The Creation of Israel

Outside Influences: The United States… the new Britain in foreign policy The Arab League… unity among Arab people The United Nations…

Growing US Involvement After the rising tension between Britain and Palestine and Jewish refugees, American Zionists met and decided: o Palestine should be open to Jewish immigration, controlled by the Jews and with authority to develop Palestine o After the war Palestine should be established as a “Jewish Commonwealth” Many Americans began to overtly support Zionism at this time—this only increased as news of Hitler’s Final Solution for the Jews was played out through WWII Americans wanted a place (other than the US) for Jews to live safely

Formation of the Arab League First met in 1944—various Arab leaders (Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia) decided they should work together to resolve disputes and coordinate efforts for Arab causes… such as… They discussed the plight of the Jews in Europe: They expressed sympathy for the “woes that had been inflicted upon the Jews of European dictatorial states” but…

Sorry, not sorry, Jews. “There can be no greater injustice and aggression than solving the problem of the Jews of Europe by another injustice, that is, by inflicting injustice on the Palestine Arabs.” The League became official in March 1945 and has continued to add members ever since o 21 now w/ suspensions

Replaced the League of Nations after WWII Why did the LoN need replacing? Who invented it? What was its purpose? What were its weaknesses? What are some of its later failures? security/ security/ germany-usa-and-russia-from-the-league-of-nations/ germany-usa-and-russia-from-the-league-of-nations/ The United Nations The United Nations

By the end of WWII it was clear the LoN had failed o Only 57 countries (total, not simultaneously) had joined—major absences: USA and decolonized countries, such as African ones Began October 24, 1945—immediately taking the LoN place 51 original members (193 today) General Assembly—large group meeting, all nations Security Council—smaller group responsible for making important security decisions o Original 5 permanent members: United States, China, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France

Purposes: 1. international peace and security, 2. human rights (genocide, child soldiers, human trafficking), 3. humanitarian affairs (distributing aid, UNICEF, Palestinian refugees…), 4. international law (oceans, outer space, courts for prior genocides like Rwanda), and 5. development (closely tied to security) (“reducing poverty, promoting prosperity, and protecting the planet”) Numerous committees carry out these purposes, UN____. The United Nations The United Nations

UNSCOP UNSCOP United Nations Special Committee on Palestine 1947 Britain is ready to give up—asks the UN to set up a special committee to investigate the conflicts in Palestine and create a solution 11 nations participated—visited Palestine, interviewed Jews and Zionists. Importantly, Arabs refused to welcome UNSCOP reps, met them with hostility and got far less of a hearing o Their reasoning: Palestinian Arabs’ natural rights should not be “investigated” but protected under the UN Charter like everyone’s

UNSCOP UNSCOP The committee was present in the summer of 1947 when the SS Exodus carrying 4554 Jewish Holocaust refugees arrived at the port at Haiffa They witnessed the British turn the refugees away— deported them to Europe UNSCOP members interviewed these refugees in their camps—made a lasting impression in Zionism’s favor. Their solution:

UNSCOP Report: Recommendations to the General Assembly. o 3 September Read the Introductory Statement and answer the questions that follow. 2. Read the committee’s recommendations after their time in Palestine. Annotate them as you read. Be ready to summarize the recommendations at the end. 3. Read the Partition Plan and answer the questions along the way.

1947 Partition Plan: Details 3 areas: Jewish State, Arab State, Jerusalem (intnat’l) Politically separate, economically tied Self-operating control of immigration (Read: Stay on your side of the line.) Arabs would get 43% of total land, 1/3 of coastline Jewish land would be 56% of total to accommodate future immigration; land included three fertile plains but mostly the Negev desert

1947 Partition Plan Reactions The General Assembly voted on this plan and passed it on November 29, 1947—many claims of pressure from the US (and threats that countries would lose US $ if they didn’t comply) Jews were in favor of the plan, except for disliking immigration limits and territorial expansion limits Arabs rejected the plan completely, demanding 100% of the land for themselves, promising to be nice to the Jewish minority (legally owned 7% of the land in 1947) So the verdict was…

You Can’t Fire Us… We Quit. Britain announced in December 1947, while the Partition Plan was still being argued, that May 15, 1948 would be the final day of their Palestine Mandate, and they’d be fully withdrawn a few months after Violence in Palestine continued, often against British officers, and the issue had become a political nightmare in Britain The months between this announcement and May 15, 1948 were very tense in Palestine with large scale attacks on Jews by Arabs, revenge attacks by Jews, and the flight of many Arabs to neighboring countries/camps

May 14, 1948 The Jewish Agency for Palestine met—led by David Ben Gurion They declared themselves the State of Israel at 4 pm, independent of the Mandate of Britain (scheduled to end at midnight) Ben Gurion became the first Prime Minister of Israel Immediately the United States recognized Israel as a country The Soviet Union officially recognized Israel right after Israel was now officially a country.

May 15, 1948 Five Arab countries invaded Israel and declared war: o Egypt o Syria o Transjordan o Iraq o Saudi Arabia Israel considers the war a war of independence Arabs consider it a shameful disaster