On November 2nd, 1917, the Foreign Minister of the British Government sent a letter to Lord Rothschild announcing the intention of the British Government to help establish a national home for the Jewish people. This declaration was ratified by the League of Nations at the San Remo Conference, which met on April 23, 1920, in which the British were granted the Mandate over Palestine (Eretz Israel).
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly held its historic vote on the proposal of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine calling for an end to the British Mandate, the partition of Palestine and creation of a Jewish State and an Arab State, the joining of these two states in an economic union, and an international regime in the city of Jerusalem.
Immediately following the General Assembly Meeting, the UN Secretariat distributed a stenciled sheet with the results of the vote to the journalist covering the event. One of those present was Aaron Fishman from New York, who pasted the sheet to a piece of cardboard and kept it as a souvenir. Later, Fishman decided to ask personalities whose contributions he regarded as instrumental in the establishment of the State of Israel to add their signatures to the cardboard frame. Over the years he succeeded in obtaining the signatures of 21 people.
Results of the UN General Assembly vote on the partition of Palestine, signed by important figures connected to this event, 1947-1950. At the top of the page :the signatures of Chaim Weizmann and US President Harry Truman.
The United Nations General Assembly vote of November 29 was based on the recommendations of the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), whose conclusions were submitted to the UN on 31 August 1947.
Map of the Partition Plan
The Zionist Organization and the leadership of the Jewish community in Israel supported the committee’s recommendations despite its difficulties and the limited area allotted to the Jewish State. The Arab representatives, on the other hand, declared their opposition to the resolution and even warned that their resistance might be violent. The British government announced that it would not support or object to the Partition Plan, and accordingly abstained in the vote on the committee’s recommendations on November 29.
While the Israeli public followed the broadcast closely, the president of the assembly, Osvaldo Aranha from Brazil, called the names of the countries one after the other in alphabetical order.
During the days and months after the Declaration of Independence, Israel was recognized by many countries of the world. This strengthened its case for acceptance to the UN in May 1949.
A list of countries which recognized Israel (de jure or de facto), May-September 1948. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, File 72/16
The Sinai Campaign, 1956. Photographer: Avraham Vered, Israeli, born Lithuania 1923 Gelatin silver print. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Courtesy of Bamahaneh, I.D.F. Magazine.
With the declaration of statehood, the formation of a regular national army became an urgent necessity. The forces that had defended the Jewish inhabitants of the country until then were disparate underground organizations formed during the British Mandate. These organizations now had to be joined together to create a unified fighting force under the control of the government. David Ben-Gurion, who served as both prime minister and minister of defense, composed this document on May 26, 1948, which represents the official order authorizing the formation of the Israel Defense Forces (or IDF). This order was issued as the IDF’s “Order of the Day No. 1” on May 31, 1948, and this date is therefore regarded as the official birth date of Israel’s armed forces.
A few days earlier government representatives had signed separate agreements with the commanders of the Irgun Zvai Leumi (Etzel ,also known as the Irgun) and the Lehi (an acronym for Lohamey Herut Yisrael or “Fighters for the Freedom of Israel”, also known as the Stern Gang) – which had not previously been subject to the leadership’s directives. These organizations were disbanded and their members integrated into the newly unified army. Lieutenant General Yaakov Dori was appointed Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
Order to establish the Israel Defense Forces, signed with handwritten notations by Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ben-Gurion, 26, May 1948
In May 1948, while the War of Independence was still raging, the Swedish diplomat Count Folke Bernadotte arrived in Israel as a UN mediator. Some of his proposals were greeted with hostility from both the national leadership and the general public. On September 17, 1948, Bernadotte was murdered by an organization calling itself the “Homeland Front.” In effect, this was just a code name for the right-wing Lehi organization. Although the organization had been disbanded elsewhere along with all the other Jewish undergrounds, in Jerusalem it continued to operate independently, because Jerusalem was not supposed to be part of the Jewish state according to the UN Partition Resolution.
As a result of the murder, the Lehi and the Homeland Front were officially declared terror organizations. Dozens of Lehi members were arrested, and the organization’s independent status in Jerusalem was abolished.
Addition to the Prevention of Terror Ordinance sighned by government Secretary Ze’ev Sharaf designating Lehi and Hazit Ha-Moledet (Homeland Front) as terrorist organizations, September 20 1948.
Following the War of Independence, some 670 Israeli prisoners remained in Jordanian captivity. Among them were many children and teenagers, and a number of elderly people. Most of them were civilians captured in areas which fell to the Jordanian Arab Legion, such as the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Naharayim, and Latrun.
One of the captives was the son of Rabbi David-Zvi Pinkas, the chairman of the Defense Committee of the Provisional State Council. In his official capacity, Pinkas kept in constant touch with representatives of the Red Cross. The Red Cross monitored conditions in the makeshift prisoner of war camps where the prisoners were held and delivered packages of food and clothing sent to them by their families in Israel. The parents of the prisoners banded together in several organizations to improve conditions and speed up the release of their relatives. Following developments that led to the end of the war, the release of prisoners began in October, 1948. The last of the Israeli prisoners returned home in April 1949, after the signing of the armistice agreement with Jordan.
Letter sent by parents of Israelis held captive in Jordan to David-Zvi Pinkas, the chairman of the defense committee of the Provisional State Council, 10 October 1948, appealing for help for their sons with the approach of winter
Formal talks leading to an armistice agreement between Israel and Jordan commenced in Rhodes on March 4, 1949. They were overseen by UN mediator Ralph Bunche. In addition, secret talks were held between the two countries on the replacement of Iraqi forces in the Wadi Ara region with Jordanian troops. Representatives of King Abdallah of Jordan met with an Israeli delegation consisting of Walter Eytan, the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yigael Yadin, Chief of the IDF Operations Branch, Moshe Dayan, Commander of the Jerusalem District and Yehoshafat Harkabi, the foreign minister’s chief secretary and a member of the Israeli delegation to the armistice talks.
On March 23, the two sides signed a secret agreement whereby Israel agreed to the exchange of troops, and the Jordanians accepted border adjustments requested by Israel in Wadi Ara. The map on display was an attachment to the secret agreement, signed by Eytan, Yadin and Lieutenant Colonel Charles Coaker, Chief of the Operations Branch of the Jordanian Arab Legion. The parties set a date for the change in the boundary line, and Israel promised to protect the rights of the local inhabitants. In exchange for the land in Wadi Ara, Jordan received land in the Southern Hebron Hills. In the end, the secret agreement was inserted verbatim into the armistice agreement, but the boundary line on this map is not identical to the one appearing on the map attached to the armistice agreement.
The “Green Line”: Map of armistice lines with Jordan, part of a secret agreement between King Abdallah of Jordan and Israel, with handwritten notations, 23 March 1949
An order granting amnesty to Israel’s residents, 10 February 1949, for previous crimes excluding those carrying the death penalty or life imprisonment, protected citizens who had broken the law for nationalist reasons.
The cooperation in security matters between the Druze community and the Jewish community in Eretz Israel began during the British Mandate. In April 1948, a secret “blood pact” was forged between the Druze and the Jews of Israel when in effect, the Druze moved to fight alongside the Jewish defense forces. Through the mediation of Giora Zaid, the main contact of the Druze community, members of the Druze community were recruited to the IDF on the northern front and actively participated in the battles conducted on this front.
At the end of the summer of 1948, the General Staff decided to establish a regular minorities unit in the IDF, and its organization was based on an ethnic basis. In December 1948, a festive party was held in the village of Peki’in, in honor of the enlistment of a large group of members of the Druze community to the IDF. At the ceremony Yusuf Hosni Ali, one of the elders of the community spoke and congratulated them on their new path. This letter was sent to the Minister of Minorities in the Provisional Government, Bechor Shalom Sheetrit, together with a photograph of the event.
Transcript of speech delivered by Peki’in village elder Yusuf Hosni Ali to honor the enlistment of Druze soldiers in the IDF, 6 December, 1948
Ze’ev Jabotinsky passed away suddenly on August 4, 1940. He was buried in Long Island, not far from the summer camp where he died. The Zionist statesman had written a will five years earlier. In it he requested that his remains be brought for burial in the Land of Israel only at the request of a future sovereign Jewish government. With the establishment of the Jewish state, Jabotinsky’s disciples and family members appealed to the prime minister to assist them in fulfilling the beloved leader’s last will and testament. But David Ben-Gurion, who had been one of Jabotinsky’s staunchest political rivals, adamantly refused.
When Levi Eshkol was appointed prime minister, the efforts in this matter were renewed. On March 15, 1964, Eshkol officially announced that he had instructed the government to bring Jabotinsky’s remains for reburial in Jerusalem. As soon as the government’s decision was announced, Menahem Begin, who was perhaps Jabotinsky’s most prominent follower, wired a telegram to the prime minister. It was an impassioned message of praise and gratitude to Eshkol for his symbolic act of reconciliation, which, it was hoped, would help foster unity between Israel’s two most antagonistic political camps. The remains of Ze’ev Jabotinsky and his wife Johanna were brought to Israel and reburied on Mt. Herzl on July 9, 1964, 24 years after Jabotinsky’s passing.
Telegram from opposition leader Begin thanking Prime Minister Eshkol for the government decision to bring the remains of Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky to Israel for reburial, March 15 1964.
With the establishment of the state in 1948, a large Arab population remained in its territory, part of which had taken part in the armed struggle against its establishment. Therefore, a military government was established to enable state control over Arab residents, even at the cost of restricting their freedom of movement. Since the early 1960s, there was growing criticism of the situation, both by parties from the right and left, but Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion strongly opposed the abolition of the military government.
In 1963 the government changed its approach following the appointment of Levi Eshkol as prime minister. Eshkol opposed the restrictions on freedom of movement for Israeli Arabs, and he made a series of concessions, reducing the powers of the military government. In January 1966 Eshkol formed a new government under his leadership. In the coalition agreement with the Mapam party, he undertook to completely abolish the military government, and made it a reality.
Draft of stenographic record from a government meeting on the abolition of the military government used to control the Arab citizens of Israel, 6 November 1966.
The Six-Day War broke out on June 5, 1967, with the Israel Air Force launching pre-emptive strikes against neighboring Arab air forces, as a response to the blockade of the Straits of Tiran, the eviction of UN peace-keeping forces in Sinai, the concentration of Egyptian forces along Israel’s southern border, and the forging of military treaties between the Arab states.
Immediately afterwards, the IDF launched an attack against Egyptian forces in Sinai. On June 6, the war was extended to parts of what is known as the “West Bank” which was then under Jordanian rule. The fighting reached parts of East Jerusalem.
At 4:00 PM, the cabinet security committee, headed by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, was convened. The meeting was attended by 10 government ministers, Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin, Generals Haim Bar-Lev, and other personalities. Minister of Labor Yigal Allon demanded that the Old City of Jerusalem be entered immediately. Most of the ministers supported Yigal Allon’s position. Menachem Begin went even further, and insisted that the word “liberation” be used instead of “occupation” in reference to military actions in the Old City. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan proposed that the IDF wait for 2 or 3 days before entering the Old City. In response, Eshkol made the decision that the IDF would wait just one day, and then an additional meeting would be held to decide on a further course of action.
A “top Secret” stenographic minutes from a meeting of a cabinet committee on 6 June 1967 on the decision to send Israeli forces into the Old City of Jerusalem.
The first Jewish wedding at the Western Wall after the reunification of the city, 1967.
Wedding ceremony of Carol Robin and Tzur Ben-Yishai Telegraphic Agency Photograph: Associated Press, June 6 1967
Children at play in divided Jerusalem, before 1967, Photographer: © Shabtai Tal, Government Press Office. Israel State Archives
The demolition of one of the walls dividing East and West Jerusalem symbolized the end of Jordanian control and was a sign of the unification of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty. This demolition ended a 19-year period, beginning in the War of Independence when the city was de facto divided by barbed wire and walls guarded by Jordanian soldiers.
The demolition of one of the walls dividing East and West Jerusalem
Telegram from Sheikh Amin Tarif, 8 June 1967, leader of the Druze community in Israel, congratulating Prime Minister Levi Eshkol on the occasion of the liberation of Jerusalem, and the victory in the Six-Day War.
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