Editing Zionism (section)

=== Post-World War II ===
[[File:1948 Arab Israeli War - May 15-June 10.svg|thumb|Arab offensive at the beginning of the [[1948 Arab-Israeli war]]]]
[[File:Declaration of State of Israel 1948 2.jpg|thumb|[[David Ben-Gurion]] proclaiming Israel's establishment beneath a large portrait of Theodor Herzl]]
[[File:Op Magic Carpet (Yemenites).jpg|thumb|Yemenite Jews on their way to Israel during [[Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)|Operation Magic Carpet]]]]
Since the creation of the State of Israel, the World Zionist Organization has functioned mainly as an organization dedicated to assisting and encouraging Jews to migrate to Israel. It has provided political support for Israel in other countries but plays little role in internal Israeli politics. The movement's major success since 1948 was in providing logistical support for Jewish migrants and refugees and, most importantly, in assisting [[Soviet Jews]] in their struggle with the authorities over the right to leave the USSR and to practice their religion in freedom, and the [[Jewish exodus from Arab lands|exodus of 850,000 Jews]] from the Arab world, mostly to Israel. In 1944–45, Ben-Gurion described the [[One Million Plan]] to foreign officials as being the "primary goal and top priority of the Zionist movement."{{sfn|Hacohen|1991|p=262 #2|ps=:"In meetings with foreign officials at the end of 1944 and during 1945, Ben-Gurion cited the plan to enable one million refugees to enter Palestine immediately as the primary goal and top priority of the Zionist movement.}} The immigration restrictions of the British White Paper of 1939 meant that such a plan could not be put into large scale effect until the Israeli Declaration of Independence in May 1948. The new country's immigration policy had some opposition within the new Israeli government, such as those who argued that there was "no justification for organizing large-scale emigration among Jews whose lives were not in danger, particularly when the desire and motivation were not their own"{{sfn|Hakohen|2003|p=46|ps=: "After independence, the government presented the Knesset with a plan to double the Jewish population within four years. This meant bringing in 600,000 immigrants in a four-year period. or 150,000 per year. Absorbing 150,000 newcomers annually under the trying conditions facing the new state was a heavy burden indeed. Opponents in the Jewish Agency and the government of mass immigration argued that there was no justification for organizing large-scale emigration among Jews whose lives were not in danger, particularly when the desire and motivation were not their own."}} as well as those who argued that the absorption process caused "undue hardship".{{sfn|Hakohen|2003|p=246–247|ps=: "Both the immigrants' dependence and the circumstances of their arrival shaped the attitude of the host society. The great wave of immigration in 1948 did not occur spontaneously: it was the result of a clear-cut foreign policy decision that taxed the country financially and necessitated a major organizational effort. Many absorption activists, Jewish Agency executives, and government officials opposed unlimited, nonselective immigration; they favored a gradual process geared to the country's absorptive capacity. Throughout this period, two charges resurfaced at every public debate: one, that the absorption process caused undue hardship; two, that Israel's immigration policy was misguided."}} However, the force of Ben-Gurion's influence and insistence ensured that his immigration policy was carried out.{{sfn|Hakohen|2003|p=47|ps=: "But as head of the government, entrusted with choosing the cabinet and steering its activities, Ben-Gurion had tremendous power over the country's social development. His prestige soared to new heights after the founding of the state and the impressive victory of the IDF in the War of Independence. As prime minister and minister of defense in Israel's first administration, as well as the uncontested leader of the country's largest political party, his opinions carried enormous weight. Thus, despite resistance from some of his cabinet members, he remained unflagging in his enthusiasm for unrestricted mass immigration and resolved to put this policy into effect."}}{{sfn|Hakohen|2003|p=247|ps=: "On several occasions, resolutions were passed to limit immigration from European and Arab countries alike. However, these limits were never put into practice, mainly due to the opposition of Ben-Gurion. As a driving force in the emergency of the state, Ben-Gurion—both prime minister and minister of defense—carried enormous weight with his veto. His insistence on the right of every Jew to immigrate proved victorious. He would not allow himself to be swayed by financial or other considerations. It was he who orchestrated the large-scale action that enabled the Jews to leave Eastern Europe and Islamic countries, and it was he who effectively forged Israel's foreign policy. Through a series of clandestine activities carried out overseas by the Foreign Office, the Jewish Agency, the Mossad le-Aliyah, and the Joint Distribution Committee, the road was paved for mass immigration."}}