Phases of the war15th May to 11th June

UN imposed ceasefire: both sides used this time to arm themselves, especially Israel

9th July to 19th July fighting resumes

2nd ceasefire : Bernadotte plan Unacceptable to both Bernadotte assassinated by Lehi

Fighting resumes sporadically from September to January 1949 Egypt pushed back into borders and Israel forced to withdraw. Armistice talks in January 1949

Interpretation of the warKey disagreements about the nature of the war

Role of British Policy The military balance itself Origins of the Palestinian Refugee problem Israeli Jordanian relations Arab war aims

The historiography itself is not new what is new is the interpretation of the war: Was it really such a David and Goliath struggle as it is made out to e?

Inconclusive debateHas generated much debate between old and

new historians

The new historians contradict the old versions Claim that their work is based on archival

documents Attempts to analzse the situation rather than a

knee jerk response to the situation on the ground New historians are deeply critical of Ben Gurion

and his biographer Shabtai Teveth to lionize him

Debate of ‘old’ vs ‘new’Leads to a new interpretation of the causes of

the war itself

Questions the heroic David vs Goliath motive

Questions the nature of the war itself.

The road to the Second Arab Israeli ConflictResults of the Arab Israeli War

Armistice agreement s with Lebanon Syria and Jordan

These defined Israel’s borders until 1967 Armistice arrangement was seen as the

forerunner to peace. The Armistice Demarcation Line was not to be construed as a political or territorial boundary and was delineated without prejudice to rights claims and position of either Party to the Armistice as regards the ultimate settlement of the Palestine problem.

Israel’s position at the end of the warTerritory increase by 21%

Demographic make-up 716,700 Jews 591,400 were Askenazy 105,000 were Sephardic 165,00 Arabs

Arab Position Increase in sizes

Transjordan gained the West Bank

Egypt gained the Gaza Strip

Palestinian Arab refugee problem

Division of Palestinian Arab population

Charles Smith: Palestine and the Arab Israel ConflictThe conclusion of the armistice agreements

between Israel and the Arab states introduced an era of no war no peace: technically a state of belligerency,

A major stumbling block was the Palestinian Arab refugees . Israel ignored calls to permit some to return to their homes or tied its acceptance to the conclusion of peace agreements with Arab governments, who called for a return to 1947 arrangements.. Israel chose to object to this.

IN general Israel found itself in a hostile environment

Line of demarcationGave a sense of impermanence to Israel’s

borders with her Arab neighbours

But came to be accepted as borders by the Arab states

Post war Israel1st general elections held in Israel

Confirmation of Israeli statehood.

IN 1949 USS officially recognized Israel.

Granted loans from the Ex-Im Bank

Israel admitted as a member of the UN

Summing up changes In 4 years things had changed for Israel.

4 years earlier statehood looked like an unlikely possibility

For the Palestinians it was al Nakba: the disaster

It marked the pattern of the Arab Israeli conflict.

One key issue: ‘the right of return’

Israel after the 1948 War Israel self –confident, the armistice had

expanded her borders considerably.

This was a testament to its superior armed forces

Gained Galilee and Western parts of Jerusalem with a land corridor to the coast.

In 1949 Israel was a more coherent state than what was envisaged in the UN Partition

Israel post 1949 Israel still fearful for her security since her new

borders were only provisional.

Israel technically at war with her enemies.

This meant that Israel had to be in a permanent state of military preparedness

Also the other problem it faced was the influx of refugees

Law of Return In 1950, the Israeli parliament the Knesset

passed this law

It confirmed the right of every Jew to permanent settlement in the country.

This followed two years later by the Citizenship Law, which gave immigrants the immediate right of citizenship

Impact of Law of ReturnA huge demographic shift

From Europe there were about 304,044 immigrants arrived, and from the USSR only 4698 refugees arrived.

However by 1945 there had been a change on the ground

Mass migration of African and Middle Eastern Jews

Between 1948-1951 there were close to 232,583 immigrants who came from the Middle East, 92,510 came from Northern Africa

Shift in DemographicsPrior to the Holocaust , Middle Eastern Jews

formed about 8% of the total number of Jews worldwide but following the War, they came to make up an approximate majority

Forging a nationFor Israel the biggest challenge it faced in this

period was forging a nation

The Middle Eastern Jews who came here had very different needs from the physically weakened and emotionally scarred inmates of Hitler's death camps

Not all of them were able to contribute to Israel's productive capacity

Israel’s economyContained very little by way of economic

resources, other than the Dead Sea minerals.

No resources that could boost economic development

Emphasis in the post war was the housing development boom, while it did create jobs, it did not contribute to the growth of the economic sector.

Israel’s economic strainNeed for funding led it request for a loan from

the American Export Import Bank

In 1949 after the end of the war, the US granted Israel 35 million to assist agriculture and basic infrastructure

These loans made Israel vulnerable to American pressure

Israels other problem was that funding from Jewish agencies was f=gnin

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