What happened to the Jews in 1948 CE?

Answer 1

It depends on the Jews in question.

If you are referring to the Jews that were already in post-Mandatory Palestine, they were able to secure a state against the force of seven Arab armies. With strong will and persistence, they were able to compel each of the Arab leaders to sign an armistice with Israel. During the war, Israeli politicians got to putting the Basic Laws and the Right of Return into effect, establishing a state that reflected their values and had a specific role for both secular and religious authority.

If you are referring to the Jews of Europe, the overwhelming majority of the survivors of the Holocaust soon discovered that no country, even the ones in which they had formerly lived, wanted to take the Jews in. From 1945-1949, many Jews were stranded in Internment Camps across Europe, some only a few minutes away from the Concentration Camps (like Bergen-Belsen). These Jews petitioned for the right to migrate to Mandatory Palestine. Upon Israel's Declaration of Independence, they began to immigrate and many of them joined with the Jewish Militias in the war against the Arabs.

If you are referring to the Jews of the Arab World, the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 was a watershed moment which made life in the Arab World change from mildly intolerant to completely unsafe. Jews were accused by nearly every Arab government of conspiring with Israel (even though the majority of Jews from Arab Countries were Anti-Zionist or Non-Zionist prior to this point). In Iraq, there were show-trials and executions. In Jordan, all Jews were expelled from the country. From 1950-1952, Israel was required to absorb 500,000 Jews from Arab Countries (of the total 800-850,000 who fled). The Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9 completely uprooted their lives, although given the rough decade that the 1940s had been in the Arab World for Jews, it was not entirely unexpected.

If you are referring to the Jews of America, the realization that the American Jewish community was the dominant Diaspora Jewish Community in the wake of the Holocaust finally came to a head in this conflict. American Jews began to embrace and support the State of Israel, but also see themselves as the preservers of Jewish interests and Jewish sects which were exterminated to near or complete extinction in Europe. This was a fundamental shift for American Jewry as the community prior to the Holocaust had been seen as "the Jewish Frontier". The real Jews and traditional Jews were considered to be those of Europe, prior to their annihilation. Being the new center of the Diaspora changed American Jewish discourse and the way that American Jews embraced their religion, leading to an uptick in religiosity among American Jewry.

Answer 2

In 1947 the United Nations Commission on Palestine (UNSCOP) was created to deal with the situation in what was called Palestine. The area was controlled by the British and was home to many Jews and Arabs. UNSCOP proposed a two-state solution giving equal amounts of land to the Jews and the Arabs. While the Jews accepted their half (despite the majority of their land being in the desert), the Arabs rejected the proposal. In May 1948, once the British finished pulling out of the area the Jewish community published a declaration of independence as the state of Israel, in accordance with the 1947 resolution created by UNSCOP.

Answer 3

The Jewish-Arab Engagement in Palestine (which was a war between Jewish and Arab Militias) was greatly expanded by the invasion of Arab Armies into the newly declared Israel. The War eventually concluded in 1949 with several armistice agreements.

Answer 4

In May, the British mandate over Palestine terminated, the new state of Israel was declared, and immediately was forced to repel attacks from its neighbouring countries: Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan.

Answer 5

It became independent through a declaration of independence and a military defense of the land.

Answer 6

It declared independence.

Answer 7

New neighbor on the block; Israel.

Answer 8

Specifically on May 14, 1948.