ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the sequence of events following World War II that led up to the establishment of Israel as a nation: the time when the modern contours of the continuing conflict over the Holy Land emerged. The British elections of 1945 unexpectedly brought the Labour Party led by Clement Atlee to power. Among its policy priorities were decolonization and refashioning the British Empire into a 'commonwealth of nations'. The actual operation killed so many British officials and soldiers that it caused a huge international uproar, creating enormous bad publicity for the Zionists in the British press. Stalin and his advisers perceived support for Zionism as a way to further diminish British influence in the Middle East. Many of the new immigrants were part of the continued flow of displaced persons from Europe, while others were Middle Eastern Jews who had left the Arab world after the conflict of 1948 created a hostile environment for them in their home countries.
