ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the Zionist movement and the establishment of Israel, the 1948– 1949 conflict and the composition of the new Israeli society, with special focus on the Arab citizens, and their implications for Israel's Jewish and democratic character. Israel has its origins in the Eastern European nationalist movement known as Zionism. The day after Israel's declaration of independence a combined Arab force invaded the new state, launching the first major Arab-Israeli war. The Zionist leadership, drawing on the legitimacy offered by the UN partition plan, declared independent statehood on 14 May 1948. At the end of the Second World War, the Zionist focus on settling European refugees in Palestine became critical. The debate on United Nations Relief and Works Agency and its role in the formation of Palestinian political identity notwithstanding, the right of return of the refugee community became a foundational component of Palestinian political identity, especially through the remainder of the twentieth century.