EntranceThe year of the founding of the State of Israel. The Creation of Israel - Briefly
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In 1947, Britain returned its Mandate for Palestine to the United Nations. On November 29, the UN Special Committee on Palestine recommended dividing Palestine into two independent states - Jewish and Arab. After the British left Palestine, the creation of the State of Israel was proclaimed on May 15, 1948. The newly emerged state opened its doors to Jewish immigrants from all over the world.
The Second Ended World War, the world celebrated the victory over Nazism. In this war, a significant part of the almost 9 million Jewish community of Europe died, but for the survivors the trials were not over yet.
After the war, the British placed even greater restrictions on Jewish repatriation to Palestine. The answer was the creation of the Jewish Resistance Movement. Despite the naval blockade and border patrols established by the British, from 1944 to 1948, about 85 thousand people were transported to Palestine through secret, often dangerous routes.
The situation in the country was extremely unstable, almost a crisis, and the British government was forced to transfer the solution to the Palestinian problem into the hands of the UN. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly, by a majority vote of 33 to 13, adopted a resolution dividing Palestine into two states.
The creation of the State of Israel, the first Jewish state in almost 2 thousand years, was announced in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948. The declaration came into force the next day, when the last British soldiers left Palestine. The Palestinians called the day May 15 al-Nakba - “The Catastrophe.”
Since the beginning of the year, hostilities have occurred between Arab and Jewish forces aimed at holding and seizing territory. The Jewish militant organizations Irgun and Lehi achieved great success, winning not only the territories allocated to them by the UN declaration, but also a significant part of those intended for the Arab state.
On April 9, Jewish militants killed a significant number of residents of the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem. Frightened by this, several hundred thousand Palestinians fled to Lebanon, Egypt and what is now known as the West Bank.
Jewish forces made gains in the Negev Desert, Galilee, West Jerusalem, and much of the coastal plain.
On the day of Israel's proclamation, five Arab countries - Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq - declared war on Israel and immediately invaded the territory of the newly created state, but their armies were driven back by the Israelis. More than 6,000 people died on the Israeli side in the 15-month war. They gave their lives to make the existence of the State of Israel a reality. The following year, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, passed a law establishing a national holiday on the 5th day of the month of Iyar, called Yom Ha'atzmaut - Independence Day.
As a result of the truce, Israel included a large part of former British Palestine within its borders. Egypt held the Gaza Strip; Jordan annexed the area around Jerusalem and the land now known as the West Bank; this constituted about 25% of the territory of Mandatory Palestine.
The monstrous catastrophe that befell Jewish people under Hitler, clearly demonstrated that the only solution to the problem is the creation of an independent Jewish state in Eretz Israel, where the Jewish people will be ensured a decent existence in conditions of freedom and security.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world prayed for the fulfillment of the dream of many generations. This cherished dream became a reality - the outstanding Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the creation of the State of Israel in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people. Ben-Gurion declared: “We, the members of the Provisional National Council, representatives of the Jewish population and the Zionist movement, on the day of the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, by virtue of our natural and historical right and based on the decision of the UN General Assembly, hereby proclaim the establishment of a Jewish State on Earth Israel - the State of Israel."
The State of Israel was created at the cost of the lives of thousands of soldiers and officers who died in order for the Jewish people to have their own corner on earth - the country in which their ancestors lived, the country in which the Holy Temple stood and there was a Jewish kingdom.
The State of Israel does not forget those to whom it owes its existence. The eve of Independence Day has been declared a day of remembrance for soldiers killed in Israel's wars. In the evening, funeral candles are lit. In Jerusalem, at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, the central ceremony of this day takes place, which is opened by the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces with the Yizkor prayer. The mourning ceremony is attended by the leadership of the state and family members of the victims.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the sound of a siren is heard and life freezes for two minutes throughout the country - people stand and pay tribute to the memory of the fallen soldiers. National flags are flown at half-mast, mourning rallies are held at military cemeteries throughout the day, and mourning assemblies are held in schools. Soldiers and schoolchildren stand guard of honor at the monuments to the dead. The whole country is in a special mood on this day, saluting those who fell while fighting for the creation of the state and the safety of its inhabitants.
In Israel, the holiday is celebrated with ceremonial receptions, military bases are open to visitors, air parades are organized and equipment is demonstrated navy. Today Israel can be proud of the technical equipment of its army.
Religious Jews recite special prayers and always the HaLel prayer, symbolizing the national liberation of Israel.
As darkness falls, Memorial Day ends and the colorful ceremony of Independence Day celebrations begins on Mount Herzl. 12 people, men and women, representing different segments of the Israeli population, light 12 torches in honor of the achievements of the State of Israel. The national flag is again raised to the top of the flagpole. At the end of the ceremony, the night sky is illuminated with colorful fireworks. City squares are filled with celebrating people.
Artists perform on the stage and orchestras play. The streets and balconies of houses are decorated with Israeli flags. In synagogues they read a prayer for the well-being and security of the state, which also expresses the hope that all the sons of the Jewish people will return to their country. Independence Day ends with the ceremony of presenting the Israeli State Prizes in the fields of scientific research, literature and the arts.
- a new sovereign independent state. Today many people ask the question: “Israel, how was it formed?” This is what this article will discuss.
It all started like this. After the resolution of the UN General Assembly decided in 1947 on November 29 to divide the land of Palestine under the British Mandate into two independent sovereign states - Jewish and Arab, intensive active preparations began to be made to proclaim independence.
At the same time, Britain refuses to cooperate in the division of the Palestinian lands into two independent states and announces its intentions to withdraw its troops and civilian personnel from the territory under British mandate. The withdrawal of armed forces and civilian personnel is planned by the UK by mid-May 1948.
It must be said that the Americans tried to put diplomatic pressure on the Jewish Agency, trying to achieve a postponement of the proclamation of an independent Jewish sovereign state.
American diplomats and the entire leadership of the country had doubts about the ability of the new Jewish state to withstand the conflict with the Arabs. The United States also refused to support the plan to partition the Palestinian lands, while a plan was proposed to transfer them to the trusteeship of the United Nations until an agreement was reached between the Arabs and Jews.
The emergence of Israel was not easy: there were objections from the governments of Western Europe, constant tangible pressure from the United States State Department, disagreements in the People's Council, as well as internal party disagreements. But, despite all the objections and disagreements, David Ben Gurion insisted on the formation of a sovereign state before the expiration of Britain's mandate.
On May 12, 1948, the people's government decided to declare independence, and within two days. The decision was made by Vego by only six votes to four.
And already on May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion proclaimed the formation of Israel as an independent sovereign Jewish state. A few hours before the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, in the museum, in the building former home Meir Dizengoff, in the city of Tel Aviv at 16-00 an announcement was made about the emergence of Israel.
The time of 16-00 was chosen in such a way that the proclamation ceremony would end before the onset of Saturday - “Shabbat”. The place where independence was declared was chosen in such a way as to avoid religious or party overtones. And the building - inconspicuous and not pompous - was chosen with caution and fear of possible bombings.
On the morning of May 14, invitations to the ceremony for the proclamation of the independence of the State of Israel were sent out by messengers, with the added request that the event be kept secret.
Interesting fact: the final version of the text of the Declaration of Independence was approved literally one hour before the start of the ceremony and was hastily typed on a typewriter. A passing car delivered the Declaration of Independence to the museum building at 15:59, a minute before the official declaration of independence of the state and the start of the ceremony.
On the way to the place of proclamation of the sovereign state of Israel, a car with the text of the declaration was stopped by police for speeding. The driver who was carrying the declaration did not have a license, but he told the policeman that he was disrupting the ceremony of declaring an independent state, and therefore the driver was released and even avoided a fine. After the declaration of independence was read, it was signed by 25 members of the People's Council. At the same time, the declaration also provided space for the signatures of twelve members of the People's Council, who were locked in Jerusalem besieged by the Arabs.
The ceremony of the formation of Israel was broadcast on the Kol Israel radio station. Since then, the official year of Israel's founding has been considered 1948.
What happened after Ben Gurion declared the independence of Israel. The very next day after the proclamation of the formation of Israel, the armies of five Arab countries belonging to the League of Arab States - Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Transjordan - attacked the new young state and began military operations against the newly proclaimed country.
The Secretary General of the League of Arab States promised: “This will terrible war, completely aimed at destruction, it will be the dirtiest and most terrible massacre.” Since then, May 15 in Israel has become the Day of Disaster, that is, the day of the Nakba.
The first state to officially recognize sovereign state Israel is de facto USA. US President Truman on May 14 at 6:11 p.m. announced US recognition of Israel. This was done immediately, 11 minutes after Ben Gurion declared Israeli independence in Tel Aviv.
The first country to recognize the Jewish independent state fully, officially - de jure, was the Soviet state. This was done on May 17, three days after Israel declared independence. Israel's Independence Day, May 14, is considered a national holiday. Like everything else in Israel, Israelis celebrate Independence Day according to a special calendar, according to the Jewish calendar - 5 Yair.
The main, first document of Israel, as soon as it was formed, was the Declaration of Independence. It talks about the basic principles.
The first government of the new state was the Provisional Government. On May 14, 1948, when independence was declared, the People's Council signed a decree in which it formally legitimized its powers and by this decree was transformed from the People's Council into the Provisional Government.
Temporary operated from May 14, 1948 to March 1949. In March 1949, Israel held its first elections, which formed the Israeli Knesset - its government. It was the first government elected in an independent state by election.
The date of the formation of Israel as a state is considered to be May 14, 1948. On this significant day, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the provisional Jewish government, announced to the world the creation of an independent Jewish state. Chaim Weizmann was proclaimed president, and the capital was Tel Aviv. Already on May 17, the USSR and the USA recognized Israel.
History The history of the formation of Israel as a state
The history of the formation of Israel as a state is long and tragic. We can say with complete confidence that it began at least three thousand years ago. The long-suffering Jewish people had to go through many trials on the way to creating their own state.
Ancient history The first formation of Israel as a state occurred in the 10th century BC in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was called the Kingdom of Israel. But his independent existence was very short-lived. Since the 7th century BC it has been subject to numerous conquests. Since the year of formation of Israel as a state is considered to be 1948, it turns out that the Jewish people lost their Homeland for more than 26 centuries! In 63 BC, the kingdom of Israel was captured by the powerful Roman Empire. The captured territory brought the Romans a lot of various problems. One of the most acute is religious: Judaism prohibited the exaltation of the Roman emperor as a deity and, accordingly, the worship of him. But it was a necessary condition for citizens of the empire. The path to the formation of the State of Israel was not short.
In 135 AD, an unsuccessful uprising of the local population against the Roman authorities took place in one of the provinces. This event radically influenced the future fate of the people living there. The Roman emperor decided to evict the Jews from his territory as punishment. Other peoples came to the province previously inhabited by them. This is how the first Jewish communities appeared, not only on the territory of the Roman Empire, but also far beyond its borders. Years later, they began to appear on Slavic lands.
After the split of the Roman Empire in 395 into the Eastern (Byzantine) and Western parts, Palestine went to the former, remaining its province until 619. From 614 to 629, Persia conquered Palestine. Afterwards it again became a province of Byzantium. The Jewish population, due to the constant massacres and persecutions started by Emperor Heraclius, decreased greatly. In the Middle Ages By 636, Muslims conquered Palestine from Byzantium. And for the next six centuries, this territory was controlled either by the Umayyad Caliphate, or by the Abbasids, or by the Crusaders. The year 1099 was marked by the founding Kingdom of Jerusalem, which arose thanks to the efforts of the crusaders. But by 1260, Palestine was completely conquered by the Mamluk dynasty.
Relatively peaceful times reigned for several centuries. However, already in 1517, the territory of modern Israel was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. The country was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years, until 1917. During this historical period, Jews had the status of "dhimmi". They had certain civil rights and freedom of religion, but at the same time there were a number of restrictions.
For example, a ban on riding horses and carrying weapons. Prerequisites for the formation of Israel - the Jewish state Only in late XIX century, Jews began to strive to return to their historical lands. After 1881, the first settlers left for Palestine. The next massive wave of immigration occurred in the lead-up to the First World War. In the territories that belonged to the Ottoman Empire, Jews began to create their own settlements without claiming independence. People mostly moved to Palestine based on their religious beliefs. But there were many Jews who planned to build socialist communes on the territory of this country.
The formation of Israel as a state was also facilitated by the fact that on November 2, 1917, Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, wrote an official letter to Lord Rothschild, who at that time was the representative of the British Jewish community. It said that the state government was seriously thinking about creating a national home for Jews in Palestine.
What was the purpose of this declaration?
Firstly, this is the acquisition by Great Britain of the right to control after the war the lands of Palestine, on which the creation of a zone of international control was originally intended.
Secondly, it is the hope that Jews living in America will force their government to enter World War I, thereby supporting the dwindling Allied forces.
Thirdly, this is pressure on Jews living in Russia in order to prevent the spread of Bolshevik ideology and the exit Russian Empire from the war.
Consequences of the Declaration When the First World War ended, Palestine became a British mandate. Jews began to emigrate to it en masse, which became the first step towards the formation of the state of Israel. By the time World War II began, there were 500 thousand Jews in Palestine, with another 100 thousand added by the end of the war. And they continued to move to these lands, which caused violent discontent among the Arab population of Palestine. The Arabs demanded that the government stop this.
The government met them halfway, despite the fact that during the war the world community accused the British of preventing Jews from escaping the Nazi regime to the countries of the Middle East. In Great Britain, it was decided to introduce entry quotas for foreign Jews, but these quotas were not always observed.
The situation became extremely tense by the end of the thirties, when a huge number of immigrants from Germany caused an uprising of Palestinian Arabs. And then, from 1939, Great Britain categorically prohibited the migration of Jews to the territories it controlled. During the Second World War
The path to the formation of Israel as a state was long and thorny. David Ben-Gurion, who was the leader of the Jewish community, decided to begin violent protests against British control of Palestine. Since 1944, Jews began to openly show their disobedience and commit daring terrorist acts. International Zionist societies, as well as the United States, did not stand aside.
The pressure on London began to intensify. The British government was blamed for the deaths of Jewish refugees who tried to enter Palestine illegally across the sea, but were intercepted by British border guards, who returned the unfortunates to Europe, where they died at the hands of the Nazis. After World War II When World War II finally ended, the formation of Israel as a state became a truly pressing issue. Britain's Mandate for Palestine remained in effect.
In August 1945, the World Zionist Congress, and then US President G. Truman, who succumbed to pressure from the Jewish communities of his country, proposed that Great Britain allow the resettlement of more than a million Jews to Palestine. But London did not accept this proposal, as politicians foresaw unrest in Arab countries. Already in October, representatives of Middle Eastern countries stated that US attempts to make Palestine a Jewish state would inevitably lead to war. Meanwhile, the terrorist attacks continued. In July 1946, the headquarters of the British military administration was blown up by Zionist terrorists.
Almost 100 British citizens died. British government decision Great Britain was economically dependent on the United States and did not want to quarrel. But London did not need a conflict with the Arabs. Therefore, in 1947, Britain refused to control Palestine.
h The lands decided to divide into three parts (42% to the Arabs, 56% to the Jews, and 2% of the lands, which included Jerusalem and Bethlehem, to the UN). The Arab countries did not accept this resolution. Bloody clashes between Jews and Arabs began to occur more and more often. The situation has reached its climax. Arabs began to leave the country en masse. Great Britain, not wanting to get involved in the war, withdrew its troops from Palestine on May 14, 1948 and announced the termination of its mandate. Long-awaited event
Unfortunately, diplomats from other countries were unable to translate the Arab-Jewish dialogue into a peaceful direction. Soon after the formation of the State of Israel and the declaration of its independence, several Arab states started a war with it. But gradually Israel was recognized by almost all countries of the world. The role of the USSR in the creation of the Jewish state The USSR, together with the United States, assisted in the formation of the state of Israel. The most significant role among the Jews of Palestine belonged to emigrants from the Russian Empire. They spread the ideas of socialism. Ben-Gurion was also from Russia. A few years after the October Revolution, he came to the USSR on a friendly visit. Once upon a time, Jews contributed to the spread of Bolshevik ideology in the Russian Empire. And at that moment, Stalin expected support from the Russian Jews of Palestine in his plans to increase the influence of the USSR on the affairs of the Middle East and oust Great Britain from there. But the loyalty of the Soviet leader was short-lived. Anti-Semitic sentiments began to be encouraged in the USSR, and Jews were no longer allowed to leave the country.
After the collapse of the USSR, Jews began to leave en masse for permanent residence in Israel.
Among the historical achievements of the 20th century, significant is the act that became fateful for the Jewish people: after two thousand years of scattering around the world, on May 14, 1948, the UN decreed the creation of the State of Israel.
It seems that there will be readers, even fairly knowledgeable ones, who would be interested in learning (or remembering) about the events in the Middle East that unfolded around the creation of the Jewish state and its struggle for its existence. Moreover, many people know the foreign policy situation that prepared this act, and much less know about the behind-the-scenes diplomacy that took place in those years on the sidelines of the UN.
On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly approved a plan to create two independent states in Palestine - Jewish and Arab.
Initially, the Soviet leadership was in favor of creating a single Arab-Jewish state, but then came to the conclusion that the division of the mandated territory would be the only reasonable option for resolving the conflict between the Yishuv (this term was used to describe the more or less organized Jewish community in Eretz Israel since the destruction Jerusalem in 70 and before the creation of the state Israel in 1948. In the Talmud Yishuv was the name given to the population in general, but also to the Jewish population of Eretz Israel)and the Arabs of Palestine.
How the State of Israel was created, this is what our article is about.
“The Jewish state was not created by the United States, but by the Soviet Union. Israel would never have appeared if Stalin had not wanted it...” (L. Mlechin “Why Stalin created Israel”).
The existence of Israel from the very moment of its proclamation to this day is not only a “stumbling block” for many political forces and countries, an irritant and an object of enduring hatred for many Arabs, but also an amazing fact of our time, the likelihood of which was negligible.
After the end of World War II and the new redistribution of the world, when the pretty battered states were coming to their senses, they had no time for the problems of the Jewish people, much less the establishment of a “Jewish home” in Mandatory Palestine. At that time, the “Zionism factor” had lost its relevance and weight.
“Spiritual” Zionism (Ahad-Hamism) collapsed, since its leader W. Churchill [ 1 ] was removed from the post of Prime Minister of England, and the new Prime Minister, together with Foreign Minister E. Bevin, were irreconcilable opponents of this idea. “House of Rothschild” - Great Britain ceded its role as a superpower to America, simultaneously losing its colonies and oil to Saudi Arabia.
Theodor Herzl “Political Zionism” (Herzlism) rested on the enthusiasm of illegal immigrants, and most importantly, on the fanaticism and heroism, reinforced by guerrilla warfare, of its leaders such as D. Ben-Gurion and M. Begin; their faith in the implementation of the plans of T. Herzl (1897 - 1904, founder of the political Zionism , Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, proponent of reconstructionJewish statehood), which at that time seemed to most to be nothing more than a daring scam.
The United States, which received all possible dividends from the war, saw in the newly created UN a prototype of the World Government and used nuclear blackmail to impose the Anlo-Saxon New World Order, did not consider political Zionism a significant force (not to be confused with the Jewish world - our note). In their essentially fascist project of the New Order, there was no place for an independent Jewish state because the “white Protestants” considered themselves the descendants of the “ten lost tribes” of the old Israel, and America as the “New Israel,” and not just because of the “streams” Arab oil."
The dream of Dr. Herzl and his followers became a reality, his prophecy came true exactly 50 years later thanks to the unexpected, “cunning” move of the “experienced Judeophobe” Joseph Stalin, his determination and active consistency. This move, which broke the plans of the Anglo-Saxons, became a saving “straw”, which was grabbed by the “cosmopolitans” - Ahad-Hamites (Ahad-ha-Am or Asher Gunzberg, 1856 -1927, or Jewish Hitler, this ancient Hebrew word means “One among the People." He believed that Palestinophilism could not bring the masses economic and social deliverance, and preached emigration to America. In his opinion, Palestine should become the “spiritual center” of the Jewish people, from which the emanation of a revived Jewish culture would emanate. He believed that only what is written in Hebrew can be classified as Jewish culture. Everything that is written in other languages cannot be attributed to it (including Yiddish, which he considered jargon). He is credited with authoring a book known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. If this book is true, it must be the work of a person who is fanatically passionate about the idea of Jewish Nationalism or, more precisely, Judaism in its nationalistic understanding.
It is widely believed that the State of Israel arose in this territory only in 1948. In order for readers to have a general idea of the milestones in the formation of this state, it is worth recalling the chronological time order of the formation of the state of Israel.
Israel appeared on the world map three times.
FirstIsrael arose after the invasion led by Joshua and existed until the early 6th century BC, until it was divided into two different kingdoms during the Babylonian conquests.
SecondIsrael came into existence after the Persians defeated the Babylonians in 540 BC. However, the country's fortunes changed in the 4th century BC, when Greece conquered the Persian Empire and Israel, and again in the 1st century BC, when the region was conquered by the Romans.
The second time Israel acted as a small participant within the major imperial powers, a position that lasted until the destruction of the Jewish state by the Romans.
ThirdThe emergence of Israel began in 1948, like the previous two, it dates back to the gathering of at least some of the Jews who were dispersed after conquests around the world. The founding of Israel took place in the context of the decline and fall of the British Empire, and therefore the history of this country, at least in part, must be understood as part of the history of the British Empire.
For the first 50 years, Israel played an important role in the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, and, in a sense, it was hostage to the dynamics of the two countries. In other words, as in the first two cases, the emergence of Israel occurs in the context of a constant struggle for its sovereignty and independence, among imperial ambitions.
We omit the period of the Egyptian pharaohs, Roman legionnaires and crusaders, and begin the chronological description from the end of the 19th century.
Year 1882. Start first aliyah(waves of Jewish emigration to Eretz Israel).
IDPs In the period until 1903, about 35 thousand Jews were resettled in the Ottoman Empire's province of Palestine, fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe. Baron Edmond de Rothschild provides enormous financial and organizational assistance. During this period, the cities of Zichron Yaakov were founded. Rishon Lezion, Petah Tikva, Rehovot and Rosh Pina.
Year 1897. The first World Zionist Congress in the Swiss city of Basel. Its goal is to create a national home for Jews in Palestine, which was at that time under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Opening of the Congress At this conference, Theodor Herzl was elected president of the World Zionist Organization.
It should be noted that in modern Israel there is practically no city where one of the central streets does not bear the name of Herzl. This reminds us of something...
Herzl held numerous negotiations with the leaders of European powers, including the German Emperor Wilhelm II and the Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II, in order to enlist their support in creating a state for the Jews. The Russian Emperor informed Herzl that, apart from prominent Jews, he was not interested in the rest.
Year 1902. The World Zionist Organization founded the Anglo-Palestine Bank, which later became the National Bank of Israel (Bank Leumi).
Israel's largest bank, Bank Hapoalim, was created in 1921 by the Israeli Association of Trade Unions and the World Zionist Organization.
The year is 1902.Shaare Zedek Hospital is founded in Jerusalem.
Former Shaare Zedek Hospital building in Jerusalem The first Jewish hospital in Palestine was opened by the German doctor Chaumon Fraenkel in 1843 in Jerusalem. In 1854, the Meir Rothschild Hospital was opened in Jerusalem. Bikur Holim Hospital was founded in 1867, although it existed as a hospital since 1826, and in 1843 it had only three wards. In 1912, Hadassah Hospital was founded in Jerusalem by a one-shift women's Zionist organization from the United States. Assuta Hospital was founded in 1934, Rambam Hospital in 1938.
Year 1904. Start second aliyah.
Winery in Rishon Lezion 1906 In the period before 1914, about 40 thousand Jews moved to Palestine. The second wave of emigration was caused by a series of Jewish pogroms around the world, the most famous of which was the Kishinev pogrom of 1903. The second aliyah was organized by the kibbutz movement.
Kibbutz- an agricultural commune with common property, equality in labor, consumption and other attributes of communist ideology.
Year 1906. Lithuanian artist and sculptor Boris Schatz founded the Bezalel Academy of Arts in Jerusalem.
Bezalel Academy of Arts Year 1909. The creation in Palestine of the paramilitary Jewish organization Hashomer, the purpose of which is believed to have been self-defense and protection of settlements from attacks by Bedouins and robbers who stole herds from Jewish peasants.
Year 1912. In Haifa, the Jewish German Ezra Foundation founded the Technion technical school (since 1924 - an institute of technology). The language of instruction is German, subsequently Hebrew. In 1923, Albert Einstein visited it and planted a tree there.
In the same 1912Naum Tsemakh, together with Menachem Gnessin, assembles a troupe in Bialystok, Poland, which became the basis of the professional Habima Theater created in Palestine in 1920. The first theatrical performances in Hebrew in Eretz Israel date back to the period of the first aliyah. On Sukkot 1889 in Jerusalem, at the Lemel school, the play “Zrubavel, O Shivat Zion” (“Zrubavel, or Return to Zion” based on the play by M. Lilienblum took place. The play was published in Yiddish in Odessa in 1887, translated and staged by D. Elin).
Year 1915. On the initiative of Jabotinsky and Trumpeldor, a “Mule Driver Detachment” was created within the British Army, consisting of 500 Jewish volunteers, the majority of whom were immigrants from Russia. The detachment takes part in the landing of British troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula on the shores of Cape Helles, losing 14 killed and 60 wounded. The detachment was disbanded in 1916.
Hero of the Russian-Japanese War Joseph Trumpeldor Year 1917. The Balfour Declaration is an official letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Walter Rothschild, which, in particular, said the following:
“His Majesty's Government is considering with approval the question of establishing in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people and will make every effort to promote the achievement of this goal; it is expressly understood that no action shall be taken which may interfere with the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country....”
After defeat in the First World War Ottoman Empire lost its power over Palestine (the territory that came under the rule of the British crown).
In 1918, France, Italy and the United States supported the declaration.
Soldiers of the Jewish Legion near the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 1917 Year 1917. On the initiative of Rotenberg, Jabotinsky and Trumpeldor, the Jewish Legion is being created as part of the British army.
Year 1919. Third Aliyah. Due to Britain's violation of the League of Nations mandate and the introduction of restrictions on the entry of Jews, until 1923, 40 thousand Jews, mainly from Eastern Europe, moved to Palestine.
Year 1920. Creation of a Jewish military in Palestine underground organization Haganah in response to the Arab destruction of the northern settlement of Tel Hai, which killed 8 people, including the Port Arthur war hero Trumpeldor.
Naharayim Hydroelectric Power Station Year 1921. Pinchas Rutenberg (revolutionary and comrade-in-arms of priest Gapon, one of the founders of the Jewish self-defense units “Haganah”) founded the Jaffa Electric Company, then the Palestinian Electric Company, and since 1961 the Israeli Electric Company.
Territories covered by the British Mandate Year 1922. Representatives of the 52 countries that were members of the League of Nations (predecessor of the UN) officially approve the British Mandate for Palestine. Palestine then meant the current territories of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and parts of Saudi Arabia.
It is noteworthy that by “Palestinian Administration” the League of Nations meant Jewish authorities and did not mention at all the idea of creating an Arab state in a mandate territory that also included Jordan.
Year 1924. Fourth Aliyah. In two years, about 63 thousand people move to Palestine. The emigrants were mainly from Poland, since by that time the USSR was already blocking the free exit of Jews. At this time, the city of Afula was founded in the Israeli Valley on lands purchased by the American Eretz Israel Development Company.
Year 1927. The Palestinian pound is introduced into circulation. In 1948, it was renamed the Israeli lira, although the old name Palestine Pound was present on the banknotes in Latin script.
Sample of a banknote from that time This name was present on the Israeli currency until 1980, when Israel switched to shekels, and from 1985 to this day the new shekel has been in circulation. Since 2003, the new shekel has been one of 17 international freely convertible currencies.
Year 1929. Fifth Aliyah. In the period before 1939, due to the rise of Nazi ideology, about 250 thousand Jews moved from Europe to Palestine, 174 thousand of which in the period from 1933 to 1936. In this regard, tensions between the Arab and Jewish populations of Palestine are increasing.
Year 1933. The largest transport cooperative to this day, Egged, is being created.
Soldiers of the Jewish Brigade in Italy in 1945 Year 1944. The Jewish Brigade is created as part of the British Army. The British government initially resisted the idea of creating Jewish militias, fearing it would give greater weight to political demands Jewish population of Palestine.
Year 1947. April 2nd. British government refuses from the Mandate for Palestine, arguing that it is unable to find an acceptable solution for Arabs and Jews and asks the UN to find a solution to the problem.
Year 1947. November 29th. The United Nations adopts the partition plan for Palestine (UNGA Resolution No. 181). This plan provides for the termination of the British Mandate in Palestine by August 1, 1948 and recommends the creation of two states on its territory: Jewish and Arab. 23% of the mandated territory transferred to Great Britain by the League of Nations is allocated for the Jewish and Arab states (77% of Great Britain was organized by the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, 80% of whose citizens are so-called Palestinians). The UNSCOP commission allocates 56% of this territory for the Jewish state, 43% for the Arab state, and one percent comes under international control. Subsequently, the division is adjusted taking into account Jewish and Arab settlements, and 61% is allocated to the Jewish state; the border is moved so that 54 Arab settlements fall into the territory allocated to the Arab state. Thus, only 14% of the territories allocated by the League of Nations for the same purposes 30 years ago are allocated for the future Jewish state.
The Palestinian Jewish authorities happily accept the UN plan to partition Palestine; Arab leaders, including the Arab League and the Palestinian High Arab Council, categorically reject this plan.
Partition plan for Palestine on the eve of the War of Independence, 1947 Year 1948. May 14th. The day before the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, David Ben-Gurion proclaims the creation of an independent Jewish state on the territory allocated according to the UN plan.
Year 1948. May 15th. The Arab League declares war on Israel, and Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Trans-Jordan attack Israel. Trans-Jordan annexes the West Bank, and Egypt annexes the Gaza Strip (territories allocated for the Arab state).
Year 1949. In July, a ceasefire agreement is signed with Syria. The War of Independence is over.
This is some of the background to the creation of the State of Israel. As you can see, the process of its formation was long and it did not arise out of nowhere. Now let’s look at some points that will help us understand how and why this state could have arisen, who defended the right of Jews to a sovereign state, and why the fight against cosmopolitanism was waged in the United States.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a plan to create two independent states in Palestine - Jewish and Arab.
Documents show that of all the great powers at that time, the Soviet Union took the most definite and clear position on the issue of the division of Palestine.
Initially, the Soviet leadership was in favor of the creation of a single Arab-Jewish state, but then came to the conclusion that the division of the mandated territory would be the only reasonable option for resolving the conflict between the Yishuv and the Arabs of Palestine.
Defending resolution No. 181 at the Second Special Session of the UN General Assembly in April 1948, A.A. Gromyko emphasized:
“The division of Palestine makes it possible for each of the peoples inhabiting it to have their own state. It thereby makes it possible to radically regulate relations between peoples once and for all.”
Both the USA and the USSR voted for Resolution No. 181 in November 1947. The position of the USSR remained unchanged. The United States sought to delay and modify the text of the resolution before the vote. The “adjustment” of US Middle East policy occurred on March 19, 1948, when, at a meeting of the UN Security Council, the American representative expressed the opinion that after the end of the British Mandate in Palestine, “chaos and major conflict” would arise, and therefore, he said, the United States believed that temporary trusteeship should be established over Palestine. Thus, Washington actually opposed Resolution No. 181, which it voted for in November.
Soviet representative S.K. Tsarapkin in 1948 opposed:
“No one can dispute the high cultural, social, political and economic level of the Jewish people. Such people cannot be patronized. Such a people has all the rights to their independent state.”
A. Gromyko (sitting) The Soviet position always remained unchanged. So, even before the second decisive vote on November 29, 1947, Foreign Minister A.A. Gromyko made a clearer proposal:
“The essence of the problem is the right to self-determination of the hundreds of thousands of Jews and also Arabs living in Palestine... their right to live in peace and independence in their own states. We must take into account the suffering of the Jewish people, whom none of the states of Western Europe could help during their struggle against Hitlerism and with Hitler’s allies in protecting their rights and their existence... The UN must help every people to obtain the right to independence and self-determination...” [2],
“...The experience of studying the question of Palestine has shown that Jews and Arabs in Palestine do not want or cannot live together. The logical conclusion followed: if these two peoples inhabiting Palestine, both with deep historical roots in this country, cannot live together within single state, then there is nothing else left to do but to form two states instead of one - Arab and Jewish. In the opinion of the Soviet delegation, no other practically feasible option can be thought of...” [ 3 ].
Great Britain took a consistently anti-Jewish position at this crucial moment. Forced to abandon the Mandate for Palestine, it voted against Resolution No. 181, and then essentially pursued an obstructionist policy, creating serious obstacles to the settlement of the Palestinian problem. Thus, the British government did not comply with the decision of the UN General Assembly to open a port for Jewish emigration in Palestine on February 1, 1948. Moreover, the British authorities detained ships with Jewish emigrants in the neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea and forcibly sent them to Cyprus, or even to Hamburg.
On April 28, 1948, speaking in the House of Commons of the British Parliament, Foreign Secretary E. Bevin said that, in accordance with the Transjordan Treaty concluded in March, Great Britain
“and henceforth intends to provide funds for the maintenance of the Arab Legion, as well as send military instructors.”
Why did the USSR defend the right of Jews to their own statehood and why did the United States want to at least delay the adoption of resolution No. 181?
The USSR wanted to remove imperialist Great Britain from the Middle East and strengthen its position in this strategic region (more on this later).
Now it’s worth explaining the US position on the Jewish question in a little more detail.
First, it is necessary to clarify what “cosmopolitanism” is. Probably, many of us have ever heard such words as “cosmopolitanism”, “cosmopolitan”, but does everyone correctly understand their meaning? In some countries, the concept of these terms is somewhat distorted; at different times, the meaning of this view of the world was perceived and interpreted differently.
Notes in the margins. What is cosmopolitanism?
The meaning of the term "cosmopolitanism" should be found in the Greek language, where kosmopolites is a citizen of the world. That is, a cosmopolitan is a person who considers his homeland not to be any specific state or region, but to planet Earth as a whole. At the same time, it is common for cosmopolitans to deny their national identity; such a person sees himself as a citizen of the whole world, and perceives humanity as one big family.
In our opinion, it is important to think not only for your country and your people, but for the entire planet, because no matter how many peoples inhabit it, no matter how many borders are drawn, the Earth is our common home, but at the same time we need to have our own national identity , remember your roots and take care of your small homeland.
There is an opinion that the US government, long before the events of the 40s, took a clearly pro-Zionist position on the Palestinian issue. This is wrong. In fact, the United States showed serious hesitation in its approach to solving this problem due to strong pro-Arab and anti-Jewish sentiments in the ruling circles of the country.
There were also anti-Semitic sentiments in the United States at that time. There was an anti-Semitic campaign in the press by Henry Ford, who circulated the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” throughout America (whether they exist or not, let the experts say, but the text has been circulating around for a long time and disturbing minds).
Anti-Jewish sentiments intensified when, in 1947, the famous “Hollywood Ten” of film playwrights and directors were accused of “anti-American activities”—eight of them were Jews. And although they were accused of communist propaganda, but Jewish origin also played a role. So the United States, in its own way, also struggled with “cosmopolitanism,” which was often expressed in the behavior of Jews who historically did not have their own small Motherland, and therefore more reminiscent of the mafia, against which there was a struggle, both in the USA and in the USSR.
Therefore, two powerful lobbies collided with the United States: oil monopolies with multibillion-dollar investments in Arab countries and the Jewish financial lobby, which exists not only in the United States. The White house found himself faced with a difficult choice. The US presidential election was approaching. The five million Jewish electorate could not be ignored.
On the eve of the historic UN vote, Jews presented Truman with a petition unequivocally demanding the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine. The petition contains 100 thousand signatures of Jews - prominent government and public figures.
And finally, the United States could not afford to remain isolated when it became clear that a majority of countries would vote for Resolution 181 at the UN General Assembly.
The British Mandate officially ended at midnight, 12:00, on 14 May 1948. At 4 pm in Tel Aviv, at a meeting of members of the Jewish National Council, the creation of the State of Israel was proclaimed.
On May 15, the Arab League declared that "all Arab countries are, from this day forward, at war with the Jews." On the night of May 14–15, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Yemen invaded Palestine from the north, east and south, and King Abdullah hastened to release new banknotes with his portrait and the inscription: “Arab Hashemite Kingdom.”
Israel's foreign policy situation at that time was difficult: a hostile Arab environment, an unfriendly position from England, unstable US support and relations with the Soviet Union, despite its support, changing for the worse.
The transfer of the question of Palestine to the United Nations by Great Britain in 1947 represented an opportunity for the USSR for the first time not only to express its point of view on the question of Palestine, but also to take an effective part in the fate of Palestine. The Soviet Union could not help but support the demands of the Jews to create their own state in Palestine.
When discussing this issue, Vyacheslav Molotov, and then Joseph Stalin, agreed with this decision. On May 14, 1947, Andrei Gromyko, the permanent representative of the USSR to the UN, voiced the Soviet position. At a special session of the General Assembly, he said, in particular:
“The Jewish people transferred to last war exceptional distress and suffering. In the territory where the Nazis dominated, the Jews were subjected to almost complete physical extermination - about six million people died. The fact that not a single Western European state was able to protect the basic rights of the Jewish people and protect them from violence from the fascist executioners explains the desire of the Jews to create their own state. It would be unfair not to take this into account and to deny the right of the Jewish people to realize such aspirations.”
Now it is worth dwelling on an issue that liberals sometimes interpret based on their convictions, including because of a negative attitude towards the USSR and Stalin, as the Jewish issue during the years of Soviet power.
The Jewish Question and Stalin
Legal and social status Russian Jews radically improved precisely after the October Revolution. The revolution provided in 1921-1930 the opportunity for Jews to move to Moscow and other big cities USSR, since the Pale of Settlement was eliminated. So in 1912, 6.4 thousand Jews lived in Moscow, in 1933 - 241.7 thousand. The population of Moscow grew over these years from 1 million 618 thousand to 3 million 663 thousand. In other words, the Jewish population of Moscow grew 17 times faster than the population of other peoples and nationalities.
The Soviet leadership did not prevent Jews from entering key positions in the state. In particular, from the memoirs of Academician Pontryagin (mathematician, 1908 - 1988) you can find out that in 1942, 98% of graduates of the physics department of Moscow State University were Jews. After the war, a certain graduate student complained to Pontryagin that “the Jews are being erased; last year 39% of Jews were accepted into graduate school, but this year only 25%.”
Stalin and the Jews during the Great Patriotic War
The Soviet Union saved millions of Soviet Jews from Nazi genocide. The Jewish problem, invisible to the majority of the country's population in the context of the general tragedy of the war and the death of millions of Russians, Ukrainians and other representatives Soviet peoples on the battlefields, became especially acute at the beginning of 1943. After winning Battle of Stalingrad Red Army troops advancing west discovered monstrous facts of the complete extermination of Jews in territories previously occupied by the Germans. Jews were simply shot and killed in special vans - “gas chambers”. Concentration camps for the liquidation of Jews - Majdanek, Auschwitz and others - were filled mainly with Jews brought from Western countries, as well as Polish Jews. Soviet Jews who fell under occupation were liquidated on the spot. This practice began in the Baltic states and Western Ukraine as early as July 1941. But still, about 70 percent of the Jews who lived in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and other areas were able to escape by leaving for the eastern regions of the USSR. There were also hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Poland, Romania, Bessarabia and Hungary and from several other European countries.
European Jews, physically exterminated by Hitler, had no other refuge at this time except the USSR, even if they managed to escape the Nazi genocide. The American government refused to issue visas to Jewish refugees and did not fulfill the minimum quotas for Jewish emigration that were introduced in 1933-1939 at the beginning of the Nazi anti-Semitic campaign. Britain prevented Jews from coming to Palestine, which was a British mandate. The British and American press wrote very little about the extermination of Jews in Europe during the war years.
It was the USSR that allowed Jews to fulfill the dream of several generations - to create the state of Israel: in 1948, the Jews of the USSR and the whole world had a second homeland (which, however, did not at all contribute to the growth of their patriotism towards the USSR). Stalin was a supporter of the creation of the state of Israel. One can say even more - without Stalin’s active support for the project of creating the state of Israel on the territory of Palestine, such a state would not exist at present. Hasidic Rabbi Aaron Shmulevich wrote:
“We must not forget about the role of the USSR and Stalin in the creation of the State of Israel. It was only thanks to the support of the Soviet Union that the UN adopted a resolution on the creation of a state.”
“Since Stalin was determined to give the Jews their own state, it would be stupid for the United States to resist!” - concluded US President Harry Truman and instructed the “anti-Semitic” State Department to support the “Stalinist initiative” at the UN.
In November 1947, resolution No. 181(2) was adopted on the creation of two independent states in Palestine: Jewish and Arab, immediately after the withdrawal of British troops (May 14, 1948).
Notes in the margins
For: 33
Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Belarus, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Ukrainian SSR, South Africa, USA, USSR, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Against: 13
Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen.
Abstained: 10
Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, Great Britain, Yugoslavia.
Supporters of partition managed to collect the necessary two-thirds of the votes. The Soviet Union gave its three votes in support of the resolution (in addition to the USSR, Ukraine and Belarus, represented at the UN as separate delegations, took part in the voting), as well as Poland and Czechoslovakia, thanks to which is also a success of Soviet diplomacy. The five votes of the Soviet bloc played a decisive role in this final vote, which is the decisive role of the USSR and J.V. Stalin personally. At the same time, the USSR managed to come to an agreement with the United States, which also voted in support of the formation of a Jewish state. Jerusalem and Bethlehem, according to the UN decision, were to become territory under international control. [6].
On the day the resolution was adopted, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Jews, distraught with happiness, took to the streets. When the UN made its decision, Stalin smoked his pipe for a long time and then said:
“That’s it, now there will be no peace here” [ 4 ]
“Here” is in the Middle East, as you can see, his words turned out to be prophetic.
Arab countries did not accept the UN decision. They were incredibly outraged by the Soviet position. The Arab communist parties, which were accustomed to fighting against “Zionism - the agents of British and American imperialism,” were simply at a loss, seeing that the Soviet position had changed beyond recognition.
For this purpose, the USSR prepared a government “for the Jews of Palestine.” The prime minister of the new state was to be Solomon Lozovsky, a member of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, former deputy people's commissar for foreign affairs, and director of the Sovinformburo. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, tanker David Dragunsky was appointed to the post of Minister of Defense, Grigory Gilman, a senior officer in the intelligence department of the USSR Navy, became Minister of the Navy. But ultimately, a government was created from the international Jewish Agency, headed by its chairman Ben-Gurion (a native of Russia); and the “Stalinist government”, already ready to fly to Palestine, was dissolved.
On the night of Friday 14 May 1948, amid a seventeen-gun salute, the British High Commissioner for Palestine sailed from Haifa. The mandate has expired.
David Ben-Gurion, future Prime Minister, proclaims Israel's independence under a portrait of Theodor Herzl. At four o'clock in the afternoon, in the museum building on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, the State of Israel was proclaimed (Judea and Zion were also included among the name options; and herethere is one strange thing: in the past of the Jews, the state called Judea lasted a thousand years, but the state called Israel lasted only 100, such a “strange” matrix). Future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, after persuading the frightened (after a warning from the United States) ministers to vote for the declaration of independence, promising the arrival of two million Jews from the USSR within two years, read out the Declaration of Independence prepared by “Russian experts.”
On May 18, the Soviet Union was the first to recognize the Jewish state de jure. On the occasion of the arrival of Soviet diplomats, about two thousand people gathered in the building of one of the largest cinemas in Tel Aviv, “Ester,” and about five thousand more people stood on the street listening to the broadcast of all the speeches. A large portrait of Stalin and the slogan “Long live the friendship between the State of Israel and the USSR!” were hung above the presidium table. The working youth choir sang the Jewish anthem, then the anthem of the Soviet Union. The whole hall was already singing “Internationale”. Then the choir performed “March of the Artillerymen”, “Song of Budyonny”, “Get Up, Huge Country”.
Soviet diplomats stated at the UN Security Council: since Arab countries do not recognize Israel and its borders, Israel may not recognize them either.
Documents, figures and facts give a certain idea of the role of the Soviet military component in the formation of the State of Israel. No one helped the Jews with weapons and immigrant soldiers except the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe. To this day, in Israel you can often hear and read that the Jewish state survived the “Palestinian war” thanks to “volunteers” from the USSR and other socialist countries (is that true, that’s the question).
Although he did everything to ensure that within six months the mobilization capabilities of sparsely populated Israel could “digest” the huge amount of supplied weapons. Young people from “nearby” states - Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and to a lesser extent, Czechoslovakia and Poland - made up the conscription contingent that made it possible to create a fully equipped and well-armed Israel Defense Forces.
In Palestine, and especially after the creation of the State of Israel, there was exceptionally strong sympathy for the USSR as a state that, firstly, saved the Jewish people from destruction during the Second World War, and, secondly, provided enormous political and military assistance to Israel in his struggle for independence.
In Israel, “Comrade Stalin” was truly loved, and the overwhelming majority of the adult population simply does not want to hear any criticism of the Soviet Union.
“Many Israelis idolized Stalin,” the son wrote famous intelligence officer Edgar Broide-Trepper. “Even after Khrushchev’s report at the 20th Congress, portraits of Stalin continued to decorate many government institutions, not to mention kibbutzim.”
The political nature of Stalin's attitude to Jewish problems is obvious from the fact that he showed himself to be an active supporter of the creation of the state of Israel. One can say even more - without Stalin’s support for the project of creating a Jewish state on the territory of Palestine, this state could not have been created in 1948. Since Israel could actually appear only in 1948, since it was at that time that the British mandate to govern this territory ended, Stalin’s decision, directed against Great Britain and its Arab allies, was of historical significance.
Israel's pro-American orientation was all too clear. The new country was created with money from wealthy American Zionist organizations, which also paid for the weapons that were purchased in Eastern Europe. In 1947, many in both the USSR and Israel believed that the USSR's position in the UN was determined by moral considerations. Gromyko briefly became the most popular person in Israel.
Golda Meir Even Golda Meir in 1947 and 1948 was sure that Stalin was helping the Jews for some high moral reasons:
“The recognition of the Soviet Union, which followed the American one, had different roots. Now I have no doubt that the main thing for the Soviets was the expulsion of England from the Middle East. But in the fall of 1947, when the debates were taking place in the United Nations, it seemed to me that Soviet bloc supports us also because the Russians themselves paid for their victory at a terrible price and therefore, deeply sympathizing with the Jews who suffered so hard from the Nazis, they understand that they deserved their state.” [ 5 ]
In fact, according to Stalin, the creation of Israel answered the foreign policy interests of the USSR at that time and for the foreseeable future. By supporting Israel, Stalin “drived a wedge” into relations between the United States and Great Britain and into relations between the United States and Arab countries. According to Sudoplatov, Stalin foresaw that the Arab countries would subsequently turn towards the Soviet Union, disillusioned with the British and Americans because of their support for Israel. Molotov’s assistant Mikhail Vetrov recounted Stalin’s words to Sudoplatov:
“Let's agree to the formation of Israel. This will be a pain in the ass for the Arab states and will make them turn their backs on Britain. Ultimately, British influence will be completely undermined in Egypt, Syria, Turkey and Iraq." [7]
Stalin's foreign policy forecast was largely justified. In Arab and many other Muslim countries, the influence of not only Britain, but also the United States was undermined. But what political course did Israel choose?
The latter was inevitable. Israel's democratic political system and its pro-Western orientation were increasingly determined, which did not meet the hopes of the Stalinist leadership. In 1951, a correspondent for the magazine “New Time” visited Israel. He wrote:
“Three years of Israel's existence cannot but disappoint those who expected that the emergence of a new independent state in the Middle East would contribute to strengthening the forces of peace and democracy.”
And in 1956, the magazine International Affairs said:
“Israel launched a war against Arab countries literally the day after the English flag was lowered in Jerusalem on May 14, 1948 and the formation of the State of Israel was proclaimed.”
And the United States concluded a “Mutual Security Assistance Agreement” with Israel. And they provided Israel with a loan of 100 million dollars, which indicated that the young state had contact not only with American Jews, but also with the government of this country.
It became increasingly clear that Israel's future would increasingly depend on friendly relations with the United States. But, on the other hand, it was necessary to maintain positive relations with the USSR. Not only the government, but also a significant part of the population of the revived Jewish state were interested in developing economic, cultural and military cooperation with a powerful power, which also had great authority in the world after the victory over Nazi Germany.
D. Ben-Gurion On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the October Revolution, Prime Minister Ben-Gurion sent congratulations to Stalin. On November 8, 1952, the House of Friendship between Israel and the USSR was inaugurated in Tel Aviv.
US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, in a personal conversation with British Ambassador MacDonald in November 1948, said:
“England turned out to be an unreliable guide in the Middle East - its predictions so often did not come true. We must strive to preserve Anglo-American unity, but the United States must be the senior partner."
It was precisely this division of roles that subsequently developed—the United States gradually became the “guide” in the Middle East.
In December 2012, the influential Henry Kissinger said that America had overstrained itself, and in ten years there would be no Israel... But one can guess that “the West betrayed the Jews” long ago, and the US policy on the Jewish issue has always been ambivalent.
In the very controversial, but very interesting book by D. Loftus and M. Aarons, “The Secret War against the Jews” (1997), America is accused of Nazism, large-scale secret games, where Jews are “bargaining chips.” Here is just one sentence from this book:
“Powerful world forces are constantly hatching secret plans aimed at the complete or partial destruction of Israel”...
What was and is the position of the USSR/Russia?
Now let's look at our then Motherland. THE USSR -the only one in the worlda state of that time where the Criminal Code has an article for anti-Semitism. By the end of the 1920s, Jewish collective and state farms, schools and theaters were operating in the country, and there were national Jewish territorial units at the local government level.
For Stalin, Jews are the same equal people of the USSR as all others, worthy of earning happiness through their labor (no matter what our liberals say today).
On March 28, 1928, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR adopted a resolution “On assigning to KOMZET for the needs of the complete settlement of free lands in the Amur region of the Far Eastern Territory by working Jews.” And on May 7, 1934, the Jewish Autonomous Region was formed in the USSR, apparently in response to the introduction of the ardent anti-Semite Hitler into the game, knocking out provocative “trump cards” from some of the Zionists. Those. for the first time since biblical times, the Jews received their public education(before this, let us remember, all Jewish self-government for centuries was limited to the borders of the ghetto!). At the height of the Holocaust of 1944-45, intelligence reports began to land on Stalin’s desk that, thanks to Oppenheimer (an American scientist), the United States would receive an atomic bomb within the next year. And for Joseph Vissarionovich a question
“How to keep the USA and the West from aggression against the USSR against the backdrop of a nuclear monopoly?” has become extremely relevant. As Vladimir Ilyich said, “delay in death is like...”
Not making full use of the Jewish factor, which the USSR successfully used throughout the Great Patriotic War, would have been an unaffordable luxury for Stalin. He understood perfectly well that before the situation of mutually assured destruction, the West would not abandon attempts to conquer Russia, and immediately after the Second World War, the Third World War would begin, first “cold” and then “strange”. He moved his Jewish divisions to cover forces from the Third World War... This is how the state of Israel was formed, which our country always treats with respect.
Igor Kurchatov (1903 - 1960) And in 1949, thanks to our scientists led by Kurchatov and under the leadership of Beria, the first nuclear bomb appeared, the design of which was laid down back in 1940. This is how Russia’s nuclear shield was created, which to this day is the guarantor of our security and sovereignty. Jews gathered for a crusade against "Putin's Russia"
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