ABSTRACT
At the end of the Second World War, the Zionists were more militant than ever. Zionist leaders such as Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion expected an “open gate” immigration policy after the Holocaust and in light of the Jewish support for the British and Allied war effort. This expectation was belied by the British Labour Party’s shift from a pro-to an anti-Zionist stance. The Zionists’ disappointment was aggravated by the plight of Jewish displaced persons (DPs), 100,000 of whom the British denied entry into Palestine. The growing sense of urgency, prompted by the clear intent of the British government not to allow these Jews into Palestine, led militant Zionists such as Jabotinsky in a more radical, proactive direction.
