The political development in Palestine in 1947 was marked by a spiral of violence and reprisals. The film from the newsreel Universal News March 1947 shows the departure of Jews to Europe, the arrival of the ship Chaim Arlosoroff (original name Ulua) in Haifa. And the severe bomb attack on the Barclays Bank in Haifa (28.2.1947) and the Goldsmith officers club in Jerusalem (1.3.1947). Finally we see raids by the British military and the arrest of Jews.

The news agency UPI reports on 28 February

JERUSALEM, 28 February 1947 (UP) A series of violent explosions shook the port area of Haifa today after a refugee ship carrying 1,350 non-certified immigrants landed off the nearby Palestinian coast. Two Jews were killed and a British soldier and a Transjordan Border Guard man were seriously wounded when explosives destroyed the Barclay’s Bank security zones in the heart of the Haifa port area. A series of three bombs or landmines exploded on the expected arrival of the refugee ship Haim Arlosorov in the port of Haifa.

Bomb attacks

On 1 March 1947, the Jewish Jerusalem Fighting Force bombed the British Officers’ Club in the Goldsmith’s House in Jerusalem, causing 18 deaths and 25 injuries. Jewish terrorists dressed in British uniforms filled the club with machine gun fire and detonated three backpacks of bombs in the entrance of the building, which severely damaged the building.

The road to independence

The increasing violence prompted the British government to give up its mandate over Palestine and withdraw its troops a year later. From May 1947, the status of Palestine is negotiated at the UN. On 29 November 1947, Resolution 181 (II) is adopted by the UN General Assembly. The resolution contains a plan for the partition of Palestine. In 1948 the British gave up their mandate and the State of Israel was founded, followed by the War of Independence.