The new state of Israel

ImmigrationEconomic development

Immigration

• 1948-51: 650.000 1.3 million– 684.000 immigrants; Sephardic and Ashkenazim

• Tension between the Ashkenazim Jews and Jews originating from other areas (Middle East, Ethiopia)

• 1950: Law of return; every Jew got the right to settle in Israel (Who is a Jew?)

• 1952: Citizenship Law; immediate citizenship granted to Jewish immigrants and Arabs who could prove long-standing residence in Palestine

Identity of the new state

• Zionist ethos vs. notions of social justice• The Israeli national identity “ an uneasy combination of

secular and religious outlooks” (Cleveland 341)– Secular sphere

• Israeli Jews different from other Jews; Hebrew as a national language, new names, city life, culture (sport, music)

– Religious aspect• Religious courts got exclusive jurisdiction in matters of personal status in

1953 – under control of Orthodox rabbinical establishment (Christian and Muslim citizens had their own religious courts – a la millet system under Ottomans)

• Sabbath observed in the whole country• Kosher dietary laws applied in all public institutions• State funding for both secular and religious schools

Ethnic cleansing

• Ben-Gurion in a Cabinet meeting, June 16:“They [the Palestinians] lost and fled. Their return must be prevented…

and I will oppose their return also after the war”• Israel’s government ordered the destruction of 80% of the Arab

villages inside Israel in the first years after its creation• 1950: Absentee Property Law; all displaced Palestinian Arabs

were ‘absentees’ – they could not be Israeli citizens and they had forfeited all lands and property that they had left behind

80% of the land in Israel put under the control of a government custodian

• Many Arabs who had stayed in Israel were denied citizenship. Areas under military administration 1966

UN and the Palestinian refugees

• UN resolution 194, December 1948“ Refugees wishing to return to their homes and live in

peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return.”

• United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees set up in November 1948; provided food, clothing and tents

• UNRWA created in December 1949; shelter and work schemes for Palestinian refugees

Political system in Israel• Republic• All citizens above 18 can vote• President (mainly ceremonial) elected by the Knesset for 5 years• The Knesset elected by a system of extreme proportional

representation (min 1%!) Multitude of parties; some extremist Coalition governments• A “party state” party leaders powerful• Main political parties:

– Mapai (socialist and mainstream Zionist) ; • dominating 1977• David Ben-Gurion; prime/defense minister 1963

– Likud (right-wing, revisionist Zionist)

The military

• Haganah Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) under control of Defense Minister

• Irgun and Lehi crushed and then incorporated into IDF• Ben-Gurion: Israel had to become a “nation in arms”

– Reserve system• Males: 3 years service active reserves until 40• Females: 2 years service active reserves until 35

• Military strength Ben-Gurion doctrine of “retaliation in force”; disproportional armed response to aggressive acts against Israel

Economy

• Agriculture: citrus and cotton– Export affected negatively by the Common Market

(Europe) in the late 1950s• Foreign aid and investment

– US aid– US loans– Private donations from American Jews– 1952: West Germany agreed to pay reparations over a

period of 14 years to Israel as compensation for Holocaust• Sustained economic growth in Israel from 1956-67

Economic problems

• Continuing large trade deficit• High defense spending• High unemployment rates

Effects of 1967 war on Israel

• 1 million Palestinians lived in occupied Gaza and the West Bank