A State Is Born

Jonathan David Fine

Description

Although Israel was not the only country that emerged during the postcolonial era following World War II, it was very different than others in the British Empire such as India, Iraq, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria. In A State Is Born, Jonathan David Fine uses newly discovered archival materials to reveal the complex challenges Israeli decision makers faced during the transition from British colonial rule in Palestine to Israeli sovereignty in the newly founded State of Israel. Including discussions of topics such as the Va'adat HaMatzav (special Committee for the transition period) and the formation of the ministries of Interior and Labor, Fine focuses on the planning policy and implementation behind the establishment of the Israeli governmental system during its most crucial formative period, 1947–1951, a dramatic transitory phase for both Jews and Arabs that continues to reverberate to this day.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I. Va’adat HaMatzav (January 1947–April 1948)

Introduction

1. The Backdrop for the Establishment of Va’adat HaMatzav

2. The Activity of Va’adat HaMatzav up to the Outbreak of the War of Independence (October–December 1947)

3. Va’adat HaMatzav during the War of Independence

4. Long-Range Planning: The Judicial System and the Final Report of Va’adat HaMatzav

5. Va’adat HaMatzav and the Planning of the Interior Ministry and the Labor Ministry

Part II. The Government Ministries during the War: From the Establishment of the Provisional Government to the First Elections (April 1948–January 1949)

Introduction

6. Establishing the Legal and Executive Foundations of the Government System

7. The Ministry of the Interior during the War of Independence (May 1948–January 1949)

8. The Labor Ministry during the War of Independence (May 1948–January 1949)

Part III. The Establishment of the Israeli Government After the First Elections (January1949–November 1951)

Introduction

9. Elections to the First Knesset: Results and Significance

10. The Interior Ministry (January 1949–November 1951)

11. The Labor Ministry (January 1949–November 1951)

General Summary
Biographical Appendix
Map Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Israel
• History of the Middle East

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438467986
• Langue: English

Extrait

A State Is Born
A State Is Born
The Establishment of the Israeli System of Government, 1947–1951
Jonathan David Fine
Translated from Hebrew by Tamar L. Cohen
Edited by Fray Hochstein
Originally published in Hebrew by Carmel Publishing House, 2009
The translation of this book was generously sponsored by the School of Government, Diplomacy Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2018 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Ryan Morris
Marketing, Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fine, Jonathan David, author. | Cohen, Tamar Liza, translator. | Hochstein, Fray, editor.
Title: A state is born : the establishment of the Israeli system of government, 1947–1951 / Jonathan David Fine ; translated from Hebrew by Tamar L. Cohen ; edited by Fray Hochstein.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, 2018. | “Originally published in Hebrew by Carmel Publishing House, 2009.” | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017005399 (print) | LCCN 2017008176 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438467979 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438467986 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Israel—Politics and government--1948-1967. | Israel. Vaadat HaMatzav. | Israel. Miśrad ha-penim. | Israel. Miśrad ha-‘avodah òvehareòvaòhah.
Classification: LCC JQ1830.A58 F56 2018 (print) | LCC JQ1830.A58 (ebook) | DDC 320.9569409/044—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017005399
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the memory of our beloved Jonathan, so missed, so present
Mickey, Danny, and Ruthie Fine
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Va’adat HaMatzav (January 1947–April 1948)
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Backdrop for the Establishment of Va’adat HaMatzav
Chapter 2 The Activity of Va’adat HaMatzav up to the Outbreak of the War of Independence (October–December 1947)
Chapter 3 Va’adat HaMatzav during the War of Independence
Chapter 4 Long-Range Planning: The Judicial System and the Final Report of Va’adat HaMatzav
Chapter 5 Va’adat HaMatzav and the Planning of the Interior Ministry and the Labor Ministry
Part II: The Government Ministries during the War: From the Establishment of the Provisional Government to the First Elections (April 1948–January 1949)
Introduction
Chapter 6 Establishing the Legal and Executive Foundations of the Government System
Chapter 7 The Ministry of the Interior during the War of Independence (May 1948–January 1949)
Chapter 8 The Labor Ministry during the War of Independence (May 1948–January 1949)
Part III: The Establishment of the Israeli Government After the First Elections (January1949–November 1951)
Introduction
Chapter 9 Elections to the First Knesset: Results and Significance
Chapter 10 The Interior Ministry (January 1949–November 1951)
Chapter 11 The Labor Ministry (January 1949–November 1951)
General Summary
Biographical Appendix
Map Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Preface
I N J ANUARY 1947 , the British cabinet made the historic decision to transfer the question of the future of Palestine to the United Nations, a decision announced officially by British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin on February 18, 1947, in a speech to Parliament. Thus began the final stage of British rule in Palestine. May 1947 saw the establishment of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) Commission, which in August of that year recommended the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. This recommendation was approved by the U.N. General Assembly on November 29, 1947.
A short time after the British decision to transfer the question of Palestine to the U.N., various bodies from the national institutions of the Yishuv (the Jewish settlement in Palestine) began to hold initial discussions to prepare for a possible transfer of power. On April 24, 1947, Eliezer Kaplan, a member of the Jewish Agency Executive Board, proposed establishing a joint committee, to be comprised of representatives of the Jewish Agency and the Va’ad HaLe’umi, to prepare the Yishuv establishment for the transition from Mandatory rule to a Jewish sovereign state. The Emergency Committee (in Hebrew Va’adat HaMatzav) began its work in October 1947. Up until the U.N. Partition Plan resolution at the end of November, Va’adat HaMatzav focused on initial formulations of theoretical plans for the transition of power. However, following the outbreak of hostilities in December 1947, its members were forced to focus on the planning and implementation of a system of essential services, while at the same time filling the power vacuum that the disintegrating Mandatory government had left in its wake. On March 1, 1948, Minhelet Ha’Am (People’s Administration) and Mo’etzet Ha’Am (People’s Council) were established, forming the basis of the executive and legislative branches. Following the declaration of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948, and the beginning of de-facto sovereignty, these were renamed, respectively, the Provisional Government and the Provisional State Council. The majority of the processes involved in consolidating the Israeli governmental system took place during wartime, and this fact has had long-term implications on its working methods and authority. Toward the end of the war, in January 1949, the first elections for the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) were held, but the work of delineating the powers and establishing the modi operandi of the administrative arms of government continued until the second round of elections in November 1951.
Palestine was not the only colonial outpost to transition from European sovereignty to independence between the 1940s and the 1960s; similar processes occurred in the colonial territories of the British and French empires throughout East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. However, the establishment of the government system in Israel is notable for several unique characteristics that render the Israeli story a particularly interesting case study.
This book is based on a doctoral dissertation written as an historical study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the direction of Professor Peter Medding of the Department of Political Science and Professor Dalia Ofer of the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry. I wish to extend my warm thanks to them for their patience and perseverance. I would also like to thank Professor Alon Kadish from the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and head of the IDF history division, who, while I was still a master’s student, opened the gateway onto British imperial policy in the Middle East in general and Mandatory Palestine in particular.
—Jonathan David Fine
Acknowledgments
T HE MANUSCRIPT OF THIS BOOK was under a last revision by the author, our dear Jonathan, when he passed away suddenly and prematurely on August 21, 2015. It was then our major goal to see the book, on which he worked so hard, published up to the standards he would have wanted. Many people have helped us in this process. Without their help this publication would have not been possible.
Prof. Peter Medding, professor emeritus of political science and of contemporary judaism, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who took upon himself the revision and update of the translation.
Prof. David Levi-Faur, head of the Federmann School of Public Policy and the Department of Political Science, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who offered us such significant and kind guidance.
Dr. Susan Hattis Rolef, senior researcher, Knesset Research and Information Center, who provided crucial help in identifying the correct English titles of a long list of institutions.
Ms. Keren Dinur, research assistant, Federmann School of Public Policy, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who contributed so much to the completion of the updated list of translated institutional names.
Dr. Michael Rinella, senior acquisitions editor for African American politics and sociology, environmental studies, and political science at SUNY Press, whose understanding and patience while waiting for the last version of the manuscript has eased our minds over the last few months.
Ms. Fray Hochstein, the wonderful English editor of the book, for her absolute dedication and excellent work.
Prof. Boaz Ganor, dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy of the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel, and the Lauder School, for their generous support of the translation of this book.
To all of Jonathan’s dear colleagues and students at IDC, for whom Jonathan cared so much, thank you for being at our side in such difficult moments. To all and each one of you our deepest gratitude and utmost recognition.
Finally, this book is dedicated in loving memory of Jonathan, whose passion for expanding the research into and knowledge of the history of the State of Israel breathes and beats ceaselessly throughout the pages of this book.
—Mickey, Danny, and Ruthie Fine