The Birth of Israel
 The nature of relationships in Palestine is in flux
 Histradut: thinking strategically about land and partition
o Already thinking about places of eventual conflict
 Mapai: Israeli worker’s party, planning for control
 Haganah: already armed, smuggled under the nose of the British
o Leumi: higher ups, like US Special forces, training.
o Lehi: committing the acts of violence (Arram Stern)
 Moyne: assassination by Lehi
 British actually know what the fuck is up, declares intent to leave
 UN: Count Bernadotle, no political organization on the Arab side
 He concludes the British should stay
 Lehi, led by Menache Begin, blow up King David Hotel, british command
center, 22nd July, 1946
 In Israeli history, it’s an act of freedom fighters
 S.S. Exodus: Chartered by American Jews, to take concentration Camp
survivors, British Navy intercepts that, won’t let them ashore send them
back, ship breaks down, sends them back to Germany and puts them
back in a concentration camp
 British leave
 UN Resolution 181
o Hourglass Shape: Jewish people accept deal even though they
don’t like it.
 Deir Yassin
o Palestine: April 9th, Is attacked, 200 Arabs are murdered and are
thrown down wells to poison wells, so everyone flees
o Israeli: Terrorist Strong hold, only women and children because
all the men were mobilized, so they fled to avoid the conflict,
Arabs triggered the Jewish response
 Happened in other villages of Palestine, no evidence that is convincing
one way or another
 Can’t see the bones.
 Israel celebrates these “heroes”
 Dr. Ruth Westhiemer famous sex therapist, Trained Jewish Sniper, 15
confirmed kills
 Palestine: victims of Jewish imperialism
 Arab neighbors: Egypt, Jordan, and Syria will come to your aide.
 Massive immigration out of Palestine
 Nakba: the disaster: leaving voluntarily, “given up your rights”
 But they’re thrown off your land
 Camps that are set up, still there.
 Palestine diaspora, struggled to find a leader
 “helpless” people. Hamass, terrorist group
 Israeli: kills everything pretty much
 Midnight 14th of May, 1948: British Leave
 12:01 of May 15th, Israeli State
 Harry Truman:
o Oil controlled by arabs
o Soviet Union was likely to seize that oil, US would need to stop
them (military bases)
o The Arabs were there first, Majority rule
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o Thinks he understands right and wrong
o This is right bc old testament (??)
 Jordan has a well-Trained army; moves slowly
 General Assembly Resolution 194:
o Not binding at all
o Commission that is set up is advisory
o Israel has final say (additionally supposed to compensate)
o UN is useless
o US helps Russia gets pissed off
o Everyone COLD WAR
o If no one is intervening then the war continues
o Arab and Communist states voting against it. Arab Block against
Israel; get money from USSR
o Governments, or authorities responsible (Palestine?? No
Government)
o UN does nothing to limit them coming back in, but Israel is not
going to let them in
o Security council? VETO
o Israel- us against the world (additionally has Jewish money
coming in from all over the world )
 The Law of Return
o Multi-Party system
o Not a true representative
o Small parties- allllll deals
o All jews are welcome
o Natural right of all jewish people before Israel (TORAH!)
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o No dual citizenship
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