At the end of the 19th century, Europe ended the period of the establishment of nation states and began a new phase of colonialism. According to James Gelvin, this is also the time where appears and develops in Western Europe and in Russia the modern forms of anti-Semitism, …show more content…
The idea of the homeland will find a way to happen with the support of the British. Indeed, after having promised the Arabs throughout the region to create a great Arab nation, the British disown their promise and promote the establishment of the Jews in Palestine by the Balfour Declaration in 1917 (Cohen). Britain, which received the mandate over Palestine after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, promised the Zionist leaders the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jews, provided they do not disturb non-Jewish populations. This shift corresponds indeed better to the British interests in the region, seeking to balance and counter the claims of the French, the other major countries that benefited from the sharing of the deceased Ottoman Empire (Reynold). Given the progressive resistance of the local Arab population, the Zionist movement would then organize Jewish militias (Irgun, Haganah, Stern, embryos of future IDF) to support and accompany the colonization of territories in Palestine, which will …show more content…
For one, the survivors of the Jewish genocide, who are denied entry to the United States and in many European countries, will look to go to Palestine to join and expand the Jewish populations already established in the territory. On the other hand, the Arabs will oppose more and more to this encroachment on their territory and organize their resistance. According to Cohen, already in the years 1936-1939, this resistance took the form of an Arab revolt carried out both against British rule and Zionist colonization: it was the founding event of the Palestinian national movement, which will be harshly repressed by the British. Clashes with the Jewish militias, meanwhile transformed into a real army, will then be generalized after the Second World War in 1946. Overwhelmed, Britain will hand over his mandate to the League of Nations (Reynold). To exit the impasse, the recently established UN then vote in 1947 the partition of Palestine: 55% are given to the Jews and 43% are left to the Palestinians; at that time, Jews owned 6% of the land and represented