1949-1967

## **End of the Independence War**

Following the declaration of the Jewish state, Prime Minister Ben-Gurion sought to establish state status. He disbanded the Palmach, joined the defense organizations, the Irgun and the Lehi into the IDF, and acted against the splitting of forces, as happened with the Altalena Affair. Operations against underground organizations were also carried out after the assassination of Swedish diplomat Polka Brandt, following which the Provisional State Council enacted the Prevention of Terrorism Order. Lehi and an organization called the Front of the Homeland, which claimed responsibility for the murder, were declared terrorist organizations and about 200 people were arrested, including one of the three leaders of the Lehi, Natan Yellin-Moore. In January 1949, the first elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in Israel. On February 16, the Constituent Assembly passed the Transitional Law, which stipulated that the legislature would be called the "Knesset." In May of that year, Israel was accepted as a member of the UN.

## **Aliyah of the Masses and the Early Years of Statehood**

In the first years of the state, the mass immigration of Jews from many countries began and within a few years the number of Jews in the country doubled. Special operations were carried out to bring Jews especially from Arab lands, the most famous of which were Operation Magic Carpet and Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. Such a large number of immigrants in such a short time, turned the Land of Israel into one large camp, and brought about the phenomenon of the Ma'abarot and the years of austerity. In the first years, Israel was in an economic crisis, culminating in 1951, and in an attempt to extricate itself from it, the new economic policy was decided upon, which led to the flexibility of austerity policies. Simultaneously with the waves of immigration, the state acted to settle the country through various enterprises: paving roads, drying the Hula Lake and the national Water Carrier project.

In 1952, the reparations agreement was signed after heated debates in the Knesset and a storm in the young country in which West Germany transferred to Israel, between 1953 and 1965, a sum of about 3 billion marks as compensation for the suffering and material damage caused to Jews during the Holocaust. In August 1953, the Knesset approved the State Education Law, which was intended to abolish the system of Ideology-Based and Seperate systems in education and move to state education. In December of that year, Ben-Gurion resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Moshe Sharett. Sharett was characterized as a weak prime minister and his term of office was short - until after the elections to the Third Knesset held at the end of 1955, when Ben-Gurion returned to serve as prime minister.

## **Operation Kadesh (Sinai War/Suez Crisis)**

The clashes between Jews and Arabs continued and manifested themselves in mutually hostile actions, such as the Ma'ale Akaravim massacre and the Kfar Qassem massacre. Fedayeen Terrorists infiltrated the borders from Egypt and Jordan and hit the country's Periphery settlements, mainly in the south. Israel responded with retaliatory actions and set up Unit 101. To this end, Israel tried to act against Egypt and secretly sabotage Western facilities in Egypt, so that the action would appear to have been carried out by an Egyptian nationalist underground Organization, thereby undermining relations between Western countries and Egypt. The action known as the "Bishy Affair" (as in, "Bitchy") got entangled and stood on the public agenda for many years and led to political crises.

In 1956, following Egypt's announcement of the nationalization of the Suez Canal and its decision to close the Egyptian Strait to Israeli vessels, Britain and France pushed Israel to launch a war in Sinai ("Operation Kadesh") - to occupy the Sinai Peninsula and gain control of the Suez Canal. In the operation, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, and IDF forces stopped 16 km from the Suez Canal in accordance with the demands of the British and French. In March 1957, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula due to heavy pressure from the superpowers, but took a variety of weapons and extensive engineering equipment ("Operation Collection") and even destroyed the Egyptian army's infrastructure in Sinai (Operation Amora). During the Sinai War, 171 IDF soldiers were killed, hundreds were wounded and one pilot whose plane was shot down was captured.

## **Military Buildup**

In 1958, construction began on the French-assisted Negev Nuclear Research Facility. In July 1959, the events of Wadi Salib took place, which constituted a social uprising against discrimination and ethnic discrimination, and against the Mapai establishment that ruled the country during these years.

In 1960, the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was captured by Mossad agents in Argentina and brought to trial in Israel. In 1961, the Eichmann trial was opened in the Beit Ha'am residence (now the Gerard Bachar Center), which was opened to the local and foreign media. During the trial, prosecutor Gideon Hausner raised a number of witnesses, including Holocaust survivors, who revealed shocking evidence to the general public, describing the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis on Jews during the Holocaust. At the end of the trial, Eichmann was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. The law changed the attitude in Israel towards Holocaust survivors and made the public interested in their stories and document them for future generations.

On July 5, 1961, "Shavit 2", a rocket made in Israel, was launched. The photos around the world that showed Ben-Gurion and Deputy Defense Minister Shimon Peres watching the launch caused a storm and an acceleration of a regional arms race. The launch of the missile aroused great excitement and great pride in Israel. The launch took place about two weeks before the elections to the Fifth Knesset, and therefore the date chosen for it was criticized. In the election, the ruling party, Mapai, lost six seats, so it is unclear what effect the missile had on the voters.

In the early 1960s, the "Bish Deal" scandal resurfaced and the government decided to appoint a committee composed of seven government ministers (the "Committee of Seven") for further clarification. The committee submitted its conclusions in December 1960, stating that Pinchas Lavon did not give the order and did not know about the action. Ben-Gurion objected to a political committee of ministers discussing and ruling on the guilt or innocence of another minister, and demanded the establishment of a "legal inquiry committee." Ben-Gurion's struggle was not understood by the public and was interpreted as personal harassment against Lavon. The scandal damaged Ben-Gurion's prestige and in 1963 he resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Levi Eshkol. Ben-Gurion continued to fight for his views, formed a Movement Named "Rafi", and when his demands were not accepted, he was expelled from Mapai. Together with some of his supporters, including Shimon Peres, he turned Rafi into a separate party in 1965, to which Moshe Dayan also joined. In 1966, the military administration imposed on the Arab populated Areas in the country was abolished.

In 1966, the construction of various large projects was completed - the national water carrier, the port of Ashdod and the Dead Sea factories. Completion of work on these projects led to a decrease in the volume of public works, and a reduction in economic activity. In a small economy like the Israeli economy, this had immediate results. Following this, Finance Minister Pinchas Sapir led a policy of raising taxes and raising prices, which led to a recession.

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