THE CREATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL

THE CREATION OF ISRAEL

The creation of the state of Israel is a subject that has divided the international community into two camps: those that do not recognize the state of Israel and are on the Palestinian side and those who believe that the Jews all over the world had the right to self determination and in consequence to the creation of their own state. However, the Arab-Israeli wars which intensified in the second half of the 20th century are one of the main causes that generate tensions in the Middle East and no one can be sure, even if peace treaties are signed that these conflicts would ever end. In this paper, I shall try to deal with the problem of the Jewish state in an objective manner, analyze the concrete events and present some of the perspectives of the creators of Israel, the state of the Jews. I shall also briefly take into account the problem of the Holocaust, I which manner did it influence the creation of the state of Israel. To begin with, the idea of the creation of a Jewish state can be traced back in the 19th century, the century of nationalism, when the development of anti-Semitism led to the appearance of a type of nationalism called political Zionism. If in Western Europe the Jews were part of the civil society, in the East the first signs of anti-Semitism appeared: in 1879, the German writer, Wilhelm Marr, used the term anti-Judaism in his brochure, The Triumph of Judaism over Christianity, from a non- religious point of view.1 In Central and Eastern Europe soon appeared what was going to be called: the Jewish matter, especially in the Russian Empire.2 The transformation of the anti-Judaism sentiment into anti-Semitism represented the background for the creation of Zionism. An important role in the creation of the state of Israel, process that will turn out to be a long and difficult one, will be played by Theodor Herzl, which in his book: Der Judenstaat( The state of the Jews and not the Jewish State) claimed that the Jews all over the world, in the countries in which they live are a single people, that the Jews have been the object of persecution in every region and epoch and that they could not be assimilated by the nations in which they live3.

1 2

Claude KLEIN, Israel:statul evreilor, trad. Radu Gadei, Bic ALL,Bucuresti, 2003. KLEIN, op cit 3 Roger GARAUDY, Afacerea Israel, ed Samizdat, Bucuresti, 2004.

Herzl was sure that the problem of anti-Semitism would have tragic consequences, that is why the problem of a state for the Jews should be addressed in urgent matters. Expressing the Western type nationalism, Herzl aimed at the creation of a state for the Jews, where the Jews all over the world would have been gathered. Several possibilities have been advanced regarding the Jewish state: Uganda, Cyprus, Argentine, but the Jews from Russia would have not accepted any other solution than Palestine. Herzl believes than any action in Palestine should be avoided until some official, written documents that will allow them to have a claim in Palestine. He dies and his followers will have a more pragmatic policy regarding Palestine.4 On the 2nd of November 1917, the British Government, which begun the conquest of Palestine published the Balfour Declaration according to which the British Government agrees to the formation of a national Jewish home in Palestine without harming the interests of the Palestinians. Opposed to that, the leaders of the political Zionism expressed themselves for the creation of Jewish state in Palestine, eliminating the natives; the Zionist state would be sovereign over the whole territory of Palestine.5 The reason which has contributed to the creation of anti-Semitism seems to be that the Jews, who regard themselves as the chosen people, use Biblical references in order to justify their actions. They use as political strategy the confusion between political Zionism and Judaism in order to label as anti-Semit any person which is against the expansionist policy of the Zionist leaders.6 David Ben Gurion claimed that from the moment of the appearance of the Jewish people in history, they have been more than a political entity and that it is very difficult to understand the Jews if one is not aware of their past, which is not similar to any other people in history. Because they have a history full of blood, persecutions, strongly related with God, the Jewish people believe that they should be awarded some kind of compensations for the pains they have suffered.7 The state of Israel was established on the 14th of May,1948.But this proclamation of the state was preceded by the creation of Jewish villages and towns, the revival of the Jewish language
4 5

Claude KLEIN, Israel:Statul evreilor, trad. Radu Gadei,Bucuresti,2003. Roger GARAUDY,The case of Israel: a study of Political Zionism, London, Shorouk International,1983. 6 Roger GARAUDY,Afacerea Israel,Bucuresti,2004 7 David Ben GURION, Israel, a personal history, New English Library.

and culture , the development of agriculture, industry and communications and the creation of an armed Jewish defense force. Following the pattern of thinking according to which the Jews are entitled to have a Jewish state because of their Biblical origins, Ben Gurion demanded in 1937 that the borders of Israel should line between five regions: Southern Lebanon, Southern part of Syria, Jordany , Palestine and Sinai, according to Biblical references.8 After the British government acknowledged the right of the Jews to have their own Homeland, Ben Gurion recognized the fact that they should invest their energy, strength and spirit in building a National Home. After the war in Europe ended, Ben Gurion realized that what happened with the European Jews would affect the plan for the creation of a Jewish state, because the six million Jews who needed a state were killed by the Nazis, and they could not go in front of the Royal Commission and defend their rights to a state anymore. Another problem that would appear was the fact that after the British would leave Israel ,the Jews would have to face the attacks of the Arabs. For that, it was urgently required the acquisition of all types of weapons and the construction of an army, a National army.9 On November 29,1947 the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. Between the UN resolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in May,1948 the country was tore apart by the waves of terror that were launched .Thousands of people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of most of which were Arabs were forced to abandon their homes. It was clear that as long as the violence continued in the region, the legitimacy of the newly created state would be put under a question mark.10 The day after the UN General Assembly passed the resolution, the Arab riots started: the Arab High Committee called for a three-day strike. Two weeks after the resolution, the Arab League meeting in Cairo decided to send soldiers to the country. As the British did not make any efforts to stop the military invasion, the road was closed by the Arabs. Meanwhile, the Arabs who were living in the territory that was to become a Jewish state began to flee in the neighboring Arab states at the orders of the Arab High Committees .As the road to Jerusalem
8 9

GURION,op cit Avi-Hai AVRAHAM ,Ben Gurion, state builder,John Wiley&Sons, New York, 1974 10 Tom SEGEV,1949:The First Israelis,The Free Press, London,1986

was closed by the Arabs in order to prevent the Jewish migration, the British High Commissioner promised the Zionist Executive that he would assure the freedom of movement to Jerusalem.(The process of migration to Jerusalem increased from 1800 onwards. If in 1800 in Palestine there were 6700 Jews compared with 268.000 Arabs, in 1947 there were 630.000 Jews compared with 1.310.000 Arabs-almost 1 Jew to 2 Palestinians.)11 But it was only the military intervention of the Haganah at the end of March 1948 that opened the road to Jerusalem12 On 14th of May 1948, David Ben Gurion read the Declaration of Independence in front of the Provisional State Council:13 It stated that in accordance to the World Zionist Organization and with the desire of the Jews all over the world, once the British mandate was finished and the foreign occupation gone, the Jewish people will claim their independence in their Homeland. Not long after the Declaration of independence, the Arabs fought back and started the invasion in the day of Sabbath. Eight hours after the proclamation of the state and with the end of the British mandate Tel Aviv was bombed by Egyptians for the very first time.14 This was the beginning of a long period of wars which would disturb the Middle East and create a general atmosphere of anxiety and fear. I shall now go into some details about the problem of the Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel. There are some speculations according to which the international community recognized the state of Israel because of the pains they went through during the Nazi regime and the Holocaust, as a favor for the Jewish people. Nonetheless, others argue that it was indeed the Holocaust which basically destroyed the chances for the creation of Israel, due to the fact that six million Jews were killed in labor, concentration and death camps. In his book and also in the Declaration of Independence, David Ben Gurion states that the Holocaust which destroyed millions of European Jews urged the matter of the creation of a Jewish state. The homeless Jews would find refuge in the Land of Israel which will endow

11 12

Claude KLEIN,Statul evreilor,Bucuresti,2003 The events are taken from David Ben GURION:Israel, a personal history. 13 GURION,op cit. 14 GURION,op. cit

them with equality of rights in the family of nations. At least from this point of view the Holocaust hurried the creation of the state of Israel. But the same Ben Gurion agreed that if the process of extermination would have continued, they would not have had the sufficient population to inhabit the new state and to justify the need for a national home for the Jews.15 As stated at the beginning of this paper, the creation of the state of Israel has divided the entire population into two major camps: those who recognize it and those who do not. The main arguments presented by those who do not recognize the state of Israel are mainly concerned with the fact that the state is created using violence, that the Jews which have been victims for so many centuries behave exactly in the same manner with the inhabitants of Palestine, hat from persecuted have become persecutors. Also, they claim that the Jews should not have proclaimed their state on a territory inhabited by the Palestinians, and should have not used terrorism and massacres against the civil population. Violating the rights of the Palestinian people and depriving them of their goods and properties are defies to the international law. On the other hand, the champions and defenders of the state of Israel claim that it is only normal for the Jews to behave as they do, given the fact that they have been treated very badly in the past. That their right to self determination was not recognized and that they too deserve a state16. True, I might add, they have the right to their own state, but why did they not choose the alternative of a land without a people for a people without a land? Why did they have to go into Palestine? I have briefly tried to analyze the creation of the state of Israel, a matter which causes a lot of tension in the Middle East, generates important conflicts on the international arena. In this framework, not even the peace treaties would lead to the disappearance of hatred among the Jews and Arabs, and the treaties will not grant the relaxation in the region. Bibliography. Avi-Hai AVRAHAM ,Ben Gurion, state builder,John Wiley&Sons, New York, 1974 Roger GARAUDY, Afacerea Israel, ed Samizdat, Bucuresti, 2004.

15 16

Ben GURION,op cit Vlad SOLOMON, Israel-sase decenii de existenta in Revista 22, 14 Mai 2008.

Roger GARAUDY,The case of Israel: a study of Political Zionism, London, Shorouk International,1983 David Ben GURION, Israel, a personal history, New English Library Claude KLEIN, Israel:statul evreilor, trad. Radu Gadei, Bic ALL,Bucuresti, 2003 Tom SEGEV,1949:The First Israelis,The Free Press, London,1986 Vlad SOLOMON, Israel-sase decenii de existenta in Revista 22, 14 Mai 2008.