Creating the State: Israel from 1948 to 1967

(4 Credits)

After the Ceasefire Agreements which followed the war of 1948, Israel faced the challenge of creating the political, administrative and legal institutions necessary for statehood. While many of these institutions evolved from the pre-State Yishuv, new challenges were now confronted. The population doubled within three years following mass immigration and the society became more heterogeneous. Issues of state and religion; the Right of Return; the rights of Arab citizens; foreign policy orientation and the attempt to adopt a written constitution were all on the agenda. Security issues, the boarder war culminated in the Sinai Campaign fo 1956 determined Israel?s relations with the neighboring states.