Paul Livgren

Larry Neuburger

Comp 102-103

March 20, 2011

Formation Of Isreal

People view the formation of Israel at the end of the Holocaust as if it were

instantaneous. In fact, the construction of an Israeli state came with a lot of controversy and

bloodshed. The consequences of these actions can still be seen in the modern conflict in the

region. Israel has a dense history of disagreement with Palestine, and the points of view must be

examined without bias in order to obtain the brute facts of history. If that is achieved we may be

able to better understand the current debates surrounding problems that are more than sixty years

old.

After the liberation of concentration camps at the end of World War II there were

millions of misplaced Jews with nowhere to genuinely call home. Even though they weren’t

forced into concentration camps any longer there was still rampant anti-Semitism all throughout

Europe. So much that many feared to return to where they had lived prior to the holocaust, if

there was even a home left standing to come back to. (Aftermath 3) In some cases the survivors

returned home and were shocked to find that someone was living in their house and had taken all

of their property. This dilemma led to amplified efforts to find a solution to the displaced Jews.

(Life after 9)

Many tried to immigrate to other countries like Palestine, but at the time there were no

official rights giving them authorization to move there. In one such attempt there was a ship
packed with over four thousand Jews that had to be turned around and sent back to Germany.

(Aftermath 6) Hardly any countries could handle the large level of immigration that was needed

for the survivors, and most countries had strict immigration laws that made it illegal to just

parade in.

One short term solution to the problem of dislocation was to place many of the Jews in

displacement camps that were terrifyingly reminiscent of the places they had recently escaped.

Basic necessities of life were provided, which is more than they were getting, but they were still

living less than optimal lives.

They weren't confined to these camps but they had little other option. (Life after 10)

There was nowhere to go, the Holocaust had destroyed their culture and broken their families.

The only possessions they had left were their lives, and few lucky enough to have that had to

make a conscious effort to try and preserve what was left of their way of life.

Luckily for the Jews there were a few political leaders that would take charge and be

active and trying to solve many of the problems that faced them. The most prominent Jewish

figure to step was David Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion had been brought up in a politically energetic

surrounding and drew much of his inspiration from his father and soviet leaders like Lenin.

(David Ben-Gurion 1) Long before Hitler or the Holocaust his father dreamed of unifying the

Jews in Palestine and creating and independent Jewish state. This vision would also inspire

David and was his primary goal.

Before the war Ben-Gurion had pressed the British to make a partition in Palestine in

order to create a Jewish state. Britain would partially agree with his plans, but they made it clear

that if they were to do this there would be a limit on how many Jews would be able to immigrate.

(David Ben-Gurion 4) The idea of reducing the amount of Jews allowed in the country was
repulsive to Ben-Gurion. He rejected the proposed ideas and instead stated that Jews should

illegally migrate to Palestine.

World War II had broke out in Europe before any significant events could take place in

the immigration of the Jews. This temporarily subdued the efforts to establish a Jewish state, but

after the war was finished, and the homelessness of the Jews would be an even larger problem,

the attempts to create such a state was seeing increased support. (David Ben-Gurion 5)

For Ben-Gurion, it looked like the possibility of achieving his and his father's

dream was becoming more real. One major roadblock was that not everyone saw the plan to

separate Palestine as fair. If it were to be actualized over half (56%) of the land would be giving

to 650,000 Jewish inhabitants, and the remaining 44% would be allotted to about 1,300,000

Muslims and Christian Arabs. (Curtiss 1) Anyone looking at the numbers would recognize that

there was obviously something unfair. Many believed that this would surely cause violence if the

Palestinians were forced to give up over half of their land.

The United states, more specifically Harry Truman (president at the time), was largely

responsible for getting such an unreasonable plan to get passed. Almost no one agreed with

president Truman on his decision to support the plan, even all of his own advisors would urge

him to not to. (Curtiss 1) President Truman wasn't going to let anyone influence his decision, and

when questioned on why he held his stance so strongly on the issue he stated that "I have to

answer to hundreds of thousands who are anxious for the success of Zionism: I do not have

hundreds of thousands of Arabs among my constituents.”

So with the combination of Ben-Gurion and Truman both supporting the partition the

United Nations approved it. Almost immediately violence broke out in Palestine. By order of the

United Nations the Jewish people could finally flood into their newly acquired land. On the other
hand, the current residents had to be forced out by Jewish militias. The Palestinians did not leave

without a fight. They tried to fight back but they were by no terms soldiers, and eventually had to

abandon their efforts because the Jewish militias were too well armed and well trained. (Curtiss

1)

In the end about 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes and had to find

somewhere else to live. The irony being many of the people that kicked them out were holocaust

survivors and had experienced the same thing themselves.

The partition plan continued to become less popular as a result of the bloodshed.

Numerous people advocated that it caused more harm than good and wanted it withdrawn

completely. The United States was the largest supporter so the success of the legislation

concerning Israel, and some would argue the people involved, would ultimately live or die

depending on what Harry Truman decided to do. (Curtiss 2) Truman stood firm on his original

decision to recognize Israel as an independent country, and on May 5, 1948 Israel was born.

Unsurprisingly David Ben-Gurion was chosen to be the first leader. After all, it was

partially his vision that had fueled many of the events taking place. In fact, when writing about

the conflicts David Margolick points out an insightful statement from Ben-Gurion that attempts

to rationalize his choices. Ben-Gurion tried to look at it from the perspective of an Arab leader

and decided that " he, too, would wage perpetual war with Israel. “Sure, God promised it to us,

but what does that matter to them?” he asked. “There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler,

Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: We have come here and stolen their

country.” (3) As far as Ben-Gurion was concerned there was absolutely no regrets.

Regardless of varying opinions, one major dilemma, that caused much of the fighting,

was that the United Nations resolution did not set up boarders between Israel and other nations.
This was an absolute disaster. Because of this, each side of the conflict had to do very little to

gain more land, all they had to do was take it by force; that is to say there was almost incentive to

continue fighting.

Sure enough the morning after Israel first became recognize five Arab countries

declared war on the newborn nation. This would become known as the first of the Arab-Israeli

wars. Israel was defending itself against Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq all trying to

regain the land.

It appeared that the Jews were outmatched on almost every front. They were vastly

outnumbered, unfamiliar with the land, and were surrounded on all sides by supporters of their

enemies. (Margolick 7) Surprisingly, against all odds, the Jews overpowered the Arab force and

actually gained land in the process. They ended up controlling all of what was previously divided

for them to share with Palestine.

The Jews have a vast history of conflict. Between the history of the Holocaust and the

events afterward they have seen more conflict in less than a century than most countries will ever

see. In modern days these wars are still significant, mostly because they haven't really ended.

The wars are still over the same issues, over the same land, and there still hasn't been a clear cut

winner. Just like when Israel was first formed the United States is still the strongest most

trustworthy supporter they have.

Regardless of varying opinions everything that happened or currently happens in Israel

effects out lives in some form. If someone is not educated on the full story than they might be

oblivions to the meaning behind the conflict they witness every day in the News.