Israel-Palestine ID Summative

Diaspora

The spread of Jewish people throughout the world following the removal of them from Palestine by the Romans.

Antisemitism

Hatred and persecution of Jewish people.

Zionism

The desire to create a Jewish state in Palestine, which is considered Judaism’s holy land.

Hussein-McMahon Agreement

Agreement during WWI between GB and Sharif Hussein of the OE. Hussein agreed to revolt against the OE in exchange for an independent Arab state. Contradicted by Balfour and ultimately not upheld.

Balfour Declaration

British declaration of support for Zionism (Jewish state in Palestine). Contradicts Hussein-McMahon. Ultimately mostly upheld. The Churchill White Paper blames too drastic interpretations of Balfour for unrest in Palestine mandate.

Article 22

Part of the League of Nations charter that created the Mandate system. Nominally to guide the nations to self-rule.

Palestinian Mandate/

Mandatory Palestine

British mandatory rule over Palestine.; lasted for most of the period in question and set the stage for British action.

Jewish Agency

Agency that handled Jewish affairs in Palestine. No equivalent for Palestinians. Independently run. Originally directed by David Ben-Gurion.

Jewish National Fund

British and American zionist fund. Provided money for Jewish people to move to Palestine and buy land, but prevented that land from being resold to Palestinian people. Also discouraged employing Palestinians.

Kibbutzim

System of communal Jewish farms in mandatory Palestine.

Haganah

Jewish militia formed in 1920 to defend against Arabs. Fought in the 1921 Jaffa riots and 1929 Wailing Wall riots.

Churchill White Paper

British response to 1921 Jaffa riots. Claimed Balfour did not promise a wholly Jewish state in Palestine. Recommended limitations on immigration. Angered Zionists. Angered Palestinians because of maintaining commitment to Balfour.

1921 Jaffa Riots

Riots in Jaffa (port city). Killed ~100 (50/50 Jewish/Palestinian). Led to Churchill White Paper. Haganah was involved. Started between two Jewish groups, but Palestinians felt threatened. Led to Churchill White Paper.

Jewish Immigration

Funded by Jewish National Fund. A key part of Zionism. Increased through the 20th century, but inflamed tensions in the region. Numerous white papers recommended limits and the 1939 white paper did limit it to 15k/year for 5 years.

Chaim Weizmann

First president of Israel. Also a notable biochemist. Father of industrial fermentation.

David Ben Gurion

First prime minister of Israel. Director of the Jewish Agency before that. Signed Israeli Declaration of Independence.

1929 Wailing Wall Riot

~250 dead (50/50 Palestinians, Jews). Prompted Passfield White Paper. Escalation of 1921 Jaffa Riots.

Passfield White Paper

Response to 1929 Wailing Wall Riot. Called for limited Jewish immigration and proposed legislature. Palestinians rejected legislature because it gave them a highly disproportionate number of seats. Resulted in the McDonald Letter which reaffirmed commitment to Balfour.

White Paper 1939

Actually limited Jewish imigration to 15k/yr for 5 years. Palestine takes in 25k refugees. Only certain land could be sold to Jews. Promises Palestinian independence in 10 years. Intended to avert having another war during WWII.

Arab Higher Committee

Palestinian leadership under the mandate. Started in 1936. Struggled due to fracturing while the Zionists united.

Peel commission/report

Response to Arab Strikes (1936-1939). Proposed 2 state solution, but solution gave coastal cities to Jews and mostly just desert to Palestinians. Jewish Agency agrees, but Palestinians reject it.

King David Hotel Bombing

Bombing by Irgun intended to destroy documents incriminating the Jewish Agency in attacks against British. Haganah initially approved the attack, but later rescinded approval. The British got ahold of the documents in Operation Agatha, prompting the bombing. Killed 91. GB responded with Operation Shark.

Irgun

An offshoot of the Haganah. Terrorist group. Later absorbed into the IDF and was succeeded by the right-wing Herut party. Revisionist Zionist (claiming both Palestine and Transjordan for a Jewish state). Widely denounced both by GB and Jewish organizations.

UNSCOP

United Nations Special Committee on Palestine. Visited Jewish areas, where it was warmly received, and Palestinian areas, where it got a hostile response. Supported ending the mandate and a 2 state solution. Consistent with the Peel Commission. Proposed the Partition Plan.

Partition Plan

Result of the UNSCOP. 2 state solution. Gave 56% of the land to the Jewish state, but that included most of the desert. Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Boycotted and rejected by Palestinian leadership, including the Arab Higher Committee. Supported by most Jews and accepted by the Jewish Agency.

Plan Dalet

Zionist military plan request by David Ben-Gurion and created by the Haganah for the 1948 Palestine War. Plan was to seize control of Palestine, form a Jewish state, conquer neighboring towns, and potentially expel their residents. Carried out successfully, resulting in 1,250 Jewish deaths and over 250,000 Palestinian and Arab deaths. Local Palestinian leadership collapsed. Pushed the surrounding Arab nations closer to invading Israel.

Deir Yassin

During the execution of Plan Dalet, the Irgun and Lehi terrorist groups killed 100 Palestinian villagers (some in combat and some by execution), breaking a peace pact There was looting and rape. Occurred while the Irgun and Lehi were trying to end the Arab blockade of Jerusalem. Had Haganah approval, but was later denounced by the Haganah and the Jewish Agency. Led to an attack on the Hadassah medical convoy in retaliation.