The Struggle to Establish the State of Israel, 1939-1947

The events in Palestine during the decade in which WWII and the state of Israel establishing struggle happened, will be the focus of this course. We will examine the question how the Jewish Yishuv and the Zionist movement managed to extricate from the May 1939 White Paper policy and create political reality that leads to the acceptance of the division decision of November 1947 in the UN. The issues will deal with, among others, are: the Palmach establishment, Biltmore plan, Palestine economic status, Etzel “rebellion”, the Sezon and the United Resistance Movement.

Course duties: Participation, reading the syllabus, exam.