Israel's Moment
International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945–1949

A new account of support for and opposition to Zionist aspirations in Palestine in the United States and Europe from 1945 to 1949.

Jeffrey Herf (Author)

9781009048712, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 February 2023

518 pages
22.8 x 15.3 x 3.1 cm, 0.83 kg

'Many of Herf's previous works are dedicated to exploring the history of Holocaust memory during the Cold War, both in the West and the East. Unsurprisingly, he uses his expertise to weave the early history of Holocaust memory into the broader political discussions at the time. Herf devotes large sections of the book to analyzing how the events of the Holocaust and its recent memory were politically used, neglected, or downright ignored in the international political arena in the time leading to Israel's establishment.' Tom Eshed, Mosse Blog

Israel's Moment is a major new account of how a Jewish state came to be forged in the shadow of World War Two and the Holocaust and the onset of the Cold War. Drawing on new research in government, public and private archives, Jeffrey Herf exposes the political realities that underpinned support for and opposition to Zionist aspirations in Palestine. In an unprecedented international account, he explores the role of the United States, the Arab States, the Palestine Arabs, the Zionists, and key European governments from Britain and France to the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Poland. His findings reveal a spectrum of support and opposition that stood in sharp contrast to the political coordinates that emerged during the Cold War, shedding new light on how and why the state of Israel was established in 1948 and challenging conventional associations of left and right, imperialism and anti-imperialism, and racism and anti-racism.

List of Figures
Preface
Acknowledgements
A Note on Style
1. Introduction
2. Zionist Momentum and the War Crimes Issue in the United States, 1944-1945
3. American Liberals and Leftists Support Zionist Aspirations, 1945-1947
4. Haj Amin al-Husseini and the French Government: May 1945-May 1946
5. The 'Question of Palestine' at the United Nations General Assembly's First Special Session: April-May 1947
6. The Truman Doctrine, the Cold War and Jewish Refugees, Spring 1947
7. The French Government, Jewish Immigration to Palestine, and the Exodus Affair
8. Zionist Momentum and the U.S. and British Governments' Counteroffensive: September to December 1947
9. The U.S. State Department Policy Planning Staff Memos Oppose the UN Partition Resolution: January-February 1948
10. The U.S. and UN Arms Embargo: November 1947-May 1948
11. Responses in Washington, the United Nations, and in Europe to the Establishment of the State of Israel: May and June 1948
12. International Responses to the Arab-Israeli War I: May-June 1948
13. International Responses to the Arab Israeli War II: July-August, 1948
14. The U.S. and Britain Again in Opposition: The Bernadotte Plan to the End of the 1948 War
15. Israel's Admission to the UN, and Sharret's (Shertok's) and Ben Gurion's Retrospectives
16. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1], European history [HBJD]