.[24] There was particularly heavy fighting on the road to Jerusalem, whose 100,000 strong Jewish community was cut off from the rest of the country and this led the Jews to destroy most of the Arab villages along the narrow route they eventually established between Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv.
The impending Arab invasion provided an incentive for Palestinian-Arabs to leave in the expectation that they would soon return. In 1948 Jews were known as a nation with no military tradition who had easily been slaughtered over the preceding century, while the Arabs were a famous warrior nation and an Arab victory was widely anticipated.
On May 14 1948, the last British forces left Haifa, and the Jewish Agency, led by David Ben-Gurion, declared the creation of the State of Israel, in accordance with the 1947 UN Partition Plan. U.S. President Harry S. Truman immediately recognized the new state, followed hours later by Soviet premier Joseph Stalin. Arab League members Egypt, TransJordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq declared war and announced their rejection of the UN partition decision. They claimed the right of self-determination for the Arabs of Palestine over the whole of Palestine.[25] Saudi-Arabia and Sudan also sent forces to participate in the invasion.
The invading Egyptian and Iraqi armies were poorly trained and equipped as the British had feared they would support the Nazis during the Second World War. The Jordanian "Arab Legion" however, was well trained and had aided the British in Palestine. Many Arab Legion forces were still in Palestine when the British left. Arab Legion commanders were high-ranking British officers (who resigned from the British Army in 1948). The Commander-in-Chief was a British General, Glubb Pasha.
The invading Arab armies were initially successful but met far harder Jewish resistance then they expected, causing them to slow their advance. On May 29, 1948 the British initiated United Nations Security Council Resolution 50 and declared an arms embargo on the region. Czechoslovakia violated the resolution supplying the Jewish state with critical military hardware to match the heavy equipment and planes used by the invading Arab states.
In early June, the UN declared a month-long truce. Large numbers of Jewish immigrants, many of them World War II veterans and Holocaust survivors began arriving, and many joined the newly-created Israel Defense Forces (IDF).[26] When the fighting resumed, Israel gained the upper hand.
Arab supply routes were long and fragile and as the war dragged on they had problems replenishing their ammunition supplies. The Jordanian 'Arab Legion', refrained from invading Israeli territory and focused on occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In March 1949, after many months of battle, a permanent ceasefire went into effect and Israel's interim borders, later known as the Green Line, were established. By that time Israel had conquered the Gallillee and Negev.
Following the ceasefire declaration, Britain released over 2,000 Jewish prisoners it was holding on Cyprus and recognized the state of Israel. On May 11, 1949, when the war ended, Israel was admitted as a member of the United Nations.[27]
The war for Israel's Independence was the costliest in its history. Out of a Jewish population of 650,000, some 6,000 men and women were killed in the fighting, including 4,000 soldiers in the IDF. The exact number of Arab losses is unknown but the estimates ranged from 10,000 to 15,000 people.citation needed
According to United Nations figures, 711,000 Palestinians left Israeli-controlled territory between 1947 and 1949 and, over the next few years 850,000 Jews left the Arab world.[28]
At the end of the war, Egypt remained in occupation of the Gaza Strip and Transjordan annexed the "West Bank" and eastern Jerusalem, including the Old City. Except in Jordan, Arab refugees that left Palestine were settled in refugee camps and denied full citizenship and rights by the Arab countries that hosted them.
After Independence
The new state established a 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, which first met in Tel Aviv but moved to Jerusalem after the 1949 ceasefire. In January 1949, Israel held its first elections. The first President of Israel was Chaim Weizmann. David Ben-Gurion was elected prime minister.
From 1948 until 1977 all governments were led by Mapai and the Alignment, predecessors of the Labour Party. Early on, a religious status quo agreement was reached between Ben-Gurion and the Rabbinate. One component of the agreement was the exemption of yeshiva students from military service.
Labour Party Rule 1948 - 1977
1948 - 1953: Ben Gurion and mass immigration
In the early years, Labour Zionists led by David Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics and the economy was run on primarily socialist lines.
In 1950 the Knesset passed the Law of Return which granted all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
Over the next few years, virtually the entire Jewish populations of Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt were driven out. Jews were not permitted to live in or enter Saudi-Arabia. About 500,000 Jews left Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia by the late sixties. The property these Jews abandoned (much of it in city centres) is a matter of dispute.
From 1948 to 1951, mass immigration brought some 700,000 Jews to Israel, doubling the population and leaving an indelible imprint on Israeli society.[29] Most immigrants to Israel in the early years were either Holocaust survivors or Jews fleeing Arab lands; the largest groups in the first 3 years (over 100,000 each) were from Iraq, Romania and Poland, although immigrants arrived from all over Europe and the Middle East.[30]
From 1948 to 1958, the population rose from 800,000 to two million. During this period, food, clothes and furniture were rationed in what became known as the Austerity Period (Tkufat haTsena). Immigrants were mostly refugees with no possessions and were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot.
By 1952, over 200,000 immigrants were living in temporary tents or pre-fabricated shacks built by the government. Most of the financial aid Israel received were private donations from Jews outside the country (mainly in the USA).[31]
The need to solve the economic crisis led Ben-Gurion to sign a reparations agreement with West Germany. During the Knesset debate some 5,000 demonstrators gathered and riot police had to cordon the building. During the debate, the Herut leader Menachem Begin and Ben-Gurion called each other fascists and Begin branded Ben-Gurion a "hooligan."[32]
Dalia Ofer estimates that by 1952 about 400,000 Israelis were Jews who had been severely displaced by the Holocaust, and the Israeli government's demand for German reparations was in lieu of the expenses involved in resettling them.[33] Israel received several billion marks and in return Israel agreed to open diplomatic relations with Germany.
- See also: Arab League boycott of Israel
In its early years Israel sought to maintain a non-aligned position between the super-powers. The USSR had widespread support in Israel, however in 1952 an anti-semitic public trial was staged in Moscow of a group of Jewish doctors accused of trying to poison Stalin (the Doctors' plot), followed by a similar trial in Czechoslovakia (Slánský trial). That and the failure of Israel to get invited to the Bandung Conference (of non-aligned states), effectively ended Israeli non-alignment.
Israel's solution to the diplomatic isolation resulting from Arab boycotts was to establish good relations with the United States and the emerging states in Africa.[34] and Asia. The Israeli government extended recognition to the People's Republic of China in 1950, but diplomatic relations were not established until 1992.
A second election was held in 1951, giving much the same result.
At the end of 1953, Ben Gurion retired to Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev.
1954 - 1955: Moshe Sharett and the Lavon Affair
In January 1954 Moshe Sharett became Prime-Minister of Israel, however his government was brought down by the Lavon Affair, a crude plan to disrupt US-Egyptian relations, involving Egyptians planting bombs at American sites in Egypt. The plan failed when the eleven agents were arrested. Defence Minister Lavon was blamed despite his denial of responsibility.[35]
In the aftermath of the affair the government resigned and Ben-Gurion returned to the post of Prime-Minister winning the 1955 election.
1955 - 1963: Ben-Gurion II: Sinai Campaign & Eichmann Trial
In 1955, Czechoslovakia began supplying arms to Egypt, and France became Israel's principle arms supplier.[36]
Rudolph Kastner, a minor political functionary, was accused of collaborating with the Nazis and sued his accuser. Kastner lost the trial and was assassinated two years later. In 1958 the Supreme Court exonerated him.
The Egyptian government began recruiting former Nazi rocket scientists for a missile program.[37] Some Nazi war criminals found asylum in the Arab world, including Alois Brunner.[38]
The Sinai Campaign came about as conflict between Egypt and Israel increased in 1956. During the Fifties', hundreds of Israelis were killed in Fedayeen attacks from (Egyptian occupied)Gaza into Israeli territory. The attacks began as private initiatives by Palestinian refugees and the victims were frequently Jewish refugees from Arab countries. Fedayeen attacks led to a growing cycle of violence as Israel launched reprisal attacks against Gaza and the Egyptian government organized and sponsored the Fedayeen.
In 1956 Egypt blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, and closed the Suez canal to Israeli shipping. The canal was then nationalized, to the dismay of its British and French shareholders. In response, France and the United Kingdom entered into a secret agreement with Israel to take back the canal by force.
In accordance with this agreement (which was not officially admitted until very much later), Israel invaded the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula in October 1956. Israeli forces reached the canal in short order and then French and British forces stepped in on the pretext of restoring order. It is believed the French also agreed to build a nuclear plant for the Israelis and that by 1968 this was able to produce nuclear weapons.
The Israeli, French and United Kingdom forces were victorious, but withdrew in March 1957 due to pressure from the United States and USSR. The United Nations established the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) to keep peace in the area. In return for the withdrawal Israel was guaranteed freedom of access to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal and action to end attacks from Gaza.[39] In practice the Suez Canal remained closed to Israeli shipping.
In October 1957 a deranged man threw a handgrenade inside the Knesset wounding Ben-Gurion.[40]
Ben-Gurion was once again victorious in the 1959 elections.
In May 1960 the Mossad located Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief administrators of the Nazi Holocaust, in Argentina and kidnapped him to Israel. In 1961 he was put on trial and after several months found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged in 1962 and is the only person ever sentenced to death by an Israeli court.
Testimonies by Holocaust survivors at the trial and the extensive publicity which surrounded it has led the trial to be considered a turning point in public awareness of the Holocaust.[41]
In 1961 a Herut non-confidence motion over the Lavon affair led to Ben-Gurion's resignation. Ben-Gurion declared that he would only accept office if Lavon was fired from the position of the head of Histadrut, Israel's labor union organization (due to his role in the Lavon Affair). His demands were accepted and he won the 1961 election.
In 1962 the Mossad began assassinating German rocket scientists working in Egypt after one of them reported the missile program was designed to carry chemical warheads. This action was condemned by Ben-Gurion and led to the Mossad director, Isser Harel's resignation.[42]
In 1963 Ben-Gurion quit again over the Lavon scandal. His attempts to make his party Mapai support him over the issue failed, and Ben-Gurion left the party to form Rafi. Levi Eshkol became leader of Mapai and the new Prime-Minister.
1963 - 1969: Levi Eshkol and the Six-Day War
In 1964, Egypt, Jordan and Syria developed a unified military command. Israel completed work on a national water carrier, a huge engineering project designed to transfer Israel's allocation of the Jordan river's waters towards the south of the country in realization of Ben-Gurion's dream of mass Jewish settlement of the Negev desert. The Arabs responded by trying to divert the headwaters of the Jordan and this led to growing conflict between Israel and Syria.[43]
In 1964, Israeli Rabbinical authorities accepted that the Bene Israel of India were indeed Jewish and most of the remaining Indian Jews migrated to Israel. The 2000 strong Jewish community of Cochin had already migrated in 1954.
In the 1965 elections Levi Eshkol was victorious.
Until 1966, Israel's principal arms supplier was France, however in 1966, following the withdrawal from Algeria, De Gaulle announced France would cease supplying Israel with arms (and refused to refund money paid for 50 warplanes[44] ).
In 1966 security restrictions placed on Arab citizens of Israel were lifted and efforts began to integrate them into the country's life. Black and white TV broadcasts began.
In 1967, Syria, Egypt and Jordan amassed troops along the Israeli borders and Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. Nasser demanded that the UNEF leave Sinai, threatening escalation to a full war. Egyptian radio broadcasts talked of a coming genocide.[45].
Israel responded by calling up its civilian reserves, bringing much of the Israeli economy to a halt. The Israelis set up a national unity coalition, including for the first time Menachem Begin's party, Herut in a coalition.
During a national radio broadcast, Prime-Minister Levi Eshkol stammered, causing widespread fear in Israel. To calm public concern Moshe Dayan (Chief of Staff during the Sinai war) was appointed defense minister.
On the morning before Dayan was sworn in, June 5 1967, the Israeli air force launched pre-emptive attacks destroying first the Egyptian air force and then later the same day destroying the air forces of Jordan and Syria. Israel then defeated (almost successively) Egypt, Jordan and Syria. By June 11 the Arab forces were routed and all parties had accepted the cease-fire called for by UN Security Council Resolutions 235 and 236.
Israel gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the formerly Jordanian-controlled West Bank of the Jordan River, including East Jerusalem. On November 22 1967, the Security Council adopted Resolution 242, the "land for peace" formula, which called for the establishment of a just and lasting peace based on Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967 in return for the end of all states of belligerency, respect for the sovereignty of all states in the area, and the right to live in peace within secure, recognized boundaries.
For the first time since the end of the British Mandate, Jews could visit the Old City of Jerusalem and pray at the Western Wall to which they had been denied access by the Jordanians (in contravention of the 1949 Armistice agreement). In Hebron, Jews gained access to the Cave of the Patriarchs (the second most holy site in Judaism) for the first time since the 14th Century (previously Jews were only allowed to pray at the entrance).[46]. A third Jewish holy site, Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem also became accessible.
After 1967 the USA began supplying Israel with aircraft. Anti-Semitic purges led to the final migration of the last Polish Jews to Israel.
In early 1969, fighting broke out between Egypt and Israel along the Suez Canal. In retaliation for repeated Egyptian shelling of Israeli positions along the Suez Canal, Israeli planes made deep strikes into Egypt in the 1969-1970 "War of Attrition". The United States helped end these hostilities in August 1970, but subsequent U.S. efforts to negotiate an interim agreement to open the Suez Canal and achieve the disengagement of forces were unsuccessful.
In as much as the 1949 Armistice lines were no longer direct borders, and Israel now had the responsibility of administration of Golan, Gaza, West Bank, and Sinai, the opportunity to unite divided Jerusalem was taken, and formal annexation completed. In the late seventies, Israel also formally annexed the Golan. Gaza and the West Bank, overwhelmingly Palestinian, remained as administrative territories, pending a final settlement. Sinai, remained in a military occupation, although its sparse population required little administration.
In late 1969, Levi Eshkol died in office, of a heart attack, and was succeeded by Golda Meir.
1969 - 1975: Golda Meir and Yom Kippur War
In the 1969 election, Golda Meir became Prime Minister with the largest percentage of the vote ever won by an Israeli party and the first female prime minister of Israel.
In September 1970 King Hussein of Jordan drove the Palestine Liberation Organization out of his country. The center of PLO activity now shifted to Lebanon, where the 1969 Cairo agreement gave the Palestinians autonomy within the south of the country. The area controlled by the PLO became known as Fatahland and contributed to the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War.
During 1971, violent demonstrations by the Israeli Black Panthers, made the Israeli public aware of resentment among Mizrahi Jews at ongoing discrimination and social gaps.[47]
Increased Soviet antisemitism contributed to a wave of Jews braving offical sanction and applying to emmigrate to Israel. Many Jews were refused exit visas and became known as Prisoners of Zion.
In 1972, 11 members of the Israeli team to the Munich Olympics were kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists. During an apparently botched rescue by the German security forces, all 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed (probably by the terrorists) and five of the terrorists were shot. The three surviving unharmed Palestinian hijackers were released without charge by the Germans one month later. The Israeli government responded with an assassination campaign against the organizers.
The expulsion of Soviet advisors by the new Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, led to Israeli complacency about the military threat from the Arab world.
The Yom Kippur War began on October 6 1973 (the Jewish Day of Atonement), the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and a day when adult Jews are required to fast. The Syrian and Egyptian armies launched a surprise attack against the unprepared Israeli Defence Forces. For the first few days there was a great deal of uncertainty about Israel's capacity to repel the invaders, however the Syrians were repulsed and, although the Egyptians captured some territory in Sinai, Israeli forces crossed the Suez Canal and were heading towards Cairo when a cease fire was agreed. Although the war's results were generally favourable to Israel, it cost over 2,000 dead and resulted in a heavy arms bill. The war generally made Israelis more aware of their vulnerability. Following the war, both Israelis and Egyptians showed greater willingness to negotiate. On January 18 1974, following extensive diplomacy by US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, a Disengagement of Forces agreement was signed with the Egyptian government, and on May 31 with the Syrian government.
On the international scene, the war led the Saudi Government to initiate the oil embargo against countries trading with Israel. As a result many African and Asian countries broke off relations with Israel. Israel was banned from participation in the Asian Games.
In May 1974, Palestinians attacked a school in Ma'alot, holding 102 children hostage. Twenty-two children were killed. In November 1974 the PLO was granted observer status at the UN and Yasser Arafat addressed the General Assembly.
Later that year the Agranat Commission, appointed to assess responsibility for Israel's lack of preparedness for the war, exonerated the government of responsibility and held the Chief of Staff and head of military intelligence responsible. Despite the report, public anger at the Government, led to Golda Meir's resignation.
1975 - 1976: Yitzhak Rabin I: Operation Entebbe, start of Religious Settlements
Following Meir's resignation, Yitzhak Rabin (Chief of Staff during the Six Day War) became prime minister.
Modern Orthodox Jews (Religious Zionist followers of the teachings of Rabbi Kook), formed the Gush Emunim movement and began an organized drive to settle the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In November 1975 the United Nations General Assembly, under the guidance of Austrian Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, adopted Resolution 3379 which asserted Zionism to be a form of racism. The General Assembly rescinded this resolution in December 1991 with Resolution 46/86. (See also Israel, Palestine and the United Nations.)
In July 1976, an Air France plane carrying 260 people was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and flown to Uganda, then ruled by Idi Amin Dada. There, the Germans separated the Jewish passengers from the Non-Jewish passengers, releasing the non-Jews. The hijackers threatened to kill the remaining, 100-odd Jewish passengers (and the French crew who had refused to leave). Despite the distances involved, Rabin ordered a daring rescue operation in which the kidnapped Jews were freed.[48] UN Secretary General Waldheim described the raid as "a serious violation of the national sovereignty of a United Nations member state" (meaning Uganda).[49] Waldheim subsequently turned out to be a former Nazi officer, whose name appeared on a 1947 list of wanted war criminals submitted to the UN by Yugoslavia.[50]
In 1976, the ongoing Lebanese Civil War led Israel to allow some South Lebanese to cross the border and work in Israel.
At the end of 1976, Rabin resigned after it emerged that his wife maintained a dollar account in the United States (illegal at the time), which had been opened while Rabin was Israeli ambassador. The incident became known as the Dollar Account affair.
Shimon Peres replaced him as prime minister, leading the Alignment in the subsequent elections.
In January 1977, French authorities arrested Abu Daoud, the planner of the Munich massacre, releasing him a few days later. [51]
In March 1977 Anatoly Sharansky, a prominent Russian Zionist was sentenced to 13 years hard labour.
Likud Domination 1977 - 1992
1977 - 1981: Menachem Begin I: The Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty
In a surprise result, the Likud led by Menachem Begin won the 1977 elections. This was the first time in Israeli history that the government was not led by the left. Mizrahi anger at discrimination was a key factor in the victory and was to play an important role in Israeli politics for many years. Moroccan born David Levy made a major contribution to winning Mizrahi support for Begin.
In addition to starting a process of healing the Mizrahi-Ashkenazi divide, Begin's government included Ultra-Orthodox Jews and was instrumental in healing the Zionist - Ultra-Orthodox rift. Begin's liberalization of the economy led to hyper-inflation but enabled Israel to begin receiving US financial aid. Begin actively supported Gush Emunim's efforts to settle the West Bank, thus laying the grounds for intense conflict with the Palestinian population of the occupied territories.
In November 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat broke 30 years of hostility with Israel by visiting Jerusalem at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. During the 2-day visit, which included a speech before the Knesset, the Egyptian leader created a new psychological climate in the Middle East in which peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours seemed a realistic possibility. Sadat recognized Israel's right to exist and established the basis for direct negotiations between Egypt and Israel.
Following Sadat's visit, 350 Yom Kippur war veterans organized the Peace Now movement to encourage Israeli governments to make peace with the Arabs.
In March 1978, eleven armed Lebanese-Palestinians reached Israel in boats and hijacked a bus carrying families on a day outing, killing 35 people including 13 children. Three days later, Israeli forces crossed into Lebanon commencing Operation Litani. After passage of Security Council Resolution 425, calling for Israeli withdrawal and the creation of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon peace-keeping force (UNIFIL), Israel withdrew its troops.
In September 1978, U.S. President Jimmy Carter invited President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin to meet with him at Camp David, and on September 11 they agreed on a framework for peace between Israel and Egypt and a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. It set out broad principles to guide negotiations between Israel and the Arab states. It also established guidelines for a West Bank-Gaza transitional regime of full autonomy for the Palestinians residing in these territories and for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The treaty was signed on March 26 1979, by Begin and Sadat, with President Carter signing as witness. Under the treaty, Israel returned the Sinai peninsula to Egypt in April 1982. In 1989, the governments of Israel and Egypt concluded an agreement that resolved the status of Taba, a resort area on the Gulf of Aqaba.
| 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (millions) | 1.4 | 2.1 | 3 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 6 |
| % of world's Jews | 7% | 20% | 25% | 30% | 39% | |
| GDP per capita 1995 NIS | 10,100 | 16,800 | 27,800 | 36,000 | 42,400 |
The Arab League reacted to the peace treaty by suspending Egypt from the organisation and moving its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis. Sadat was later assassinated by members of the Egyptian army which had opposed his efforts to make peace with Israel.
Following the agreement Israel and Egypt became the two largest recipients of US military and financial aid (Iraq has now overtaken them by a large margin).[53]
1981 - 1983: Begin II: The First Lebanon War
- See also: 1982 Lebanon War
On the 30th June 1981, the Israeli air-force destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor that France was building for Iraq.
Three weeks later, Begin was victorious yet again in the 1981 elections.
In the decades following the 1948 war, Israel's border with Lebanon was quiet compared to its borders with other neighbours, however the 1969 Cairo agreement gave the PLO a free hand to attack Israel from South Lebanon. The area was governed by the PLO independently of the Lebanese Government and became known as "Fatahland" (Fatah was the largest faction in the PLO). Palestinian irregulars constantly shelled the Israeli north, especially the town of Kiryat Shmona which was a Likud stronghold inhabited primarily by Jews from the Arab world. Lack of control over Palestinian areas was an important factor in causing civil war in Lebanon.
In June 1982, the attempted assassination of the ambassador to Britain led to an Israeli invasion aiming to drive the PLO out of the southern half of Lebanon. The invasion expanded and became known as the 1982 Lebanon War with the Israeli army occupying Beirut, the only time an Arab capital has been occupied by Israel. While some Lebanese did at first welcome the Israelis, almost all Lebanese came to resent Israeli occupation. Heavy Israeli casualties led