Playlist: The Birth of Israel
Presented by former BBC Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen, this program provides an in-depth historical account of how the modern state of Israel was created, from both a military and geopolitical perspective. The film begins in the early years of the Zionist movement, unleashing a spectacular procession of archival footage and insider interviews—and shedding light on the Balfour Declaration, the creation and tactics of Haganah, the impact of the Holocaust on international support for a Jewish homeland, the campaigns of the 1948 war, and its legacy today. Interviewees include Israeli president Shimon Peres, former Jordanian UN ambassador Hazem Nusseibeh, and other key players. A BBC Production. (59 minutes)
Gaza is home to 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are refugees from what is now Israel. The extraordinary feat of nation building is not without cost to both Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli victory means Palestinian defeat.
To 700,000 dispossessed Palestinians, Gaza is a prison from which they cannot escape. Though life was hard, they remember their villages with fondness and memories of self-sufficiency.
The British Balfour Declaration (1917) contains many contradictions. Jews and Palestinians believe the British are betrayers. One nation promises another nation the land of a third nation. Conflict continues for decades.
Around the mid-1930s, Jewish immigrants threaten to overwhelm Palestine. Palestinians prepare to fight for their land. The British quell the uprising with three years of deprivation and exile.
Palestine is left without leadership, whereas the Jews have Ben Gurion. Meanwhile, Britain wants to establish its position in the Middle East as it prepares to go to war with Germany. WWII creates a moral argument for a Jewish state.
In 1946, armed Jews step up attacks on the British in Jerusalem. The British continue to intercept ships of Jewish immigrants from Europe. The UN partitions Palestine, but the Jews get the greater advantage.
Violence between Jews and Palestinians grows after the partition. Within a week, there is civil war. Jerusalem, a city holy to Christians, Muslims, and Jews is the prize that they all want.
Ben Gurion's "Plan D" is controversial. On April 9, 1948, commandos of the Irgun attack Deir Yassin, a village of about 750 Palestinian residents.
After the Deir Yassin massacre, there is a massive exodus from Palestine. Menachem Begin denies the massacre. Arabs are seized with panic. They attack Jewish nurses and doctors, and Jews attack the port city of Jaffa.
On the eve of Israeli nationhood, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt attack Israel. They are motivated by desire for Palestinian land. Arab troops are well armed but poorly trained and badly led.
Under constant attack, the Jewish section of the walled city falls into Arab hands. Israelis seek to bypass the blockade from Tel Aviv. Czechoslovakia arms Israel with modern weaponry and aircraft.
After a month-long truce, Israelis are well-armed and motivated to secure Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel is victorious. More than 50,000 Palestinians are driven from their homes.
After the War of Independence, Israel continues to drive Palestinians from their homes. The cost of victory is 6000 Jewish lives. For the Arabs, 15,000 lives are lost. Israel's independent state is built on the backs of dispossessed Palestinians.
Palestinians continue to do battle against Israel, and many Israelis pay with their lives. For Arabs, the catastrophe of 1948 has not yet ended. Peace accords will continue to fail, as Jerusalem is still claimed by both sides.
President Shimon Peres wants Palestinians to have an independent state. Israel's expansionism accounts for ongoing tensions. Both sides have different stories to tell, and both want to fulfill their separate destinies.