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| 1948–49 |
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| Flight of approximately 750,000 Arabs from Israeli territory to surrounding Arab countries. | 1 |
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| 1948–51 |
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| Seven hundred thousand immigrants arrived in Israel, mostly from Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East. Over the following 40 years, 1951–91, over 1 million more immigrants entered Israel. Nearly half of those who arrived after Israeli independence came from Asia or Africa, a far higher percentage than during the interwar period. Ultimately this shift in immigration gave non-Western Jews a greater prominence in Israeli society. | 2 |
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| 1948–70 |
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| AN ECONOMIC BOOM gave Israel the most prosperous economy in the Middle East. During this period, the GNP rose at an average rate of 10 percent per year, and economic growth was steady, at about 5 percent per year. Outside contributions were a major factor in Israel's extraordinary performance and provided nearly all of the funds available for investment (representing about one-quarter of national income annually). Up to 1967, Israel received about $200 million every year from donations and foreign aid. The figure jumped to $700 million per year during 1967–73. The large influx of immigrants, which kept wages low and the demand for goods and services high, was another stimulus to economic growth. Israel was also blessed with an abundance of highly skilled and educated workers, who boosted the productivity of the economy. | 3 |
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| 1949 |
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| Meeting of the National Constituent Assembly, which set up the Israeli political system. The assembly chose not to adopt a constitution, passing only a few founding laws. The major institution was the KNESSET, the 120-seat parliament that selected the prime minister and effectively held power. The presidency was a ceremonial office. Voters cast ballots for party lists rather than individual candidates. Seats in the Knesset were then distributed to parties according to their percentage of the national vote. All parties that received at least 1 percent of the vote were entitled to representation. Under such a system, all governments were necessarily coalitions. | 4 |
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| Jan. 25 |
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| Victory of THE MAPAI PARTY in Israel's first national elections. DAVID BEN-GURION became the first prime minister. He occupied the office for the next 14 years (except for one brief interlude, 1954–55). Until his retirement in 1963, he was unquestionably the most important figure on the political scene. His Mapai Party (founded in 1930) modeled itself after the socialist parties of Western Europe. | 5 |
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