Delve into the roots of Jewish peoplehood and the pivotal moments in Jewish history that led to the rebirth of Israel in 1948. Explore how precarious Diaspora life and outbursts of violent antisemitism catalyzed Jewish self-determination. Examine how Jewish leaders employed compromise, perseverance and adaptation in interactions with the Ottomans, British, and Arabs to overcome challenges, and so much more.

How did pragmatism, flexibility, resilience, and compromise carry Jewish peoplehood to statehood?

This course is made up of three sections:

• Part I: Peoplehood and Precursors to Zionism — How the Jewish people, rooted in Torah and 3,000-plus years of history, culture, language, religion and ties to the Land of Israel, sustained belief and identity through millennia of minority life in exile to eventually embrace the objective of self-governance and self-determination in their ancestral land
• Part II: The Middle East and the British Mandate — How the shift from imperial Ottoman to self-interested British control of the Land of Israel provided the opening for the Jewish and Arab communities to evolve separately and led to violence as the unsettled Arab population resisted increasing Jewish immigration.
• Part III: Independence and Defining the State — How strong institutions and leadership, continuing immigration and land purchases, and effective international lobbying overcame violent Arab and British opposition to win a Jewish state in 1948, while Arab leaders rejected peace and the promise of a Palestinian state under the U.N. partition plan.

What You’ll Learn

Upon completing this course, you will have a deep and clear understanding of the facts and factors that led to the creation of the State of Israel, including:

• Ideas of Jewish peoplehood derived from a commitment to the Torah and a belief in a shared history.
• Modern political Zionism responded to periodic outbursts of antisemitism driven by kings, dukes, sultans, emirs and popes.
• The British Mandate failed to achieve its dual obligations to support the development of a Jewish national home while protecting the interests of the Arab population.
• Zionists worked hard to influence policymaking in Washington, London and other European capitals to support the work on the ground in the Land of Israel.
• Zionist institutions, land purchases, immigration and self-government in the Land of Israel created a de facto Jewish state before World War II.
• Documents such as the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the 1939 British White Paper and the 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence tracked and influenced the path to statehood.
• Crucial to Zionist successes were failed Arab policies, including the refusal of compromises that would have allowed Jewish self-determination alongside the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Estimated Completion Time: 1 hour*

* Those who want to dive deeper into these and ancillary topics will find accompanying sources that can keep you learning for hours on end.