Irgun Blasts Prisoners out of AcreCIE+
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…
Britain Seeks Special U.N. Panel on PalestineCIE+
April 2, 1947 The British government notifies the United Nations of its intent to bring the question of Palestine’s future before the next U.N. General Assembly. The United Kingdom also requests a special General Assembly…
Truman Delivers His DoctrineCIE+
In a speech delivered to a joint session of Congress, President Harry Truman outlines a new, decidedly anti-Soviet direction for American foreign policy.
Britain to Seek U.N. Help on PalestineCIE+
The British respond to rising violence in Mandatory Palestine by asking the United Nations to figure out what to do.
Irgun Flogs British Troops in StreetsCIE+
December 29, 1946 The underground militant movement Irgun carries out the Night of the Beatings, an effort across Palestine to flog British soldiers in retribution for the lashing of captured Irgun members. Irgun members abduct…
British Round Up Resistance FightersCIE+
June 29, 1946 The British military launches Operation Agatha, a two-week series of raids and arrests of Jewish resistance fighters, on a day that comes to be known as Black Sabbath. Involving some 17,000 soldiers,…
White Paper Didn’t Halt Land Sales, Report FindsCIE+
A Land Transfer Committee report reveals that Arabs in Palestine willingly continued to sell land to Zionists in the early 1940s despite the British legal prohibition on doing so.
Jewish Resistance Blows Up Rails Across PalestineCIE+
November 1, 1945 The newly formed Jewish Resistance Movement sets off explosions at more than 150 sites along the railway system of British Mandatory Palestine and blows up three British gunboats in the Jaffa and…
Haganah Founder Eliyahu Golomb DiesCIE+
Eliyahu Golomb, prominent leader of the Jewish defense effort in Palestine, passed away at the age of 52.
Harold MacMichael Ends Term as High Commissioner of PalestineCIE+
Rattled by numerous attempts on his life, and fearing for the safety of his family, MacMichael steps down in August 1944.
Labor Zionist Leader Berl Katznelson DiesCIE+
Berl Katznelson, a leader in the Labor Zionist movement, dies suddenly at the age of 57 in Jerusalem. His advocacy for the creation of a labor-based society in Israel would eventually form the basis of the Mapai party, which was created in 1930 and would dominate Israeli politics until the late 1970′s.
U.S. Republican Convention Supports Jewish State in Palestine
At the 1944 Republican Party National Convention, New York Senator Thomas Dewey’s strong support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine captures the attention of Zionists in Palestine and, more notably, American Jewry.
Mitzpe Gevulot Established in NegevCIE+
The agricultural outpost of Mitzpe Gevulot was established.
Extraordinary Zionist Conference Begins at Biltmore Hotel in New YorkCIE+
The Biltmore Conference will set the framework for Zionist policy in the years during and after World War II.
Russian Sub Sinks Refugee Ship StrumaCIE+
After being mistaken as an enemy ship, the SS Struma, carrying nearly 800 Jewish refugees hoping to immigrate into Palestine, including 70 children, is sunk by a Russian submarine in the Black Sea.
Haganah Forms Elite PalmachCIE+
The Palmach, an elite strike force of the Haganah, goes on to play a significant role in the 1948-1949 war.
Refugee Ship Patria Is SunkCIE+
November 25, 1940 A Haganah bomb does more damage than intended to the immigrant transport ship SS Patria, which sinks within 16 minutes in Haifa’s harbor, killing 267 people, including members of the British crew,…
Kibbutz Givat Brenner Is Established
Originally working as laborers in surrounding agricultural communities, the founding members of Givat Brenner establish agricultural and industrial infrastructure for the kibbutz, quickly making it financially stable and self-sustaining.
British White Paper Restricts Jewish Immigration and Land PurchaseCIE+
The 1939 White Paper signaled Britain’s readiness to relegate the Jews in Palestine to minority status in a future majority-Arab state.
Irgun Radio Begins BroadcastingCIE+
March 15, 1939 Kol Tzion HaLokhemet (“Voice of the Fighting Zion”), the underground radio network operated by the Irgun, sends out its first broadcasts across Palestine as Esther Raziel-Naor hits the airwaves. The network broadcasts…
Mufti of Jerusalem Rejects Majority-Arab StateCIE+
The Mufti has enormous power in his hands, yet he chooses non-engagement with the British, who controlled Palestine.
Rambam Hospital Is EstablishedCIE+
December 22, 1938 The Rambam Health Care Campus opens as the British Government Hospital of Haifa and is hailed by the British high commissioner for Palestine, Harold MacMichael, as the “finest medical institution in the…
Kfar Ruppin Is FoundedCIE+
Kibbutz Kfar (Village) Ruppin is established under the framework of the “Tower and Stockade” movement in Zionism, which takes place primarily between 1936-1939.
British Parliament Debates Future of PalestineCIE+
In the midst of the 1936-1939 Arab revolt, a debate over British policy in Mandatory Palestine is held in the House of Commons.
