Palestinian-Israeli ConflictBackground, the Creation of Israel, and the Palestinian Nakbah

Geography of Conflict

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all maps in this presentation from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~gov46/

These maps prepared by pro-Israeli sources show the size of Israel-Palestine relative to other parts of the world.

Why did the Zionists want to found a state? Why in Palestine?

On what grounds did Palestinians and other Arabs resist them and challenge their plans? Why did they believe they were entitled to stop them?

Zionism: principles and contextBasic tenets:Jews constitute a nationJews should establish a Jewish state in PalestineLargely secular (secular nationalism)ContextCenturies of Jewish persecution Western Euro assimilation, Russian & Eastern European persecution & pogromsAge of Nationalism, European colonialismNational state as solutionIgnorance and stereotypes about ArabsWhy Palestine?Religious significance: Before the Jewish diasporaJerusalemKingdom of Israel, 1000 BC (lasts in unified form about 70 years)Before that? 3000-1500 BC Canaanites; 1200-1100 BC Philistines & Jews invade & settle the area722 BC-600s AD various Jewish states rise & fall but area mostly under control of empires (Babylonian, Roman, etc.)

Theodor Herzl, The Jewish StateThe distinctive nationality of the Jews neither can, will, nor must be destroyed. It cannot be destroyed, because external enemies consolidate it. It will not be destroyed; this is shown during 2000 years of appalling suffering. It must not be destroyed, and that, as a descendant of numberless Jews who refused to despair, I am trying once more to prove in this pamphlet. Whole branches of Judaism may wither and fall, but the trunk will remain.

We are one people our enemies have made us one without our consent, as repeatedly happens in history. Distress binds us together, and thus united, we suddenly discover our strength. Yes, we are strong enough to form a State.

It might be suggested that our want of a common current language would present difficulties. We cannot converse with one another in Hebrew! Who amongst us has a sufficient acquaintance with Hebrew to ask for a railway ticket in that language!

Shall we end by having a theocracy? No, indeed. Faith unites us, knowledge gives us freedom. We shall keep priests within the confines of their temples in the same way as we shall keep our professional army within the confines of their barracks.

Palestinian resistance: motivations and contextPolitics and Identities, early 20th centurySelf-identification as familial/local, Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, OttomanPalestine as southern Syria under Arab rule?British wartime promises of Arab independenceLong-term Arab settlement and use of landArea under Ottoman rule, 14-20th c. Local autonomy under Palestinian notablesCustomary land use70% population ruralLandowners and tenantsJerusalemArab demographic majority 1878: 443,000 Arabs; 15,000 Jews1914: 560,000 Arabs; 80,000 Jews.Arab pop: 84 % Muslim (mostly Sunni), 16% ChristianJewish pop: about 70% longtime inhabitants, about 30% Zionists1933: about 950,000 Arabs; 280,000 Jews1946: 1.26 million Arabs; 608,000 Jews

Why did the Zionists succeed in founding a Jewish state in Palestine?

#1. Diplomatic Pressure & Influential foreign allies

British (London) support for Zionism, 1917-1939Balfour DeclarationPalestine Mandate (mixed policies)BUT. The White Paper (1939)U.S., Russian support

#2. High level of organization and multiple repertoires of contentionCreating facts on the ground: Immigration and land transfersWorld Zionist Organization/Jewish National FundFive aliyah

Proto state-building1929: Jewish Agency in Palestine (quasi-governmental)Histadrut- Jewish labor organizationHaganah- Jewish defense forces

Armed pressureBUT Internal differencesLabor Settlement Movement (Labor Zionism) 1904-1914Land PurchasesSocialismSelf-reliance & closed shop labor Revisionist Zionism (Eretz Israel -- territorial maximalization) - 1920s onward

Above, David Ben-Gurion, leader of labor Zionism and Israels first prime minister. Undated picture from http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/collections/special/exhibitions/portrait_exhibit/David_Ben-Gurion.php. Below, Vladimir Jabotinsky, leader of Revisionist Zionism.Vladimir Jabotinsky, leader of revisionist Zionism.Palestinian resistance leader Abd al Qadir al-Husayni, 1930s.

|#3. World War II & the HolocaustRenewed Jewish emigration to Palestine Arming and training of Jewish unitsWearing down of British resolveNew conflict between British and Zionists in 1940sJewish perspective: Jewish state needed for their protection

Arab perspective: Arabs shouldnt have to pay for Europes injustice towards JewsJewish passengers from the damaged ship, the Exodus, disembark after the war in July 1947 at the port of Haifa before being forcibly returned to camps. Photograph from the Government Press Office, Jerusalem, courtesy of the USHMM Photo Archives.

What obstacles did the Palestinians face in stopping the movement and establishing a state of their own?

Along with economic, military, diplomatic disadvantages political fragmentation and suppressionInternal divisions among the Palestinians and ArabsClass divisionsRising land prices = Absentee land sales and displacement, impoverishment of tenant farmersBritish policies, etcPalestinian revolt, 1936-1939Leaves at least 3,000 Arabs, 2,000 Jews, 600 British deadDecimates Palestinian leadership

Ideological/national differences: Pan-Arabism vs national states

One depiction of the Arab Revolt.

Establishment of Israel, 1948UN Partition Plans propose 2-state solution3 Phases of war: 1) Attacks by both Jews and Arabs on British forces, 1945-19472) Palestinian & Zionist civil war, 1947-483) Arab states vs Zionists 1948-1949British Withdrawal & UN Partition Plan 1947Civil war 1947-48Bombings and terror used by both sidesDeir Yassin 04/194814 May 1948 Israeli Proclamation of independenceArab-Israeli wars, 1948-49Transjordan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon vs Haganah and other Jewish fighters

Results of the WarExpanded Israel state boundaries77% of mandate territory

Jordan controls West Bank; Egypt controls Gaza

700,000 Palestinians expelled or fled from Palestine (al-Nakbah)470,000 enter camps in Arab Palestine & Gaza Rest dispersed (Palestinian Diaspora)

Exodus of 325,000 Jews from the Arab world to IsraelEnd of 1949: Israeli population about 1 million

On May 14, 1948, on the day in which the British Mandate over a Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum and approved a proclamation declaring the establishment of the State of Israel. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians lost their homes in the fighting after 1948. This woman sits across from her home, separated from it by the new border.

Why didnt the Palestinians get a state in what was left of the Palestine Mandate after the establishment of Israel in 1948?

Why did so many Palestinians end up as refugees after 1948?