Vaad Leumi
Encyclopedia
The Jewish National Council (JNC) , also known as the Jewish People's Council was the main national institution of the Jewish community (Yishuv
) within the British Mandate of Palestine.
and the Haganah
were founded, in order to conduct Jewish communal affairs. Its first chairman was Rabbi
Abraham Isaac Kook
.
The organization represented almost all major Jewish factions, however a few smaller groups at first objected to the creation of centralized leadership. Notably, Agudat Israel
joined only in 1935. The members of the JNC also participated in meetings of the Zionist General Council.
. In the 1940s, departments for physical training, culture and press and information were added.
The report of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry
issued in 1946, stated:
When the State of Israel
was established in 1948, this departmental structure served as a basis for the government ministries. On March 2, 1948, the New Jewish Council:
On May 14, 1948, (the expiration day of the British Mandate), its members gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
and ratified the proclamation declaring the establishment of the State of Israel. The members of the JNC formed the provisional government
of the nascent State of Israel.
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
) within the British Mandate of Palestine.
History
The JNC was established in 1920, the same year as the HistadrutHistadrut
HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade unions. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.-History:The Histadrut was founded in...
and the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
were founded, in order to conduct Jewish communal affairs. Its first chairman was Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
.
The organization represented almost all major Jewish factions, however a few smaller groups at first objected to the creation of centralized leadership. Notably, Agudat Israel
Agudat Israel
Agudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...
joined only in 1935. The members of the JNC also participated in meetings of the Zionist General Council.
Role in the establishment of Israel
The Political Department of the JNC was responsible for relations with the Arabs, ties with the Jewish Agency and negotiations with the British government. As the yishuv grew, the JNC adopted more functions, such as education, health care and welfare services, internal defense and security matters, and organized recruitment to the British forces during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the 1940s, departments for physical training, culture and press and information were added.
The report of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry
Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry
The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry was a joint British and American attempt in 1946 to agree upon a policy as regards the admission of Jews to Palestine. The Committee was tasked to consult representative Arabs and Jews on the problems of Palestine, and to make other recommendations 'as may be...
issued in 1946, stated:
"The Jews have developed, under the aegis of the Jewish Agency and the JNC, a strong and tightly-woven community. There thus exists a virtual Jewish nonterritorial State with its own executive and legislative organs..."
When the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
was established in 1948, this departmental structure served as a basis for the government ministries. On March 2, 1948, the New Jewish Council:
" begins work on organization of Jewish provisional government"
On May 14, 1948, (the expiration day of the British Mandate), its members gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was established in 1932 in a building that was the home of Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art opened in 1959. The museum moved to its current location on King Saul Avenue in...
and ratified the proclamation declaring the establishment of the State of Israel. The members of the JNC formed the provisional government
Provisional government of Israel
The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed Israel from shortly before independence until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year....
of the nascent State of Israel.
Departments
- The Political Department
- The Education Department
- The Health Department
- The Communities Department
- The Rabbinate
- The Social Welfare Department
Presidents
- 1920-1929 David Yellin
- 1929-1931 Pinhas RutenbergPinhas RutenbergPinhas Rutenberg was a prominent engineer and a businessman, a Russian socialist and a Zionist leader. He played an active role in two Russian revolutions, in 1905 and 1917. During World War I, he was among the founders of the Jewish Legion and of the American Jewish Congress...
- 1939-1944 Yitzhak Ben-ZviYitzhak Ben-ZviYitzhak Ben-Zvi was a historian, Labor Zionist leader, the second and longest-serving President of Israel.-Biography:...
- 1944-1948 David RemezDavid RemezDavid Remez was an Israeli politician, the country's first Minister of Transportation, and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:...
See also
- History of IsraelHistory of IsraelThe State of Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948 after almost two millennia of Jewish dispersal and persecution around the Mediterranean. From the late 19th century the Zionist movement worked towards the goal of recreating a homeland for the Jewish people...
- Jewish Agency for IsraelJewish Agency for IsraelThe Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
- ZionismZionismZionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
- Henrietta SzoldHenrietta SzoldHenrietta Szold was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandate Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.-Biography:...
External links
- Vaad Leumi at JVL
- Country Studies Program, http://countrystudies.us/israel/16.htm at the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
- Facts About Israel-History at MFA
- The Cry of the Children in Palestine
- Between the World Wars