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The 1973 October War — A Short History

Egyptian President Sadat colluded with Syrian President Assad to attack Israel on October 6, 1973. Sadat’s objective was not to seek Israel’s destruction but to gain a limited success by crossing the canal. He also sought to engage American diplomacy to generate talks with Israel that would see Israeli withdrawal from Egyptian land Israel secured in the June 1967 War. Sadat took a large gamble by attacking Israel yet he unfolded a negotiating process with Israel that lasted through 1979. He achieved his overarching long-term priority of having Egyptian Sinai returned to Egyptian sovereignty.

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|October 1973|Spanish

President Harry Truman, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Abba Eban, and Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, The Truman Library

The Arab-Israel War of 1948 — A Short History

Otherwise known as Israel’s War of Independence, or, “the nakbah” or disaster to the Arab world because a Jewish state was established, the war was fought between the newly established Jewish state of Israel opposed by Palestinian irregulars, and armies from five Arab states. Official beginning of the war is usually given as May 14, 1948, the date Israel declared itself an independent Jewish state, but the war’s first of four phases began in November 1947. Lasting for two years, the war ended with armistice agreements signed in 1949 between Israel and four Arab states.

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|May 1948-March 1949|Spanish|Polish|German

Ken Stein: What If the Palestinian Arab Elite Had Chosen Compromise Rather Than Boycott in Confronting Zionism?

The Palestinian Arab elite chose to boycott in virtually all British and U.N. overtures to them from 1920 to 1948, with egregious consequences. The Palestinian Arab elite shunned British officials who were staunch supporters of…

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|1920s-1948|Spanish

Rocky Independence Path Delayed Declaration Work

In the months before the UN vote to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish states in November 1947, the Jewish Agency leadership there had to overcome a series of foreign policy obstacles working against the Jewish state’s establishment.

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|May 14, 1948

UNGA Resolution 181

The 1937 plan to partition Palestine was never implemented. It did, however, remain a workable political option for resolving the conflict between Arabs and Zionists. Britain needed to placate Arab state opposition to Zionism, so it refrained from actively revisiting the partition plan.

Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|November 29, 1947

Reasoned Views for Palestinian Arabs’ Dysfunctional Condition, 1945-1949

Steady disintegration of Palestinian Arab society from 1945-1949 is detailed by five Arab and non-Arab historians citing local social cleavages, economic impoverishment, fear, indebtedness, and political dysfunction.

Documents and Sources, Issues and Analyses, Ken's Blog|1945-1949|Spanish|Portuguese

Political Statements on a Two-State Solution to Resolve the Arab (Palestinian)-Israeli Conflict, 1937–Present

Speculation again abounds whether a two state solution might be a seriously considered outcome to Palestinian-Israeli differences. A long history of its mention but not its implementation persists. Advocacy by external voices persists, but no one seems ready to make the critical political trade-offs required.

Documents and Sources, Ken's Blog|1937-Present

American Officials on Zionism, Israel, the U.S.-Israeli Relationship and Resolving the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1922-2022

For more than seventy years the US government developed and revised its attitude toward Zionism and Israel. Using published archives, press conferences, speeches and numerous interviews, this compilation of 50 quotations traces how American views of Zionism and Israel changed.

Documents and Sources, Ken's Blog|1922-2022

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