David and Goliath

This is my first (real) timeline, so it may need some work. But here it goes:
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In 1929, David Ben-Gurion convinces the Histadrut Executive Committee (HEC) to adopt a more communist angle of Socialism for their methods. The Histadrut over the last decade grew from a small socialist-zionist organization to a large body of money and jobs to many in British Palestine.

David Ben-Gurion after a tough fight to get his plan passed through the HEC, he plans to bring it to a Histadrut Convention. The Histadrut Convention is the real authority behind the organization. The Convention debated the proposal, and eventually supported it.

A year after the Convention, David Ben-Gurion along with others, founded Mapai, a labor party. With the talks of a more communist angle to the Palestine plans of the Yishuv, Mapai was made to go back to support the pre-1929 Socialist angle. DBG then went to the revisionists, in a pact with the devil, to secure support with them for his communist plan. Also, the General Zionists, a group by Zionist Congress President Chaim Weizmann, supported a more capitalistic-socialist view with all this going on.

1933: Elections for the next Zionist Congress. Mapai attempts to form a coalition with the General Zionists, but fail. Mapai quickly changes to a communist view to gain a plurality coalition with some revisionist break-offs.

1935: Elections. 75% of seats were either DBG's Mapai, and the Revisionists B. Revisionists B were the formal break-off group that started the coalition in the 1933 Congress. Mapai has the largest of the coalition with 49% of seats and the Revisionists B have 26%. The Congress elects a tripartite Presidency, the first ever, with Ze'ev Jabotinsky (the head of Revisionists B), Chaim Weizmann (head of General Zionists), and David Ben-Gurion (head of Mapai)

1937: Mapai gets a majority of seats with 53% of the votes. Revisionists B get 10% of the vote with many going to DBG's growing side due to his growing support and popularity. Revisionists A, Communist, but in favor of a more Soviet form of Communism get 15%. General Zionists get 22%.

DBG is made sole President of the Congress as well as the Chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive. From that major role, he continues to spread his communist message. He visits Russia for the second time (first was early 1920s OTL) and meets with Kremlin officials. With this, they officially "consider" the idea of Zionism.

1938: The Histarut, which adopted most of DBG's communist ideas, fully puts them into place after long delay by protesting laborers.

1939: In the last pre-war Congress, Mapai gets 55%, Revisionists B get 7%, Revisionists A get 8% and the General Zionists get 30%. Chaim Weizmann, as head of the GZ and a proponent of a more socialist plan for the Yishuv, proposes a grouping of GZ and Mapai for a broader force in the Congress, as in this one, DBG failed to get Rev B with him.

David Ben-Gurion continues as President of the Congress, while making Chaim Weizmann the chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive.

The British issue the White Paper. (OTL)

1942: The United States issue an endorsement of the plan for a Jewish homeland in Palestine at the Biltmore Conference. (OTL)

1944: The USSR endorse Zionism, but fail to endorse the idea for Israel. They feel that they need a friend in the mideast after the war fully concludes.

1946: First Post-war congress makes Revisionist B leader, Jablonsky the Chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive, with DBG as President again, and Weizmann a Soviet Envoy. Before he leaves for Moscow, he says that "David's idea for a communist Yishuv will greatly benefit the people of the land". The Mapai coalition grows to 77% of the Congress.

1947: Most Revisionists merge into Mapai and the planned Congress for 1948 is postponed indefinetly as the fight against the British continues.

1948: In Tel-Aviv, David-Ben Gurion announces the establishement of the State of Israel after the UN Partition Plan is approved by the UN General Assembly. He becomes the de facto Prime Minister and Minister of Defense with Jablonsky in the ceremonial role of the Presidency.
 
---1948---

May 14th, 1948: David Ben-Gurion declares the independance and establishement of the State of Israel; the United States almost immediately recognizes this. The Soviet Union as well as other countries follow the US's lead.

May 15th: The British Mandate officially ends. The League of Arab States tell the UN Secretary-General their intention to make a "United State of Palestine".

May - June 1948: 1,000 Lebanese, 5,000 Syrian, 5,000 Iraqi, and 10,000 Egyptian troops begin an invasion of the state from all sides. Four thousand Transjordanian troops invade the international zone around Jerusalem. The United States and the Soviets tell the Arabs that their invasion is "illegal aggression". China however backs the Arabs.

May 26: The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are officially established dissolving the military groups of the Haganah, Palmach, and Irgun into a single official organ. The initial strength of the Israeli Forces in June are at 40,825 people. By the end of the year, it would grow to over 108,000. Arab armies have an estimated 35,000 in July rising to their highest at around 55,000 in early 1949.

May 29: The UN declares a truce on May 29, which comes into effect on June 11. It lasts for only 28 days before war resumes.

July 8: Israel begins Operation Dani, aimed at securing the corridor between Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, a very important piece of land.

July 18: The second truce comes into effect at 7pm from efforts by the United Nations. The truce would last longer than the first, ending after a few months on October 15.

October 24: Israeli troops capture the Upper Galilee during Operation Hiram. This pushes the Lebanese army back to Lebanon.

November '48: All Israeli aviation forces put into a single group, the Air Service. Israel continues to make strategic military victories against the Arab League.

---1949---

January 22nd, 1949: Israel casts their votes for the first Knesset, the parliament of Israel. It has one legislative house, and is supreme over the Executive. (OTL) Mapai captures 40% of seats, becoming the largest group and forming a coalition with three smaller religious parties as well as the Progressive Party.

Chaim Weizmann is made the first President of Israel with Ben-Gurion elected as the first Prime Minister, a much more powerful role. The Speaker of the Knesset is also chosen to be a represenative from Mapai.

February 24, 1949: Israel signs an armistice agreement with Egypt.

March 23: Armistice signed with Lebanon. Other agreements are reached with Transjordan and Syria through the Spring and Summer of 1949.

March 28: The First Government of Israel is officially started when the Knesset convenes with the Labor Zionists controlling most governmental affairs. President Chaim Weizmann in a statement before the Cabinent, urges the government to look for allies in Britain, and the United States for finanical support and for defenses (arms, weapons, etc.)

April 5: Mapai holds a party convention, the last until 1953. They adopt three important resolutions which guide the first several governments of Israel. The first resolution gives support for the proposed "Law of Return" to allow Jews from the world to come back, also making any Jew a de facto citizen of Israel.

The second resolution, supported the First Government's cabinent, but said a "...unity coalition...without the imput from orthadox [religious] groups...would serve the Yishuv much better than the current cabinent's composition..." Of the 657 delegates at the convention, a large 187 delegates voted against it while another 17 abstained.

The third resolution supported the Histarut's merger with Mapai. It formally requested that the Histarut Executive Committee (HEC) approve the merger into a Mapai-General Labor Party. This was approved unanimously by the Mapai Convention.

July 18: The HEC votes unanimously to send the application for a Mapai merger to the Histarut Convention in 1950. Ben-Gurion, after this vote, resigns from the HEC as a protest against their postponment of the decision to the Convention, rather than a referendum in September.

September 19: The Knesset of Israel unanimously adopts a set of 45 laws that make Israel a communist nation by September 19, 1952. Ben-Gurion applauds this action.
 
---End of 1949---

September 22: The Minister of Education, (a religious party leader), resigns from the Cabinent, and pulls his party out of the coalition with Mapai, citing his disagreement over the Directive of the Prime Minister for Communism; DBG returns to the HEC as they reject his resignation.

Two days earlier, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, along with [now] political rival Jablonsky, head of a small extreme Revisionist sect of the Knesset (5% of seats) together draft a memorandum and directive to Cabinent officials over how Communism is to be instituted. While the Knesset laws permitted it to begin through phases around 1952, the Directive and Memorandum says that Mapai's coalition will "swiftly endorse the ideals and ways of a more Soviet communism".

The Mapai coalition now only holds a two-seat majority in the Knesset. Many Mapai leaders condemn the Directive and Memorandum. This is expressed in an official resolution (which Ben-Gurion, Jablonsky, and two of his other close allies did not take part in), approved on September 25, which only two nea votes. The day after that, Ben-Gurion addresses the Knesset and expresses his request for foregiveness for his acts. He says that it was Jablonsky who wrote the more controversial provisions of the document. Jablonsky admits this that day, and tells Ben-Gurion privately that "your plan to merge the Histarut and Mapai is now doomed".

October 8: The Cabinent approves a new Directive and Memorandum, expressing a slower phase-in of Communism into the government by 1962. Ben-Gurion says this is too long, but goes ahead and supports the measure.

October 10: At an HEC meeting, DBG confronts Jablonsky personally about his high-Soviet leanings. In a three-hour debate over his Soviet preferences, the HEC passes a resolution condemning his draft of the Memorandum. They also set the Convention for December, 60 days earlier than orginally planned.

October 23: Several arab bussinesses around Haifa announce the formation of the Modern Legal Committee. The MLC in its founding charter says that it will challenge the Communist laws through Israel's courts, saying it violates the Constitution of Israel.

November 5: The HEC accepts Jablonsky's resignation. Jablonsky says that the next Convention, "will be his last".

December 3: The Histarut Convention opens with 501 delegates present. After ceremonial elections and speeches, DBG begins the debate to join Mapai. Jablonsky and several religious leaders lead the 'no' side as to the debate. Chaim Weizmann, in his use of influence for his friend, sends a message to fence-sitters that he supports the merger.

The Convention votes 486 in the affirmative, 13 in the negative, with two absentions, passing the measure. Just a day later, Mapai in a party referendum accepts the merger by a vote of 98% in favor. They are officially merged on December 26, 1949, with DBG as the Secretary-General of the United Mapai Labor Front, overseeing an executive committee of 5 members, including Chaim Weizmann and the Chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive.
 
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While The USSR will support Israel and allow Russian Jews to Emigrate, The US will stop Support, and many fewer American Jews will Immigrate.

?Did whe get the same Borders?. IIRC there was a debate and the call for Palestinians to stay almost wasn't broadcast.
 
While The USSR will support Israel and allow Russian Jews to Emigrate, The US will stop Support, and many fewer American Jews will Immigrate.

American Jews in the 1900s had more influence than Soviet Jews. The President only recognized Israel to get Jewish votes in the upcoming election, and the Soviets followed, having supported the partition and thinking the Arabs had too much agression in them.

In this TL, both sides will try to win over the mideast as well as Israel to have a proxy state in an important area.

?Did whe get the same Borders?. IIRC there was a debate and the call for Palestinians to stay almost wasn't broadcast.

Same borders, but in 1950 both OTL and this TL, Jordan will annex the West Bank to the dismay of the Israelis. As to the second thing, Palestinians left by their own means, Israel only pushed out the foriegn militaries.
 
---1950---

January: Israel is among the first non-communist (still in transition) nations to recognize the People's Republic of China. However, diplomatic relations between the two countries are not fully established until 1954.

Jordan confers citizenship on all Arabs of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in effect annexing that large area of land. Just two days after this, West Jerusualem is declared the capital of Israel.

March 2: Secret negotiations in Baghdad with the Iraqi Prime Minister are successful. He allows Iraqi Jews to emigrate to Israel, but they leave behind everything including the ability to come back.

March 14: The Knesset passes the Absentees' Property Law. Within a period of nine years, this transfers land that was Arab-owned to Jewish owenership if the Arabs have left their homes.

March 29: The Knesset passes the Crime of Genocide Law, making the only penalty for the crime of Genocide, death.

April: The Arab League forbids its members to conclude full peace with Israel.

April 4: Jordan formally annexes the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

April 23: The Soviet Union reverses part of its 1947 position on Israel, saying that the internationalization of Jerusualem would not work. They create a Committee to formalize a decision on its view for Jerusalem.

May: Egypt closes the Suez Canal to Israeli ships and commerce. The United States, Britain, France, and the Soviets condemn this.

May 25: The US, Britain, and France issue a Tripartite Declaration expressing their opposition to the use of force of threats between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

June: Israel is caught in a difficult position. In the UN General Assembly, a resolution is up to make sanctions against North Korea for its invasion of South Korea, acting as a proxy of Russia. Chaim Weizmann, being pro-western, supports the idea of approving the sanctions. However, Ben-Gurion and Berl Locker (Jewish Agency Executive Chairman) support the idea of voting no on it to support the Soviets and North Korea.

The day after the cabnent debate, the Knesset brings up the issue. With the vote scheduled to take place in only two days, things really heated up. Mapai's coalition was divided, with Mapai itself split 2 to 1 in favor of the Soviet position. In the end, the Knesset supported the President's pro-west stance to join in the vote 45 nations supporting sanctions upon North Korea.

From this decision, internal reports within the Kremlin begin repeating a similar phrase - "When the next issue comes, we need Israel's support". The idea was to convince Stalin that with Israel as a quasi-west state, their support would bring those moderates to their viewpoint. However, without any official action, a wave of anti-Israel propaganda ensues in the Soviet Union, with many in the press calling Israel a satellite of Western imperialism.

July 5: Israel enacts the Law of Return, which guarentees citizenship to every Jew who immigrates to Israel. It also allows for the new citizen to retain the previous nationality, if desired.

October 15: Government internal crisis begins over DBG's decision to dismantle the Ministry of Supply and Rationing and to appoint a business figire as the Minister of Commerce and Industry. These are seen as against the communist laws passed in the previous year. The United Religious Front is opposed to this, and Mapai's coalition collapses. Ben-Gurion and the government resign the next day.

President Chaim Weizmann assigns Ben-Gurion the task to form a new government.

October 19th: A minority government by DBG is rejected by the Knesset. After a week of further manuvering, Mapai joins with the Progressives and a small religious group, the Religious Council of the Yishuv to form the Second Government of Israel.

November 15: First municpal elections in Israel. Mapai drops substantially and there is a big gain for the Progressives and General Zionists.

November - December: Antisemetic disturbances occur in numourus areas in Hungary. The Communist government there drives them out of their jobs. Most are deprted to the Soviet Union.
 
As to the second thing, Palestinians left by their own means, Israel only pushed out the foreign militaries.

during the Palestinian exodus, Israel broadcast a lot of messages, Promising the Palestinians full citizenship in Israel and requesting them not to leave.
Following these broadcasts thousands of Palestinians who where packed and ready to flee, decided to stay.
 
during the Palestinian exodus, Israel broadcast a lot of messages, Promising the Palestinians full citizenship in Israel and requesting them not to leave.
Following these broadcasts thousands of Palestinians who where packed and ready to flee, decided to stay.

Yes, I know many stayed, but also many left. The balance though was higher in those who left. In either way, that aspect is the same as OTL.

As to what this timeline is to be in the next few years, it is to be David (Israel), having to battle Goliath (both the US and its allies/the west and the Soviets and other communists). Israel will have to decide which to help, and proxy politics during the Cold War will be different.
 
---1951---

February 14: Over internal conflicts, Prime Minister Ben-Gurion resigns.

April: Poland stops all emigration to Israel of its citizens. Israel condemns the decision.

May: About 14,000 Hungarian Jews from Budapest and another 8,000 from other provinces are deported to slave labor camps in Siberia. David Ben-Gurion and others send a message to the Kremlin to stop the anti-semetic actions taking place in their sphere of influence.

May 30: Several Mapai members grow disillusioned with Soviet Communism and are distressed by the growing anti-Jewish policies pursued by Stalin. However, Mapai still retains a faith in the Soviet system.

June 3: A new communist act is passed providing for a Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1955 to pass a "Communist based [new] constitution for Israel"; Mapai officially endorses the idea while religious parties condemn it.

July 30: Israel holds elections for the Second Knesset. Mapai wins 45 seats; Liberals 23 seats; the new party Mapam 15 seats; the National Religious Party 10 seats. The government is installed with David Ben-Gurion as prime minister and minister of defense.

The Liberals support a more capitalist structure and support aide from the west and an alliance with the United States. Mapam supports communism and the '55 planned convention, but would like to get alliances with the west while Mapai would like a Soviet relationship.

October 5: The U.S. gives Israel a 65 million dollar grant in aid; ten Senators meet privately with the President to try to pursuade him to forge an alliance with Israel with the growing Soviet sphere in Asia.

---1952---

February: President Truman instructs the director of the Budget to increase economic aid to Israel for the fiscal year 1953 from 25 million to 80 million Dollars.

August: Leaders of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, including famous Yiddish writers Peretz Markish, Itzik Fefer, and David Bergelson, are executed after a secret trial by the Soviet authorities. They are accused of conspiring to separate the Crimea from the Soviet Union and convert it into a Jewish bourgeois republic that would serve as a base for the Soviet Union's enemies.

The Kremlin later passes around an internal memorandum, ordering the Committee on Israel and the Jews (a committee created in 1950) to pass a recommendation for a plan to get an alliance with Israel by the '55 convention. The Committee is ordered to make a plan bt the end of the year. Stalin personally approves this.

November 9: Chaim Weizmann, first President of the State of Israel, dies.

December 10: Yitzhak Ben-Zvi elected second president of Israel by the Knesset. Ben-Zvi is a member of Mapai who is a strong advocate of a Soviet alliance, despite their anti-semetic leanings in recent years.

December 26: The Committee on Israel and the Jews reports a plan in the Kremlin. They recommend a slow steady pace of money to Israel, and slow growing relations and easing of anti-semetic actions (only starting in 1954), by the '55 convention. It recommends a formal alliance to be sent during the Convention or right before it.
 
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