April 6, 1948
David Ben-Gurion presents to the Zionist General Council, the supreme body of the World Zionist Organization, the steps to be taken for the Zionists to win their independence in a war against Palestinian Arabs and Arab states. Since the U.N. partition resolution of November 1947, Arab attacks have killed more than 900 Jews, and the leadership in the Yishuv is preparing for more intense attacks to come.
The immediate needs, Ben-Gurion says, include mobilizing manpower, purchasing military equipment, putting the Yishuv on a footing to establish procedures for the economy, not being satisfied simply to defend but planning well-timed attacks, and most of all establishing a single authority to oversee all priorities. Ben-Gurion fears that the Jewish population has too many decision-making centers at a time when a single voice is urgently needed.
Over the next year, the Jewish Agency concentrates power and authority in its hands. Separatist political voices and military and paramilitary entities heed Ben-Gurion’s call. For example, not without difficulty, Ben-Gurion forces the Palmach, the Irgun and others to fold into the Haganah to form what becomes the Israel Defense Forces. Potentially devastating fragmentation is avoided, and military focus aims outward at the Arab armies.
Two institutions are formed to carry out the tasks of governance: a Provisional Council with three dozen members and a provisional government (Cabinet) with 13 members.
