The Tinderbox of Palestine in Early 1948
By March 1948, the British Mandate of Palestine had become a powder keg ready to explode. The United Nations partition plan of November 1947, which proposed separate Jewish and Arab states, had failed to bring peace. Instead, it triggered escalating violence between the 600,000 Jewish and 1.2 million Arab inhabitants. Weekly death tolls reached 100 as armed groups clashed across the territory.
The British administration, preparing to end its thirty-year mandate on May 15, showed little interest in maintaining order. As colonial officials packed their files and crated their belongings, Palestine descended into chaos. This vacuum of authority created ideal conditions for both sides to jockey for position before the British departure.
America’s Surprising Reversal at the UN
The deteriorating situation caused Washington to reconsider its support for partition. On March 19, 1948, U.S. Ambassador Warren Austin stunned the UN Security Council by proposing to suspend the partition plan and place Palestine under temporary UN trusteeship. This reversal came just four months after America had championed the partition resolution.
For Jewish leaders like David Ben-Gurion, this represented betrayal. The Yishuv (Jewish community in Palestine) had based their strategy on international legitimacy from the UN vote. Now that foundation appeared to be crumbling. The U.S. shift reflected State Department fears that partition would spark regional war and threaten Western oil interests.
The Siege of Jerusalem and Jewish Desperation
Nowhere was the crisis more acute than in Jerusalem, where 100,000 Jews – one-sixth of Palestine’s Jewish population – found themselves trapped. Arab militias controlled the critical road from Tel Aviv, ambushing convoys that carried food and supplies. After two major convoy disasters in late March, Jerusalem’s Jews faced starvation rations of just 200 grams of food per day.
The military situation appeared dire. Haganah commander Yigael Yadin warned Ben-Gurion they could muster only 500 soldiers to break the siege. The Jewish forces lacked heavy weapons, trained officers, and logistical capacity for large operations. Yet Ben-Gurion insisted on action, famously demanding: “Why not 5,000?”
Operation Nachshon: The Turning Point
Launched on April 1, 1948, Operation Nachshon marked the Haganah’s first brigade-sized offensive. Named for the biblical figure who first stepped into the parted Red Sea, the operation aimed to clear the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road. Against expectations, the 1,500 Jewish fighters succeeded brilliantly.
Key to their victory was superior organization. While Palestinian Arab forces outnumbered the Jews, they remained decentralized village militias unable to concentrate forces. The Haganah captured strategic villages along the route, and by April 15, convoys were rolling into Jerusalem with hundreds of tons of supplies.
The operation yielded an unexpected bonus – the death of charismatic Arab commander Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni. His demise left Palestinian forces leaderless at a critical moment. More importantly, Nachshon proved the Haganah could conduct complex offensive operations, transforming the military balance.
The Strategic Shift: From Defense to Expansion
Nachshon marked a watershed in Zionist strategy. Previously, the Haganah had limited operations to areas allotted to the Jewish state in the UN plan. But Arab rejection of partition and the imminent invasion by Arab armies changed calculations. Ben-Gurion authorized Plan Dalet (Plan D) to secure territory beyond partition lines.
In rapid succession, Jewish forces captured Tiberias (April 18), Haifa (April 22), and other strategic areas. These operations triggered an exodus of Palestinian Arabs that would become one of the conflict’s most enduring legacies. Ironically, the Zionists were following the advice of Arab League Secretary Azzam Pasha, who had declared in 1947 that statehood must be won by force.
The Countdown to Statehood
As May 15 approached, pressure mounted on Jewish leaders. The CIA predicted the new state would fall within two years against Arab armies. On May 12, the ten-member People’s Administration voted 6-4 to declare independence despite the risks. Yadin gave the military just a 50% chance of survival.
The decision reflected Ben-Gurion’s strategic calculus: declaring statehood would force the conflict into conventional war where Jewish organization could tell, rather than prolonged guerrilla warfare. It also preempted any last-minute international attempts to delay or cancel partition.
The Birth of a Nation: May 14, 1948
At 4:00 PM on May 14 in Tel Aviv’s modest Museum of Art, Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Independence before 250 dignitaries. The 979-word document invoked Jewish history from biblical times through the Holocaust, declaring “the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”
The ceremony lasted just 32 minutes. As the Palestine Symphony Orchestra played Hatikvah (The Hope), the new nation’s flag – a blue Star of David between two horizontal stripes – was unfurled. Outside, crowds danced in the streets, while across Palestine, Jews listened tearfully to radio broadcasts.
The Immediate Aftermath: War and Recognition
Eleven minutes after the ceremony, the United States granted de facto recognition. At midnight, as British rule officially ended, five Arab armies invaded. Egyptian planes bombed Tel Aviv within hours, while Transjordan’s Arab Legion crossed the Allenby Bridge heading for Jerusalem. Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon joined the assault, beginning the first Arab-Israeli war.
Remarkably, the poorly equipped Israeli forces held their ground. By war’s end in 1949, Israel controlled 78% of Mandatory Palestine – far more than the UN partition allotted. But victory came at tremendous cost: 6,000 dead (1% of the population) and the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians.
Legacy and Lasting Significance
The events of 1948 established patterns that continue to shape the Middle East. Israel’s survival against overwhelming odds became central to its national identity, while Palestinian displacement (the Nakba) remains an open wound. The war created refugee populations on both sides – Jews expelled from Arab countries and Palestinians from Israel.
Operation Nachshon demonstrated how determined leadership and organizational superiority could overcome numerical disadvantage – a lesson that would define Israel’s military doctrine. The U.S. recognition set the tone for America’s special relationship with Israel, despite initial State Department reservations.
Most importantly, 1948 marked the culmination of two millennia of Jewish longing for sovereignty in their ancestral homeland. As Ben-Gurion declared that May afternoon, “The Jewish state is not a gift – it is an achievement.” That achievement, born in conflict, continues to shape global politics today.