State of Israel (1948–present)
Further information: Israeli Declaration of Independence
On May 14, 1948, the last British forces left through Haifa. The same
day, in a public ceremony in Tel-Aviv, Ben-Gurion read out the Israeli Declaration of Independence, declaring the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.[87] Both superpower leaders, U.S. President Harry S. Truman (as to the provision government as the de facto authority of the new State of Israel)[88] and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, immediately recognized the new state.War of Independence
Main article: 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Following the announcement of independence, the Haganah became the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The Palmach, Etzel and Lehi were required to cease independent operations and join the IDF. During the ceasefire, Etzel attempted to bring in a private arms shipment aboard a ship called "Altalena". When they refused to hand the arms to the government, Ben-Gurion ordered that the ship be sunk. Several Etzel members were killed in the fighting. Large numbers of Jewish immigrants, many of them World War II veterans and Holocaust survivors, now began arriving in the new state of Israel, and many joined the IDF.[89]
After an initial loss of territory by the Jewish state and occupation of Arab Palestine by the Arab armies, from July the tide gradually turned in the Israelis favour and they pushed the Arab armies out and occupying some of the territory which had been included in the proposed Arab state. At the end of November, tenuous local ceasefires were arranged between the Israelis, Syrians and Lebanese. On December 1, King Abdullah announced the union of Transjordan with Arab Palestine west of the Jordan, the new state name being the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He adopted the title "King of Arab Palestine", much to the disgust of most other Arab states.
Armistice Agreements
Main articles: 1949 Armistice Agreements and Reprisal operations
Following the ceasefire declaration, Britain released over 2,000 Jewish detainees it was still holding in Cyprus and recognized the state of Israel. On May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted as a member of the United Nations.[90] Out of an Israeli population of 650,000, some 6,000 men and women were killed in the fighting, including 4,000 soldiers in the IDF. According to United Nations figures, 726,000 Palestinians had fled or were evicted by the Israelis between 1947 and 1949.[91] Except in Jordan, the Palestinian refugees were settled in large refugee camps in poor, overcrowded conditions. In December 1949, the UN (in response to a British proposal) established an agency (UNRWA) to provide aid to the Palestinian refugees.
1948–1954: Ben-Gurion I
Further information: Austerity in Israel
A 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, met first in Tel Aviv then moved to Jerusalem after the 1949 ceasefire. In January 1949, Israel held its first elections. The Socialist-Zionist parties Mapai and Mapam won the most seats (46 and 19 respectively), but not an outright majority. Mapai's leader, David Ben-Gurion was appointed Prime Minister. The Knesset elected Chaim Weizmann as the first (largely ceremonial) President of Israel. Hebrew and Arabic were made the official languages of the new state. All governments have been coalitions—no party has ever won a majority in the Knesset. From 1948 until 1977 all governments were led by Mapai and the Alignment, predecessors of the Labour Party. In those years Labour Zionists, initially led by David Ben-Gurion, dominated Israeli politics and the economy was run on primarily socialist lines.Within three years (1948 to 1951), immigration doubled the Jewish population of Israel and left an indelible imprint on Israeli society.[92][93] Overall, 700,000 Jews settled in Israel during this period.[94] Some 300,000 arrived from Asian and North African nations as part of the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries.[95] Among them, the largest group (over 100,000) was from Iraq. The rest of the immigrants were mostly refugees from Europe, however only 136,000 had international certification because they belonged to the 250,000 Jews registered by the allies as displaced after World War II and living in Displaced persons camps[96], while more than 270,000 came from Eastern Europe,[97] mainly Romania and Poland (over 100,000 each).
In 1950 the Knesset passed the Law of Return, which granted to all Jews and those of Jewish ancestry, and their spouses, the right to settle in Israel and gain citizenship. That year, 50,000 Yemenite Jews (99%) were secretly flown to Israel. In 1951 Iraqi Jews were granted temporary permission to leave the country and 120,000 (over 90%) opted to move to Israel. Jews also fled from Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. By the late sixties, about 500,000 Jews had left Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Over the course of twenty years, some 850,000 Jews from Arab countries (almost the entire Jewish population of the Arab lands) relocated to Israel.[98] The land and property left behind the Jews (much of it in Arab city centres) is still a matter of some dispute. Today there are about 9,000 Jews living in Arab states, of whom 75% live in Morocco and 15% in Tunisia.
At the end of 1953, Ben-Gurion retired to Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev.
In 1949, education was made free and compulsory for all citizens until the age of 14. The state now funded the party-affiliated Zionist education system and a new body created by the Haredi Agudat Israel party. A separate body was created to provide education for the remaining Palestinian-Arab population. The major political parties now competed for immigrants to join their education systems. Fearing that the immigrants lacked sufficient "Zionist motivation", the government banned the existing educational bodies from the transit camps and tried to mandate a unitary secular socialist education.[101] Education came under the control of "camp managers" who also had to provide work, food and housing for the immigrants. There were attempts to force orthodox Yemenite children to adopt a secular life style by teachers, including many instances of Yemenite children having their side-curls cut by teachers. This treatment of Orthodox children led to the first Israeli public enquiry (the Fromkin Inquiry).[102] The crisis led to the collapse of the coalition and an election in 1951, with little change in the results from the previous election. In 1953 the party-affiliated education system was scrapped. The General Zionist and Socialist Zionist education systems were united to become the secular state education system while the Mizrahi became the State Modern Orthodox system. Agudat Israel were allowed to maintain their existing school system.
In its early years Israel sought to maintain a non-aligned position between the super-powers. However, in 1952, an antisemitic public trial was staged in Moscow in which a group of Jewish doctors were accused of trying to poison Stalin (the Doctors' plot), followed by a similar trial in Czechoslovakia (Slánský trial). This, and the failure of Israel to be included in the Bandung Conference (of non-aligned states), effectively ended Israel's pursuit of non-alignment. On May 19, 1950, Egypt announced that the Suez Canal was closed to Israeli ships and commerce. In 1952 a military coup in Egypt brought Abdel Nasser to power. The United States pursued close relations with the new Arab states, particularly the Nasser-led Egyptian Free Officers Movement and Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. Israel's solution to diplomatic isolation was to establish good relations with newly independent states in Africa[103] and with France, which was engaged in the Algerian War.
Further information: Lavon Affair
In the January 1955 elections Mapai won 40 seats and the Labour Party 10, Moshe Sharett became prime minister of Israel at the head of a left-wing coalition.Between 1953 and 1956, there were intermittent clashes along all of Israel's borders as Arab terrorism and breaches of the ceasefire resulted in Israeli counter-raids. Palestinian fedayeen attacks, often organized and sponsored by the Egyptians, were made from (Egyptian occupied) Gaza. Fedayeen attacks led to a growing cycle of violence as Israel launched reprisal attacks against Gaza.[104] In 1954 the Uzi submachine gun first entered use by the Israel Defense Forces. In 1955 the Egyptian government began recruiting former Nazi rocket scientists for a missile program.[105][106]
Archaeologist and General Yigael Yadin, purchased the Dead Sea Scrolls on behalf of the State of Israel. The entire first batch to be discovered were now owned by Israel and housed in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum.
Sharett's government was brought down by the Lavon Affair, a crude plan to disrupt U.S.–Egyptian relations, involving Israeli agents planting bombs at American sites in Egypt.[107] The plan failed when eleven agents were arrested. Defense Minister Lavon was blamed despite his denial of responsibility. The Lavon affair led to Sharett's resignation and Ben-Gurion returned to the post of prime minister.
1955–1963: Ben-Gurion II
Further information: Suez Crisis
In 1956, the increasingly pro-Soviet President Nasser of Egypt, announced the nationalization of the (French and British owned) Suez Canal, which was Egypt's main source of foreign currency. Egypt also blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba preventing Israeli access to the Red Sea. Israel made a secret agreement
with the French at Sèvres to coordinate military operations against
Egypt. Britain and France had already begun secret preparations for
military action. It has been alleged that the French also agreed to
build a nuclear plant for the Israelis and that by 1968 this was able to produce nuclear weapons.
Britain and France arranged for Israel to give them a pretext for
seizing the Suez Canal. Israel was to attack Egypt, and Britain and
France would then call on both sides to withdraw. When, as expected, the
Egyptians refused, Anglo-French forces would invade to take control of
the Canal.
At Egypt's request, the UN sent an Emergency Force (UNEF), consisting of 6,000 peacekeeping troops from 10 nations to supervise the ceasefire. From November 15, the UN troops marked out a zone across the Sinai to separate the Israeli and Egyptian forces. Upon receiving U.S. guarantees of Israeli access to the Suez Canal, freedom of access out of the Gulf of Aqaba and Egyptian action to stop Palestinian raids from Gaza, the Israelis withdrew to the Negev.[108] In practice the Suez Canal remained closed to Israeli shipping. The conflict signalled the end of West-European dominance in the Middle East.
In 1956, two modern-orthodox (and religious-zionist) parties Mizrachi and Hapoel HaMizrachi joined to form the National Religious Party. The party was a component of every Israeli coalition until 1992, usually running the Ministry of Education. In October 1957 a deranged man threw a hand grenade inside the Knesset wounding Ben-Gurion.[109] Mapai was once again victorious in the 1959 elections, increasing its number of seats to 47, Labour had 7. Ben-Gurion remained Prime Minister.
In 1959, there were renewed skirmishes along Israel's borders that continued throughout the early 1960s. The Arab League continued to maintain an economic boycott and there was a dispute over water rights in the River Jordan basin. With Soviet backing, the Arab states, particularly Egypt, were continuing to build up their forces. Israel's main military hardware supplier was France.
Rudolph Kastner, a minor political functionary, was accused of collaborating with the Nazis and sued his accuser. Kastner lost the trial and was assassinated two years later. In 1958 the Supreme Court exonerated him. In May 1960 the Mossad located Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief administrators of the Nazi Holocaust, in Argentina and kidnapped him to Israel. In 1961 he was put on trial and after several months found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged in 1962 and is the only person ever sentenced to death by an Israeli court. Testimonies by Holocaust survivors at the trial and the extensive publicity that surrounded it has led the trial to be considered a turning point in public awareness of the Holocaust.[110]
In 1961 a Herut no-confidence motion over the Lavon affair led to Ben-Gurion's resignation. Ben-Gurion declared that he would only accept office if Lavon was fired from the position of the head of Histadrut, Israel's labour union organization (due to his role in the Lavon Affair). His demands were accepted and Mapai won the 1961 election (42 seats keeping Ben-Gurion as PM) with a slight reduction in its share of the seats. Menachem Begin's Herut party and the Liberals came next with 17 seats each. In 1962 the Mossad began assassinating German rocket scientists working in Egypt after one of them reported the missile program was designed to carry chemical warheads. This action was condemned by Ben-Gurion and led to the Mossad director, Isser Harel, resignation.[111] In 1963 Ben-Gurion quit again over the Lavon scandal. His attempts to make his party Mapai support him over the issue failed. Levi Eshkol became leader of Mapai and the new prime minister.
1963–1969: Eshkol
Further information: Six-Day War
In 1963 Yigael Yadin began excavating Masada. In 1964, Egypt, Jordan and Syria developed a unified military command. Israel completed work on a national water carrier, a huge engineering project designed to transfer Israel's allocation of the Jordan river's waters towards the south of the country in realization of Ben-Gurion's dream of mass Jewish settlement of the Negev desert. The Arabs responded by trying to divert the headwaters of the Jordan, leading to growing conflict between Israel and Syria.[112]In 1964, Israeli Rabbinical authorities accepted that the Bene Israel of India were indeed Jewish and most of the remaining Indian Jews migrated to Israel. The 2,000-strong Jewish community of Cochin had already migrated in 1954. Ben-Gurion quit Mapai to form a new party Rafi, he was joined by Shimon Peres and Moshe Dayan. Begin's Herut party joined with the Liberals to form Gahal. Mapai and Labour united for the 1965 elections, winning 45 seats and maintaining Levi Eshkol as Prime Minister. Ben-Gurion's Rafi party received 10 seats, Gahal got 26 seats becoming the second largest party.
Until 1966, Israel's principal arms supplier was France, however in 1966, following the withdrawal from Algeria, Charles de Gaulle announced France would cease supplying Israel with arms (and refused to refund money paid for 50 warplanes).[113] On February 5, 1966, the United States announced that it was taking over the former French and West German obligations, to maintain military "stabilization" in the Middle East. Included in the military hardware would be over 200 M48 tanks. In May of that year the U.S. also agreed to provide A-4 Skyhawk tactical aircraft to Israel. In 1966 security restrictions placed on Arab-Israelis were eased and efforts made to integrate them into Israeli life.
In 1966, Black and white TV broadcasts began. On May 15, 1967, the first public performance of Naomi Shemer's classic song "Jerusalem of Gold" took place and over the next few weeks it dominated the Israeli airwaves. Two days later Syria, Egypt and Jordan amassed troops along the Israeli borders and Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. Nasser demanded that the UNEF leave Sinai, threatening escalation to a full war. Egyptian radio broadcasts talked of a coming genocide.[114][115][116] Israel responded by calling up its civilian reserves, bringing much of the Israeli economy to a halt. The Israelis set up a national unity coalition, including for the first time Menachem Begin's party, Herut, in a coalition. During a national radio broadcast, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol stammered, causing widespread fear in Israel. To calm public concern Moshe Dayan (Chief of Staff during the Sinai war) was appointed Defence Minister.
For the first time since the end of the British Mandate, Jews could visit the Old City of Jerusalem and pray at the Western Wall (the holiest site in modern Judaism), to which they had been denied access by the Jordanians in contravention of the 1949 Armistice agreement. The four-meter-wide public alley beside the Wall was expanded into a massive plaza and worshippers were allowed to sit, or use other furniture, for the first time in centuries. In Hebron, Jews gained access to the Cave of the Patriarchs (the second most holy site in Judaism) for the first time since the 14th century (previously Jews were only allowed to pray at the entrance).[118] A third Jewish holy site, Rachel's Tomb, in Bethlehem, also became accessible. Sinai oil fields made Israel self-sufficient in energy.
In 1968 Moshe Levinger led a group of Religious Zionists who created the first Jewish settlement, a town near Hebron called Kiryat Arba. There were no other religious settlements until after 1974. Ben-Gurion's Rafi party merged with the Labour-Mapai alliance. Ben-Gurion remained outside as an independent. In 1968, compulsory education was extended until the age of 16 for all citizens (it had been 14) and the government embarked on an extensive program of integration in education. In the major cities children from mainly Sephardi/Mizrahi neighbourhoods were bused to newly established middle schools in better areas. The system remained in place until after 2000.
In March 1968, Israeli forces attacked the Palestinian militia, Fatah, at its base in the Jordanian town of Karameh. The attack was in response to land mines placed on Israeli roads. The Israelis retreated after destroying the camp. Despite heavy casualties, Palestinians claimed victory, while Fatah and the PLO (of which it formed part) became famous across the Arab world. In early 1969, fighting broke out between Egypt and Israel along the Suez Canal. In retaliation for repeated Egyptian shelling of Israeli positions along the Suez Canal, Israeli planes made deep strikes into Egypt in the 1969–1970 "War of Attrition".
1969–1974: Meir
Further information: Munich massacre and Yom Kippur War
In late 1969, Levi Eshkol died in office of a heart attack and Golda Meir
became Prime Minister with the largest percentage of the vote ever won
by an Israeli party, winning 56 of the 120 seats after the 1969 election. Meir was the first female prime minister of Israel and the first woman to have headed a Middle Eastern state in modern times.[citation needed] Gahal remained on 26 seats, and was the second largest party.
In September 1970 King Hussein of Jordan drove the Palestine Liberation Organization out of his country. On September 18, 1970 Syrian tanks invaded Jordan, intending to aid the PLO. At the request of the U.S., Israel moved troops to the border and threatened Syria, causing the Syrians to withdraw. The center of PLO activity then shifted to Lebanon, where the 1969 Cairo agreement gave the Palestinians autonomy within the south of the country. The area controlled by the PLO became known by the international press and locals as "Fatahland" and contributed to the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. The event also led to Hafez al-Assad taking power in Syria. Egyptian President Nasser died immediately after and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat.
Increased Soviet antisemitism and enthusiasm generated by the 1967 victory led to a wave of Soviet Jews applying to emigrate to Israel. Those who left could only take two suitcases. Most Jews were refused exit visas and persecuted by the authorities. Some were arrested and sent to Gulag camps, becoming known as Prisoners of Zion. During 1971, violent demonstrations by the Israeli Black Panthers, made the Israeli public aware of resentment among Mizrahi Jews at ongoing discrimination and social gaps.[119] In 1972 the U.S. Jewish Mafia leader, Meyer Lansky, who had taken refuge in Israel, was deported to the United States.
At the Munich Olympics, 11 members of the Israeli team were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists. A botched German rescue attempt led to the death of all 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. Five of the terrorists were shot and three survived unharmed. The three surviving Palestinians were released without charge by the German authorities a month later. The Israeli government responded with a bombing, an assassination campaign against the organizers of the massacre and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon (led by future Prime Minister, Ehud Barak).
In 1972 the new Egyptian President Anwar Sadat expelled the Soviet advisers from Egypt. This and frequent invasion exercises by Egypt and Syria led to Israeli complacency about the threat from these countries. In addition the desire not to be held responsible for initiating conflict and an election campaign highlighting security, led to an Israeli failure to mobilize, despite receiving warnings of an impending attack.[120]
The war led the Saudi government to initiate the 1973 oil crisis, an oil embargo in conjunction with OPEC, against countries trading with Israel. Severe shortages led to massive increases in the price of oil, and as a result, many countries broke off relations with Israel or downgraded relations and Israel was banned from participation in the Asian Games and other Asian sporting events.
Prior to the December 1973 elections, Gahal and a number of right-wing parties united to form the Likud (led by Begin). In the December 1973 elections, Labour won 51 seats, leaving Golda Meir as Prime Minister. The Likud won 39 seats.
In May 1974, Palestinians attacked a school in Ma'alot, holding 102 children hostage. Twenty-two children were killed. In November 1974 the PLO was granted observer status at the UN and Yasser Arafat addressed the General Assembly. Later that year the Agranat Commission, appointed to assess responsibility for Israel's lack of preparedness for the war, exonerated the government of responsibility and held the Chief of Staff and head of military intelligence responsible. Despite the report, public anger at the Government led to Golda Meir's resignation.
1974–1977: Rabin I
Further information: Operation Entebbe
See also: Seventeenth government of Israel
Following Meir's resignation, Yitzhak Rabin (Chief of Staff during the Six Day War) became prime minister. Modern Orthodox Jews (Religious Zionist followers of the teachings of Rabbi Kook), formed the Gush Emunim movement and began an organized drive to settle the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In November 1975 the United Nations General Assembly, under the guidance of Austrian Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, adopted Resolution 3379, which asserted Zionism to be a form of racism. The General Assembly rescinded this resolution in December 1991 with Resolution 46/86. In March 1976 there was a massive strike by Israeli-Arabs in protest at a government plan to expropriate land in the Galilee.In July 1976, an Air France plane carrying 260 people was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and flown to Uganda, then ruled by Idi Amin Dada. There, the Germans separated the Jewish passengers from the non-Jewish passengers, releasing the non-Jews. The hijackers threatened to kill the remaining, 100-odd Jewish passengers (and the French crew who had refused to leave). Despite the distances involved, Rabin ordered a daring rescue operation in which the kidnapped Jews were freed.[121] UN Secretary General Waldheim described the raid as "a serious violation of the national sovereignty of a United Nations member state" (meaning Uganda).[122][123] Waldheim was a former Nazi and suspected war criminal, with a record of offending Jewish sensibilities.[124][125]
In 1976, the ongoing Lebanese Civil War led Israel to allow South Lebanese to cross the border and work in Israel. In January 1977, French authorities arrested Abu Daoud, the planner of the Munich massacre, releasing him a few days later.[126] In March 1977 Anatoly Sharansky, a prominent Refusenik and spokesman for the Moscow Helsinki Group, was sentenced to 13 years' hard labour.
Rabin resigned on April 1977 after it emerged that his wife maintained a dollar account in the United States (illegal at the time), which had been opened while Rabin was Israeli ambassador. The incident became known as the Dollar Account affair. Shimon Peres informally replaced him as prime minister, leading the Alignment in the subsequent elections.
1977–1983: Begin
Further information: Camp David Accords and 1982 Lebanon War
See also: Eighteenth and Nineteenth governments of Israel
In a surprise result, the Likud led by Menachem Begin won 43 seats in the 1977 elections
(Labour got 32 seats). This was the first time in Israeli history that
the government was not led by the left. A key reason for the victory was
anger among Mizrahi Jews
at discrimination, which was to play an important role in Israeli
politics for many years. Talented small town Mizrahi social activists,
unable to advance in the Labour party, were readily embraced by Begin.
Moroccan-born David Levy and Iranian-born Moshe Katzav were part of a group who won Mizrahi support for Begin. Many Labour voters voted for the Democratic Movement for Change
(15 seats) in protest at high-profile corruption cases. The party
joined in coalition with Begin and disappeared at the next election.In addition to starting a process of healing the Mizrahi–Ashkenazi divide, Begin's government included Ultra-Orthodox Jews and was instrumental in healing the Zionist–Ultra-Orthodox rift, however it did so at the cost of expanding the exemption from military service to all Haredi Jewish students of military age. This led to creation of a huge class of unemployed Haredi Jews (the exemption was conditional on attendance of a religious seminary, so they kept studying until they were too old for military service). By remaining students, they were a massive burden on the state, while also failing to participate in the military burden.
Begin's liberalization of the economy led to hyper-inflation (around 150% inflation) but enabled Israel to begin receiving U.S. financial aid. Begin actively supported Gush Emunim's efforts to settle the West Bank and Jewish settlements in the occupied territories received government support, thus laying the grounds for intense conflict with the Palestinian population of the occupied territories.
In November 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat broke 30 years of hostility with Israel by visiting Jerusalem at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Sadat's two-day visit included a speech before the Knesset, and was a turning point in the history of the conflict. The Egyptian leader created a new psychological climate in the Middle East in which peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours seemed possible. Sadat recognized Israel's right to exist and established the basis for direct negotiations between Egypt and Israel. Following Sadat's visit, 350 Yom Kippur War veterans organized the Peace Now movement to encourage Israeli governments to make peace with the Arabs.
In March 1978, eleven armed Lebanese Palestinians reached Israel in boats and hijacked a bus carrying families on a day outing, killing 38 people, including 13 children. The attackers opposed the Egyptian–Israeli peace process. Three days later, Israeli forces crossed into Lebanon beginning Operation Litani. After passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, calling for Israeli withdrawal and the creation of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peace-keeping force, Israel withdrew its troops.
In December 1978 the Israeli Merkava battle tank entered use with the IDF. In 1979, over 40,000 Iranian Jews migrated to Israel, escaping the Islamic Revolution there. On June 30, 1981, the Israeli air force destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor that France was building for Iraq. Three weeks later, Begin won yet again, in the 1981 elections (48 seats Likud, 47 Labour). Ariel Sharon was made defence minister. The new government annexed the Golan Heights and banned the national airline from flying on the Sabbath.
In the decades following the 1948 war, Israel's border with Lebanon was quiet compared to its borders with other neighbours. But the 1969 Cairo agreement gave the PLO a free hand to attack Israel from South Lebanon. The area was governed by the PLO independently of the Lebanese Government and became known as "Fatahland" (Fatah was the largest faction in the PLO). Palestinian irregulars constantly shelled the Israeli north, especially the town of Kiryat Shmona, which was a Likud stronghold inhabited primarily by Jews who had fled the Arab world. Lack of control over Palestinian areas was an important factor in causing civil war in Lebanon.
In June 1982, the attempted assassination of Shlomo Argov, the ambassador to Britain, was used as a pretext for an Israeli invasion aiming to drive the PLO out of the southern half of Lebanon. Sharon agreed with Chief of Staff Raphael Eitan to expand the invasion deep into Lebanon even though the cabinet had only authorized a 40 kilometre deep invasion.[128] The invasion became known as the 1982 Lebanon War and the Israeli army occupied Beirut, the only time an Arab capital has been occupied by Israel. Some of the Shia and Christian population of South Lebanon welcomed the Israelis, as PLO forces had maltreated them, but Lebanese resentment of Israeli occupation grew over time and the Shia became gradually radicalized under Iranian guidance.[129] Constant casualties among Israeli soldiers and Lebanese civilians led to growing opposition to the war in Israel.
In August 1982, the PLO withdrew its forces from Lebanon (moving to Tunisia). Israel helped engineer the election of a new Lebanese president, Bashir Gemayel, who agreed to recognize Israel and sign a peace treaty. Gemayal was assassinated before an agreement could be signed, and one day later Phalangist Christian forces led by Elie Hobeika entered two Palestinian refugee camps and massacred the occupants. The massacres led to the biggest demonstration ever in Israel against the war, with as many as 400,000 people (almost 10% of the population) gathering in Tel Aviv. In 1983, an Israeli public inquiry found that Israel's defence minister, Sharon, was indirectly but personally responsible for the massacres.[130] It also recommended that he never again be allowed to hold the post (it did not forbid him from being Prime Minister). In 1983, the May 17 Agreement was signed between Israel and Lebanon, paving the way for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory through a few stages. Israel continued to operate against the PLO until its eventual departure in 1985, and kept a small force stationed in Southern Lebanon in support of the South Lebanon Army until May 2000.
1983–1992: Shamir I; Peres I; Shamir II
See also: Twentieth, Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth governments of Israel
In September 1983, Begin resigned and was succeeded by Yitzhak Shamir as prime minister. The 1984 election was inconclusive and led to a power sharing agreement between Shimon Peres
of the Alignment (44 seats) and Shamir of Likud (41 seats). Peres was
prime minister from 1984 to 1986 and Shamir from 1986 to 1988. In 1984,
continual discrimination against Sephardi Ultra-Orthodox Jews by the
Ashkenazi Ultra-Orthodox establishment led political activist Aryeh Deri to leave the Agudat Israel party and join former chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in forming Shas,
a new party aimed at the non-Ashkenazi Ultra-Orthodox vote. The party
won 4 seats in the first election it contested and over the next twenty
years was the third largest party in the Knesset. Shas established a
nationwide network of free Sephardi orthodox schools. In 1984, during a
severe famine in Ethiopia, 8,000 Ethiopian Jews were secretly transported to Israel. In 1986 Natan Sharansky, a famous Russian human rights activist and Zionist refusenik (denied an exit visa) was released from the Gulag in return for two Soviet spies.In June 1985, Israel withdrew most of its troops from Lebanon, leaving a residual Israeli force and an Israeli-supported militia in southern Lebanon as a "security zone" and buffer against attacks on its northern territory. By July 1985 Israel's inflation, buttressed by complex index linking of salaries, had reached 480% per annum and was the highest in the world. Peres introduced emergency control of prices and cut government expenditure successfully bringing inflation under control. The currency (known as the Israeli lira until 1980) was replaced and renamed the Israeli new shekel. In October 1985 Israel responded to a Palestinian terrorist attack in Cyprus by bombing the PLO headquarters in Tunis. Growing Israeli settlement and continuing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, led to the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising) in 1987, which lasted until the Madrid Conference of 1991, despite Israeli attempts to suppress it. Human rights abuses by Israeli troops led a group of Israelis to form B'Tselem, an organization devoted to improving awareness and compliance with human rights requirements in Israel.
In August 1987, the Israeli government cancelled the IAI Lavi project, an attempt to develop an independent Israeli fighter aircraft. The Israelis found themselves unable to sustain the huge development costs and faced U.S. opposition to a project that threatened U.S. influence in Israel and U.S. global military ascendancy. In September 1988, Israel launched an Ofeq reconsaissance satellite into orbit, using a Shavit rocket, thus becoming one of only eight countries possessing a capacity to independently launch satellites into space (two more have since developed this ability). The Alignment and Likud remained neck and neck in the 1988 elections (39:40 seats). Shamir successfully formed a national unity coalition with the Labour Alignment. In March 1990, Alignment leader Shimon Peres engineered a defeat of the government in a non-confidence vote and then tried to form a new government. He failed and Shamir became prime minister at the head of a right-wing coalition.
In 1990, the Soviet Union finally permitted free emigration of Soviet Jews to Israel. Prior to this, Jews trying to leave the USSR faced persecution; those who succeeded arrived as refugees. Over the next few years some one million Soviet citizens migrated to Israel. Although there was concern that some of the new immigrants had only a very tenuous connection to Judaism, and many were accompanied by non-Jewish relatives, this massive wave of migration slowly transformed Israel, bringing large numbers of highly educated Soviet Jews and creating a powerful Russian culture in Israel.
In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, triggering the Gulf War between Iraq and a large allied force, led by the United States. Iraq attacked Israel with 39 Scud missiles. Israel did not retaliate. Israel provided gas masks for both the Palestinian population and Israeli citizens. In May 1991, during a 36 hour period, 15,000 Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) were secretly airlifted to Israel. The coalition's victory in the Gulf War opened new possibilities for regional peace, and in October 1991 the U.S. President, George H.W. Bush and Soviet Union Premier, Mikhail Gorbachev, jointly convened a historic meeting in Madrid of Israeli, Lebanese, Jordanian, Syrian, and Palestinian leaders. Shamir opposed the idea but agreed in return for loan guarantees to help with absorption of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. His participation in the conference led to the collapse of his (right-wing) coalition.
1992–1996: Rabin II; Peres II
Further information: Oslo I Accord
See also: Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth governments of Israel
On September 13, 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords (a Declaration of Principles)[131] on the South Lawn of the White House. The principles established objectives relating to a transfer of authority from Israel to an interim Palestinian Authority, as a prelude to a final treaty establishing a Palestinian state, in exchange for mutual recognition. The DOP established May 1999 as the date by which a permanent status agreement for the West Bank and Gaza Strip would take effect. In February 1994, a follower of the Kach movement killed 29 Palestinian Arabs at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron (Cave of the Patriarchs massacre). Kach had been barred from participation in the 1992 elections (on the grounds that the movement was racist). It was subsequently made illegal. Israel and the PLO signed the Gaza–Jericho Agreement in May 1994, and the Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities in August, which began the process of transferring authority from Israel to the Palestinians.
On July 25, 1994, Jordan and Israel signed the Washington Declaration, which formally ended the state of war that had existed between them since 1948 and on October 26 the Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace, witnessed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.[132][133]
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Israeli–Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on September 28, 1995, in Washington. The agreement was witnessed by President Bill Clinton on behalf of the United States and by Russia, Egypt, Norway and the European Union, and incorporates and supersedes the previous agreements, marking the conclusion of the first stage of negotiations between Israel and the PLO. The agreement allowed the PLO leadership to relocate to the occupied territories and granted autonomy to the Palestinians with talks to follow regarding final status. In return the Palestinians promised to abstain from use of terror and changed the Palestinian National Covenant, which had called for the expulsion of all Jews who migrated after 1917 and the elimination of Israel.[134]
The agreement was opposed by Hamas and other Palestinian factions, which launched suicide bomber attacks at Israel. Rabin had a barrier constructed around Gaza to prevent attacks. The growing separation between Israel and the "Palestinian Territories" led to a labour shortage in Israel, mainly in the construction industry. Israeli firms began importing labourers from the Philippines, Thailand, China and Romania; some of these labourers stayed on without visas. In addition, a growing number of Africans began illegally migrating to Israel. On November 4, 1995, a far-right-wing religious Zionist opponent of the Oslo Accords, assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In February 1996 Rabin's successor, Shimon Peres, called early elections.
1996–1999: Netanyahu I
See also: Twenty-seventh government of Israel
The May 1996 elections were the first featuring direct election of the prime minister and resulted in a narrow election victory for Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu. A spate of suicide bombings reinforced the Likud position for security. Hamas claimed responsibility for most of the bombings. Despite his stated differences with the Oslo Accords,
Prime Minister Netanyahu continued their implementation, but his prime
ministership saw a marked slow-down in the Peace Process. Netanyahu also
pledged to gradually reduce U.S. aid to Israel.[135]In September 1996, a Palestinian riot broke out against the creation of an exit in the Western Wall tunnel. Over the subsequent few weeks, around 80 people were killed as a result.[136][137]
In January 1997 Netanyahu signed the Hebron Protocol with the Palestinian Authority, resulting in the redeployment of Israeli forces in Hebron and the turnover of civilian authority in much of the area to the Palestinian Authority.
1999–2001: Barak
See also: Twenty-eighth government of Israel
In the election of July 1999, Ehud Barak of the Labour Party became Prime Minister. His party was the largest in the Knesset with 26 seats.In September 1999 the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that the use of torture in interrogation of Palestinian prisoners was illegal.[138]
On March 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II arrived in Israel for a historic visit. On May 25, 2000, Israel unilaterally withdrew its remaining forces from the "security zone" in southern Lebanon. Several thousand members of the South Lebanon Army (and their families) left with the Israelis. The UN Secretary-General concluded[139] that, as of June 16, 2000, Israel had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 425. Lebanon claims that Israel continues to occupy Lebanese territory called "Sheba'a Farms" (however this area was governed by Syria until 1967 when Israel took control).[140] The Sheba'a Farms provide Hezbollah with a ruse to maintain warfare with Israel.[141] The Lebanese government, in contravention of the UN resolution, did not assert sovereignty in the area, which came under the control of Hezbollah.
On September 28, 2000, Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the Al-Aqsa compound, or Temple Mount, the following day the Palestinians launched the al-Aqsa Intifada. David Samuels and Khaled Abu Toameh have stated that the uprising was planned much earlier.[143][144]
In October 2000, Palestinians destroyed Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish shrine in Nablus. The Arrow missile, a missile designed to destroy ballistic missiles, including Scud missiles, was first deployed by Israel. In 2001, with the Peace Process increasingly in disarray, Ehud Barak called a special election for Prime Minister. Barak hoped a victory would give him renewed authority in negotiations with the Palestinians. Instead opposition leader Ariel Sharon was elected PM. After this election, the system of directly electing the Premier was abandoned.
2001–2006: Sharon
Further information: Second Intifada, Israeli West Bank barrier, and Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
See also: Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth governments of Israel
In response to a wave of suicide bomb attacks, culminating in the "Passover massacre" (see List of Israeli civilian casualties in the Second Intifada), in 2002 Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield, and Sharon began construction of a barrier around the West Bank. In January 2003 separate elections were held for the Knesset. Likud won the most seats (27). An anti-religion party, Shinui, won 15 seats on a secularist platform, making it the third largest party (ahead of orthodox Shas). Internal fighting led to Shinui's demise at the next election.
In 2004, the Black Hebrews were granted permanent residency in Israel. The group had begun migrating to Israel 25 years earlier from the United States, but had not been recognized as Jews by the state and hence not granted citizenship under Israel's Law of Return. They had settled in Israel without official status. From 2004 onwards, they received citizen's rights. In May 2004, Israel launched Operation Rainbow in southern Gaza to create a safer environment for the IDF soldiers along the Philadelphi Route. On September 30, 2004, Israel carried out Operation Days of Penitence in northern Gaza to destroy the launching sites of Palestinian rockets which were used to attack Israeli towns.
In 2005, all Jewish settlers were evacuated from Gaza (some forcibly) and their homes demolished. Disengagement from the Gaza Strip was completed on September 12, 2005. Military disengagement from the northern West Bank was completed ten days later. Following the withdrawal, the Israeli town of Sderot and other Israeli communities near Gaza became subject to constant shelling and mortar bomb attacks from Gaza. In 2005 Sharon left the Likud and formed a new party called Kadima, which accepted that the peace process would lead to creation of a Palestinian state. He was joined by many leading figures from both Likud and Labour.
Hamas won the Palestinian legislative election, 2006, the first and only genuinely free Palestinian elections. Hamas' leaders rejected all agreements signed with Israel, refused to recognize Israel's right to exist, refused to abandon terror, and occasionally claimed the Holocaust was a Jewish conspiracy.
The withdrawal and Hamas victory left the status of Gaza unclear, Israel claimed it was no longer an occupying power but continued to control air and sea access to Gaza although it did not exercise sovereignty on the ground. Egypt insisted that it was still occupied and refused to open border crossings with Gaza, although it was free to do so.[145]
On April 14, 2006, after Ariel Sharon was incapacitated by a severe haemorrhagic stroke, Ehud Olmert became Prime Minister.[146]
2006–2009: Olmert
Further information: 2006 Lebanon War and Gaza War
See also: Thirty-first government of Israel
Ehud Olmert was elected Prime Minister after his party, Kadima, won the most seats (29) in the Israeli legislative election, 2006. In 2005 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
was officially elected president of Iran; since then, Iranian policy
towards Israel has grown more confrontational. Israeli analysts believe
Ahmadinejad has worked to undermine the peace process with arms supplies
and aid to Hezbullah in South Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza,[147] and is developing nuclear weapons, possibly for use against Israel.[148] Iranian support for Hezbollah and its nuclear arms program are in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1747. Iran also encourages Holocaust denial.
Following the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, Hezbollah had mounted
periodic attacks on Israel, which did not lead to Israeli retaliation.
Similarly, the withdrawal from Gaza led to incessant shelling of towns
around the Gaza area with only minimal Israeli response. The failure to
react led to criticism from the Israeli right and undermined the
government.On March 14, 2006, Israel carried out an operation in the Palestinian Authority prison of Jericho in order to capture Ahmad Sa'adat and several Palestinian Arab prisoners located there who assassinated Israeli politician Rehavam Ze'evi in 2001. The operation was conducted as a result of the expressed intentions of the newly elected Hamas government to release these prisoners.
On June 25, 2006, a Hamas force crossed the border from Gaza and attacked a tank, capturing wounded Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, sparking clashes in Gaza.[149] On July 12, Hezbollah attacked Israel from Lebanon, shelled Israeli towns and attacked a border patrol, taking two dead or badly wounded Israeli soldiers. These incidents led Israel to initiate the Second Lebanon War, which lasted through August 2006. Israeli forces entered some villages in Southern Lebanon, while the air force attacked targets all across the country. Israel only made limited ground gains until the launch of Operation Changing Direction 11, which lasted for 3 days with disputed results. Shortly before a UN ceasefire came into effect, Israeli troops captured Wadi Saluki. The war concluded with Hezbollah evacuating its forces from Southern Lebanon, while the IDF remained until its positions could be handed over to the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL.
In 2007 education was made compulsory until the age of 18 for all citizens (it had been 16). Refugees from the genocide in Darfur, mostly Muslim, arrived in Israel illegally, with some given Asylum.[150][151] Illegal immigrants arrived mainly from Africa in addition to foreign workers overstaying their visas. The numbers of such migrants are not known and estimates vary between 30,000 and over 100,000.
In June 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in the course of the Battle of Gaza,[152] seizing government institutions and replacing Fatah and other government officials with its own.[153] Following the takeover, Egypt and Israel largely sealed their border crossings with Gaza imposing a blockade, on the grounds that Fatah had fled and was no longer providing security on the Palestinian side, and to prevent arms smuggling by terrorist groups.
On September 6, 2007, the Israeli Air Force destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria.
On February 28, 2008, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the constant firing of Qassam rockets by Hamas militants.
On July 16, 2008, Hezbollah swapped the bodies of Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, kidnapped in 2006, in exchange for the Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar, four Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of 199 Palestinian Arab and Lebanese fighters.
Olmert also came under investigation for corruption and this ultimately led him to announce, on July 30, 2008, that he would be stepping down as Prime Minister following election of a new leader of the Kadima party in September 2008. Tzippi Livni won the election, but was unable to form a coalition and he remained in office until the general election.
Israel carried out Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip from December 27, 2008, to January 18, 2009 in response to rocket attacks from Hamas militants,[154] leading to a decrease of Palestinian rocket attacks.[155]
2009–present: Netanyahu II
See also: Thirty-second government of Israel
In the 2009 legislative election
Likud won 27 seats and Kadima 28; however, the right-wing camp won a
majority of seats, and President Shimon Peres called on Netanyahu to
form the government. Russian immigrant-dominated Yisrael Beiteinu came third with 15 seats, and Labour was reduced to fourth place with 13 seats.
In 2009 Israeli billionaire, Yitzhak Tshuva announced the discovery of huge natural gas reserves off the coast of Israel.[156] On May 31, 2010, an international incident broke out in the Mediterranean Sea when foreign activists trying to break the maritime blockade over Gaza, clashed with Israeli troops. During the struggle, nine Turkish activists were killed. In late September 2010 took place direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians without success.
As a defensive countermeasure to the rocket threat against Israel's civilian population, at the end of March 2011 Israel began to operate the advanced mobile air defence system "Iron Dome"[157] in the southern region of Israel and along the border with the Gaza Strip.
On 14 July 2011 the largest social protest in the history of Israel began in which hundreds of thousands of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds in Israel protested against the continuing rise in the cost of living (particularly housing) and the deterioration of public services in the country (such as health and education). The peak of the demonstrations took place on September 3, 2011, in which about 400,000 people demonstrated across the country.
In October 2011, a deal was reached between Israel and Hamas, by which the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinians and Arab-Israeli prisoners.[158][159]
In March 2012, Secretary-general of the Popular Resistance Committees Zuhir al-Qaisi, a senior PRC member and two additional Palestinian militants were assassinated during a targeted killing carried out by Israeli forces in Gaza.[160][161] The Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip, led by the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, fired a massive amount of rockets towards southern Israel in retaliation, sparking five days of clashes along the Gaza border.
In May 2012, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement with the Head of Opposition Shaul Mofaz for Kadima to join the current government, thus canceling the early election supposed to be held in September.[162][162] However, on July Kadima party left Netanyahu's government due to a dispute concerning military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel.[163]
In June 2012, Israel transferred the bodies of 91 Palestinian suicide bombers and other militants as part of what Mark Regev, spokesman for Netanyahu, described as a "humanitarian gesture" to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to help revive the peace talks and reinstate direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.[164]
On October 21, 2012, United States and Israel began their biggest joint air and missile defense exercise, known as Austere Challenge 12, involving around 3,500 U.S. troops in the region along with 1,000 IDF personnel, expected to last three weeks.[165] Germany and Britain also participated.[166]
In response to over a hundred rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities, Israel began an operation in Gaza on November 14, 2012, with the targeted killing of Ahmed Jabari, chief of Hamas military wing, and airstrikes against twenty underground sites housing long-range missile launchers capable of striking Tel Aviv.
In January 2013, construction of the barrier on the Israeli-Egyptian border was completed in its main section.[167]
Statistics
| 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (millions) | 1.4 | 2.1 | 3 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 6 | 7.5 |
| % of world's Jews | 7% | 20% | 25% | 30% | 39% | 42% | |
| GDP per capita 2005 NIS | 17,000 | 27,000 | 45,000 | 58,000 | 65,000 | 77,000 | 90,000 (2006) |
See also
- Timeline of Israeli history
- Years in Israel
- Archaeology of Israel
- Hebrew calendar
- Culture of Israel
- Economy of Israel
- Geography of Israel
- History of Israeli nationality
- History of Jerusalem
- History of Palestine
- History of the Arab–Israeli conflict
- History of the Jews in the Land of Israel
- History of the Israel Defense Forces
- History of the Levant
- Jewish history
- LGBT history in Israel
- List of Jewish leaders in the Land of Israel
- List of museums in Israel
- List of Prime Ministers of Israel
- Outline of Israel
- Politics of Israel
Notes
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- ^ "The oldest human groups in the Levant". Cat.inist.fr. 2004-09-13. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
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- ^ Christopher Stringer, custodian of Tabun I, Natural History Museum, quoted in an exhibition in honour of Garrod; Callander and Smith, 1998
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- ^ Stager in Coogan 1998, p. 91.
- ^ Dever 2003, p. 206.
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- ^ McNutt 1999, p. 70.
- ^ Miller 2005, p. 98.
- ^ McNutt 1999, p. 72.
- ^ Miller 2005, p. 99.
- ^ Miller 2005, p. 105.
- ^ Lehman in Vaughn 1992, pp. 156–62.
- ^ Ponet, James (22 December 2005). "The Maccabees and the Hellenists". Faith-based. Slate. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
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"HYRCANUS, JOHN (JOHANAN) I.". Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906.
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- ^ Martin Goodman, Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, Penguin 2008 p. 494
- ^ Martin Goodman, Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, Penguin 2008 p. 490
- ^ M. Avi-Yonah, The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule, Jerusalem 1984 pp. 12–14
- ^ M. Avi-Yonah, The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule, Jerusalem 1984 p. 143
- ^ For more information see The Canon Debate edited by McDonald and Sanders, 2002 Hendrickson
- ^ M. Avi-Yonah, The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule, Jerusalem 1984 sections II to V
- ^ M. Avi-Yonah, The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule, Jerusalem 1984 chapter I
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- ^ For more information see Palestine: Retreat from the Mandate, The making of British Policy, 1936–1945 by Michael Cohen, New York 1979 Chapter 3
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British White Paper of Palestine of 1939. Wikisource. 1939.
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- ^ NationMaster – UN membership date (most recent) by country
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- ^ "Data and Trends in Terrorism". Annual Summary. Israel Security Agency. 25 December 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ Wainer, David; Ben-David, Calev (22 April 2010). "Israel Billionaire Tshuva Strikes Gas, Fueling Expansion in Energy, Hotels". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- ^ "Iron Dome Air Defense Missile System, Israel". army-technology.com. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ Hamas to gain politically from prisoner swap deal. News.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-20.
- ^ Mishra, Harinder (12 October 2011). "Israel to release 1,027 prisoners for its lone soldier". IBN Live (Jerusalem). Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ Israel kills 10 Palestinian militants in Gaza strikes | Reuters
- ^ BBC News - Israel launches deadly air strikes on Gaza
- ^ a b "No elections: Kadima to join government - Israel News, Ynetnews". Ynetnews.com. 1995-06-20. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- ^ BBC News - Kadima quits Israel government over conscription law
- ^ "Israel returns bodies of 91 Palestinians". France 24. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
- ^ US and Israel launch joint military drill, Al Jazeera October 21, 2012
- ^ U.S.-Israeli Military Exercise Sending Message to Iran
- ^ Israel completes most of Egypt border fence, Los Angeles Times January 2, 2013
- ^ Statistical Abstract of Israel No. 51, Central Bureau of Statistics 2000
- ^ http://www.cbs.gov.il/www/statistical/meshek06_h.pdf
References
- "The Peel Commission Report". July 1937. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
Further reading
- Berger, Earl The Covenant and the Sword: Arab–Israeli Relations, 1948–56, London, Routledge K. Paul, 1965.
- Bregman, Ahron A History of Israel, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002 ISBN 0-333-67632-7.
- Bright, John (2000). A History of Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664220686.
- Butler, L.J. Britain and Empire: Adjusting to a Post-Imperial World I.B. Tauris 2002 ISBN 1-86064-449-X
- Coogan, Michael D., ed. (1998). The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195139372. Stager, Lawrence E. "Forging an Identity: The Emergence of Ancient Israel".
- Darwin, John Britain and Decolonisation: The Retreat from Empire in the Post-War World Palgrave Macmillan 1988 ISBN 0-333-29258-8
- Davis, John, The Evasive Peace: a Study of the Zionist-Arab Problem, London: J. Murray, 1968.
- Dever, William (2003). Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802809759.
- Eytan, Walter The First Ten Years: a Diplomatic History of Israel, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1958
- Gilbert, Martin Israel: A History, New York: Morrow, 1998 ISBN 0-688-12362-7.
- Horrox, James A Living Revolution: Anarchism in the Kibbutz Movement, Oakland: AK Press, 2009
- Herzog, Haim The Arab–Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East from the War of Independence to Lebanon, London: Arms and Armour; Tel Aviv, Israel: Steimatzky, 1984 ISBN 0-85368-613-0.
- Israel Office of Information Israe's Struggle for Peace, New York, 1960.
- Killebrew, Ann E. (2005). Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, and Early Israel, 1300–1100 B.C.E.. Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 9781589830974.
- Laqueur, Walter Confrontation: the Middle-East War and World Politics, London: Wildwood House, 1974, ISBN 0-7045-0096-5.
- Lucas, Noah The Modern History of Israel, New York: Praeger, 1975.
- McNutt, Paula (1999). Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664222659.
- Miller, James Maxwell; Hayes, John Haralson (1986). A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-21262-X.
- Miller, Robert D. (2005). Chieftains of the Highland Clans: A History of Israel in the 12th and 11th Centuries B.C.. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802809889.
- Morris, Benny 1948: A History of the First Arab–Israeli War, Yale University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-300-12696-9.
- O'Brian, Conor Cruise The Siege: the Saga of Israel and Zionism, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986 ISBN 0-671-60044-3.
- Oren, Michael Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 ISBN 0-19-515174-7.
- Rubinstein, Alvin Z. (editor) The Arab–Israeli Conflict: Perspectives, New York: Praeger, 1984 ISBN 0-03-068778-0.
- Lord Russell of Liverpool, If I Forget Thee; the Story of a Nation's Rebirth, London, Cassell 1960.
- Sachar, Howard M. A History of Israel, New York: Knopf, 1976 ISBN 0-394-48564-5.
- Samuel, Rinna A History of Israel: the Birth, Growth and Development of Today's Jewish State, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989 ISBN 0-297-79329-2.
- Schultz, Joseph & Klausner, Carla From Destruction to Rebirth: The Holocaust and the State of Israel, Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1978 ISBN 0-8191-0574-0.
- Segev, Tom The Seventh Million: the Israelis and the Holocaust, New York: Hill and Wang, 1993 ISBN 0-8090-8563-1.
- Shapira Anita. ‘’Israel: A History’’ (Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England; 2012) 502 pages;
- Shlaim, Avi, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (2001)
- Talmon, Jacob L. Israel Among the Nations, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1970 ISBN 0-297-00227-9.
- Vaughn, Andrew G.; Killebrew, Ann E., eds. (1992). Jerusalem in Bible and Archaeology: The First Temple Period. Sheffield. ISBN 9781589830660. Cahill, Jane M. "Jerusalem at the Time of the United Monarchy". Lehman, Gunnar. "The United Monarchy in the Countryside".
- Wolffsohn, Michael Eternal Guilt?: Forty years of German-Jewish-Israeli Relations, New York: Columbia University Press, 1993 ISBN 0-231-08274-6.
External links
Media related to History of Israel at Wikimedia Commons
Israeli History at Wikibooks
- Facts About Israel: History at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- History of Israel: Key events at the BBC News Online
- Official website of the Israel State Archives
- Holy Land Maps, National Library of Israel
- History of Israel at the Open Directory Project
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