War of Independence

Violence had been escalating since the Partition Plan was announced in November of 1947, but the establishment of the State was the go-ahead for surrounding Arab states to attack. The standing armies of Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Trans-Jordan, and a contingent from Saudi Arabia converged from every direction upon the infant State. The Jews had little artillery, no tanks and no warplanes. The kibbutzim were the nucleus of resistance holding back armies under impossible conditions and ultimately ensuring the breadth of the country's boundaries. The battles for Jerusalem were some of the fiercest, and the Old City which was lost to the Jordanians in May of 1948 was not to be recovered over
the course of the War.

The war was marked by long periods of fighting interspersed with short-lived cease-fires. Fighting officially ended in January of 1949, by which time the borders of the new State had been expanded by 2,500 square miles. The remaining land which had been alloted to the Palestinians as part of the partition was split between Transjordan and Egypt. Armistice agreements were signed with Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria over the next six months.

Before and during the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian left their homes, believing that they would soon be able to return. Some responded to Arab leaders' calls to get out of the way of advancing armies, some were expelled, but most were simply frightened. They fled to avoid being caught in the crossfire of battle. By the signing of the armistices, 160,000 Arabs remained in the Jewish State, and they were granted citizenship status. That number has grown to over one million.

Early years of the State

As the declaration of the State facilitated unhindered, Jews poured in. Within three years, the population of the country had doubled to 1.4 million. The immigrants included Holocaust survivors from displaced persons camps in Germany, Austria and Italy; one-third of the Jews of Romania and Iran; a majority of the Jewish communities of Bulgaria, Turkey and Poland, and nearly the entire Jewish populations of Libya, Yemen and Iraq. As opposed to earlier immigrations, most of the newcomers came with almost nothing - no capital to spur the young State's economy, and very few belongings.

Anti-Jewish riots in Morocco, Libya, Syria, Egypt and Iraq followed the establishment of the State of Israel, and tens of thousands of Jews fled for their lives. Iran was the least hostile of the neighboring Muslim countries to the new State. After the formation of the State of Israel many of the Jews in Iranian Kurdistan left for Tehran, in transit to Israel. The move angered the local authorities, and In March 1950, 12 Jews were murdered in Kurdistan. As a result, more Kurdish Jews moved to Tehran and demanded protection. The Iranian government guaranteed their safe passage. By March 1951, 24,000 Iranian Jews including many from Kurdistan had moved to Israel.

The masses of immigrants needed housing, food, medical care, jobs and education. Very poor and continually facing external threats, the young State embarked on a nation-building enterprise which demanded unmatched single-mindedness and devotion. There simply was not enough food to go around, so a system of rationing was imposed which lasted until 1954, when the markets opened. Throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, in response to an urgent need for housing, and a strategic objective to disperse the population which was concentrated in the major cities, the State established what became known as development towns. Located in the periphery, some of these towns were more successful than others.

Hundreds of kibbutzim and moshavim were also established in the periphery, with the added goal of advancing Israel's agricultural capacity, as the State was in a race to feed itself. There was a renewed surge of immigration at the end of the 1950s of Jews from Poland, Egypt and Hungary.

Consolidation and Diversification - 1960s

Although daily life remained a struggle well into the 1960s, hard work and determination were creating a strong middle class. More people found time for hikes around the country, sports, music and theater.

Domestic and international tourism was developing as a major industry. Daily and weekly newspapers abounded. Radios were an integral part of every household, and the Israel Broadcasting Authority was established to service the growing number of television viewers.  Not only was Israel feeding itself by the mid-1960s, but it was gaining world recognition for developing innovative agricultural methods. Israeli experts were dispatched all over the developing world as agricultural advisors.

Watching its Arab neighbors receive a steady flow of arms from the Soviet Union, the young State was determined to arm itself. Investments in independent development reaped many innovations, but not nearly enough to rectify the imbalance. Tireless diplomatic endeavours were made to buy arms from the US and Europe, some of which proved fruitful.

Rising Arab aggression and Israel's response

Into the decade, agitations, both State-instigated and terrorist, grew more and more frequent on the Syrian, Jordanian and Egyptian borders. By May of 1967, Egyptian troops had moved into the demilitarized zone in the Sinai and ordered the removal of the UN Emergency Force, leaving the Egyptians full military control of Sinai and the Gaza Strip. Israel responded by calling up its reserves. The Egyptians then announced the closing of the Straits of Tiran at the entrance to the Red Sea, closing off Israel's port of Eilat. President of Egypt Gamal Abdul Nasser in an address to his National Assemby stated, "the problem is not whether the port of Eilat should be blockaded or how to blockade it - but how to exterminate the State of Israel forever." Jordan subsequently signed a mutual defense pact with Egypt, while Syrian troops were deployed on
the Golan Heights. Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Kuwait announced they would  put troops at Egypt's disposal. The international community was unprepared or unable to contain the aggression.

On June 4, 1967, Israel made the fateful decision that its defense would necessitate a pre-emptive strike and approved a military operation for June 5th. Six days later, on June 10, the Arab forces have been trounced. Israel had captured the Old City of Jerusalem and the entire breadth of what was Mandated Palestine to the Jordan River, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai desert and the Golan Heights.