THE PLOT

The War of Independence had huge implications for the geopolitics of the Middle East, but also on this new Israeli society that was bringing together Jews from all over the world. As well as those Arabs who stayed within Israel’s borders, whom we call Arab-Israelis. The early years forced a reckoning between the security needs of the state and the lofty ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence.

Several hundred thousand Holocaust survivors came to Israel, often alone, and on the premise of a new beginning, a renewed life, and a new era for the individual Jew and the collective Jewish people. Many survivors fought, and were killed, in the War of Independence, lending a particularly great symbolism to their sacrifice. Still, Israel had a complicated relationship with the survivors, who were often seen as victims in a country that quickly developed a warrior culture.

Within the first week of Israel’s independence, the government imposed martial law on its Arab citizens. Security was the main concern. Israel worried that its Arab minority would help the invading Arab armies, or, at the very least, assist Palestinian refugees in sneaking back in (whether for smuggling, terrorism, or simply because they wanted to go home). Martial law also helped Israel consolidate territory, by allowing military authorities to control movement. 

At the same time, Arabs participated in Israel’s political process, usually aligned with Ben Gurion’s left-wing Mapai party. And generally Arabs did rather well as Israeli citizens, enjoying a higher standard of living than anywhere else in the Middle East, including greater political and religious rights. 

In August of 1949, Israel brought to rest the remains of Theodore Herzl, who had asked to be buried in the future Jewish State. Israel established a national cemetery in Jerusalem, known as Mt. Herzl. 

THE PEOPLE

Arab-Israelis: the term often used to describe Arab citizens of Israel, in contrast to the Arabs who left Palestine between 1947-1949, whom are called “Palestinians.”

Menachem Begin: leader of the right-wing opposition, who argued against martial law, worrying that it subverted the Zionist goal of justice and that it would be used against the left’s political enemies. 

Emile Habibi: Arab Christian from Haifa who served in the Knesset during the 1950s and 60s. He later received the Israel Prize for his writing about Palestinian national culture in Israel, and his advocacy for equal rights. 

Theodore Herzl: founder of the Zionist Movement. When he died in 1904, he requested that his remains be eventually brought to rest in the future Jewish State. 

Netzer Acharon: Hebrew phrase meaning “the last small branch.” Refers to Holocaust survivors who were the only remaining members of their families. Some of them were themselves killed in Israel’s wars.

THE BIG IDEAS

The ideal of security is not just about the protection of life but also about national dignity and honoring the individual who sacrificed for the state. It’s an essential component of Israel’s social compact, and accords each life as precious, and therefore each soldier killed in action as a tragic loss for the nation as a whole. 

Perhaps the biggest impact of martial law was that it separated Jews and Arabs from one another. It prevented Arab-Israelis from full integrating into Israeli society, which left them with lasting feelings of disconnection from the state and its majority-Jewish society. 

Israel is full of contradictory narratives that can be held at the same time. One narrative of the War of Independence is of remarkable perseverance in the face of annihilation, in which heroes of extraordinary courage sacrificed their lives for the sake of a country that would save and renew the lives of their fellow Jews. But for some of Israel’s citizens, like the Arab-Israelis, the war also tore apart their communities and led to the imposition of alienating martial law. 

FUN FACTS

Israel never built a tomb of the unknown solider, only a memorial to 179 soldiers still considered Missing In Action. 

One-third of the Israeli soldiers killed during the War of Independence were Holocaust survivors. 

Israel’s first Knesset, in 1949, had three Arab members.

200,000 people, around a quarter of Israel’s population at the time, came out for Herzl’s funeral in August, 1949.

© Jason Harris 2020