Israel in the 50s and 60s

Radical discontinuity 1948 as a defining moment Sovereignty as internal control Sovereignty as external definition

State and economy State owned the railway system, postal service, telephone and television systems State owned as much as 50% of companies in oil, petrochemical, and defense products More heavily engaged in agriculture than in industry “European” country where taxes=40% of GDP

Development Rapid population growth in the cities Increased water consumption from 230 million meters 3 to 1900 million meters 3

Jerusalem c. 1900

Jerusalem today

Conflict over water Sources of Jordan : Israel, Lebanon and Jordan Lake Tiberias only overyear storage site –If it is within Israel’s sovereignty

1964 Clash at Dan headwaters Diversion of water from the Hasbani to the Banias river

Water and sovereignty Conflict over the use of the Jordan directly and indirectly between –Could Syria build a diversion canal on the Yarmouk? –Could Israel prevent the canal and dam? –The battle for air supremacy

On the Egyptian front After 1956 UN Forces were stationed on Egyptian territory Israel had “innocent passage” through Aqaba Inter-Arab conflict induced Nasser to remove UN troops, re-instate the blockade and prepare for war with Israel

Israeli strategic concerns Better to strike first Preference to weaken Egypt Recognition that the US had become the dominant power in the world

National Unity In May 1967 Revisionists join the government Capture of East Jerusalem and collapse of the Arab armies = euphoria

Back to the beginning? Israel now controlled all of the Mandate but with the large Palestinian population Would be plausible to “re-play” the 30s? A far more diverse Jewish society had replaced the Zionist movement Integration of Israel into a global economy required economic change

The emergence of “Likud” Begin as electoral leader The Mizrahim search for power The Labor Old Guard exhausts itself