ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the key incidents which led to the intensification of the conflict between the two camps in the periods prior to and after the establishment of the state, the 'normalization' of relations in the later period and the renewal of serious political strife in the contemporary period. The conflict over the highly divisive issue perpetuated the polarization and tensions which had arisen during the election campaign. President Yitzhak Navon warned the nation of the grave implications of the political, ethnic, and religious polarization. The policies of two regarding the partition of Palestine, attitudes toward the Arabs, and relations with the British Mandatory regime were contradictory. The events which followed were the most bitter and the most dangerous in contemporary Israeli history. Their interpretation is colored by the partisan positions of the who discuss the events.
