Israel Adopts State Flag
The iconic flag with two blue stripes and a blue Star of David at its center becomes the official Israeli flag more than five months after the establishment of the state.
Navy Fights First Major Battle
During the fourth day of Operation Yoav, the fledgling Israeli Navy engages in its first major battle off the coast of Ashkelon, Israel.
Lehi Assassinates U.N. Envoy Bernadotte
September 17, 1948 Count Folke Bernadotte, a diplomat sent by the United Nations to mediate between Israel and the Arabs during the War of Independence, is assassinated in Jerusalem by members of Lehi (the Stern…
Palmach Integrates With IDF
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion summons dozens of Palmach commanders for a conference. There he announces a plan to dismantle the elite, underground fighting unit and integrate it into the newly established Israel Defense Forces.
U.S. Opposes Stationing Troops in Israel
The US rejects a UN request that US Marines be temporarily stationed in Jerusalem to support an Israeli-Arab military truce agreement. The US continues its policy of supporting diplomacy in the region, while maintaining politically-strategic, military distance.
The Altalena Arrives
The Altalena arrives off the coast of Kfar Vitkin from France carrying 900 immigrants and a large stockpile of weapons.
Riots Target Jews in Tripoli
As a number of North African Arabs pass through Tripoli en route to join Arab armies in the 1948 War against Israel, a mob of rioters attacks the Jewish Quarter in Tripoli.
Ben-Gurion Delivers Report to Provisional Government
David Ben-Gurion delivers a report to the Provisional Government on the status of the 1948 War with neighboring Arab states, discussions with the United Nations, and the domestic needs of a young country at war.
First Battle for Latrun Takes Place
Going against the advice of some of his top military advisors, PM Ben-Gurion orders an assault on the fortress of Latrun, considered a key component of liberating Jerusalem.
Bernadotte Named U.N. Peace Mediator
May 20, 1948 Count Folke Bernadotte is appointed by the U.N. Security Council as the mediator for Middle East peace efforts five days into the Israeli War of Independence. Bernadotte was born in Sweden in…
Soviet Union Recognizes Israel
May 17, 1948 The Soviet Union officially recognizes the State of Israel three days after Israel declared independence and the United States immediately offered de facto recognition of the new state’s provisional government. The Soviet…
Israel Declares Independence
On Friday afternoon in the Tel Aviv Museum, David Ben-Gurion, chairman of the Provisional State Council, declares Israel’s independence. The United States is the first country to recognize the new and already besieged state of Israel.
Golda Meir Secretly Meets With King Abdullah in Amman
The second secret meeting between the two is a last-ditch effort to persuade Transjordan to stay out of an impending war with the soon-to-be declared State of Israel.
Haganah Seizes Haifa
April 22, 1948 As communal violence increases with the approaching departure of British troops and expected declaration of Israeli independence, the Haganah seizes Haifa, and as many as 25,000 Arabs flee the city, possibly in…
Hadassah Medical Convoy Massacre Takes Place
Arab forces ambush a medical convoy en route to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus, Jerusalem. Seventy-nine people, mostly doctors and nurses are killed in the attack.
Ben-Gurion Outlines Five Keys to Success in 1948 Independence War
Ben-Gurion feared that there were too many decision-making centers in the Yishuv and that urgency and immediacy demanded one single voice.
Davidka Mortar First Used
March 13, 1948 The Davidka, a mortar designed and manufactured at the Mikveh Israel agricultural school for use in Israel’s fight for independence, is used in combat for the first time in an attack on…
Cairo-Haifa Train Bombed
February 29, 1948 Jewish militants from the Lehi underground group mine train cars carrying British troops on the Cairo-Haifa line north of Rehovot. The attack uses one or more bombs placed on the tracks and…
Truck Bombs Kill Dozens on Ben Yehuda Street
February 22, 1948 Arab militants disguised as British troops, joined by a pair of British deserters, detonate bombs in three British military trucks and an armored car in the morning along the shopping district of…
Violence Targets Jews in Arab Cities
The U.N. General Assembly vote the previous day for the partition of Palestine sparks between Jews and Arabs in the British Mandate of Palestine and riots against Jews in Arab cities around the Middle East
U.N. Approves Partition Plan
The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 181 by a vote of 33-13 with 10 abstentions. The Resolution recommended the creation of separate Arab and Jewish states in Palestine, linked by an economic union.
Immigrant Ship Kadima Briefly Reaches Haifa
The Aliyah Bet ship Kadima arrives in Haifa under British escort. All of its passengers are arrested and moved to detention camps in Cyprus.
Gromyko Addresses the United Nations
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko proposes a unitary state for Palestine, but vows to support partition if it is deemed the only workable solution.
Irgun Blasts Prisoners out of Acre
May 4, 1947 The Irgun sets off explosives at 4:22 p.m. to blast open a hole in the wall of the Acre (Akko) fortress, used as a prison by the British Mandatory authorities, in an…
