The creation of the State of Israel

The Anglo-American commission of inquiry, which visited Palestine and the camps for displaced persons, recommends in its conclusions the creation of a binational state and the immediate immigration of 100,000 Jewish refugees. But, unable to bring peace, the British authorities take the problem to the UN (14 February 1947). At the same time, the leadership of the Zionist movement ends the armed struggle to focus its energy on illegal immigration.

On May 15, 1947, eleven states charged with proposing a solution within a UN commission of inquiry propose the partition of Palestine and the internationalization of Jerusalem. Jointly sponsored by the USA and the USSR, the sharing proposal was adopted on 29 November 1947 by the General Assembly of the UN, by 33 votes to 13 with 10 abstentions. Britain decides to end its mandate on May 15, 1948, while the Jewish leaders accept the UN partition plan rejected by all Arab parties.

From November 30, 1947, the rejection of the Arab populations is heard. And while the Jewish population lets their joy shine and raises blue and white flags, the Arab community is fasting as a sign of mourning. The tension degenerates into outbreaks of violence from the first days of December 1947, each party trying to take over strategic positions before the departure of the British.

On Friday, May 14, 1948, in a room of the Tel Aviv Museum, the leaders of the Jewish Agency, in accordance with the UN decision to create a "Jewish State" in Palestine, proclaimed the creation of the State of Israel. David Ben Gourion intervenes and reads the declaration of independence which defines in 19 paragraphs the statutes of the new state. Sixteen minutes later, the United States and the USSR recognize the State of Israel.

On May 15, 1948, Egyptian, Trans-Jordanian, Iraqi, and Syrian troops crossed the border and engaged in combat. Facing them, the self-defense force (Haganah), and its shock unit (the Palmach) transform into a national army (Tsahal). It is equipped with light weapons, a rare heavy equipment and some planes. These groups include many Holocaust survivors (1/3 of the number), as well as a brigade of volunteers from the diaspora, the Mahal, who came as mere individuals to defend the rebirth of the Jewish state, dreamed by the first Zionists, and Theodore Herzl at the end of the 19th century.

Arriv�e � Ha�fa du Mataroa venu de France

Arrival in Haifa of the Mataroa from France. On the bridge, young survivors of the camps wave the flag of Israel. July 1945.
© Shoah Memorial / CDJC - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.