Before 1948, the Yishuv built elected representative bodies, a Jewish Agency, labor and health services, schools, and a defense organization. These institutions coordinated community life and prepared leaders and personnel for statehood, though they did not amount to a complete sovereign government.
Representative and civic institutions
The Assembly of Representatives elected the Va’ad Leumi, or National Council, which represented the Jewish community in dealings with the British administration and helped oversee communal services. The Jewish Agency connected the Yishuv with the wider Zionist movement and handled immigration and community development. The Histadrut, founded in 1920, developed as a labor federation with a broad network of economic and social services. The Anglo-American Committee’s account describes the Jewish community’s organized institutions, while the U.S. Office of the Historian identifies David Ben-Gurion as head of the Jewish Agency at independence.
How the Haganah grew
Founded in 1920, the Haganah began as a network of local defense groups. After the 1929 riots it expanded training, central coordination and arms depots. During World War II, its members also cooperated with Britain against the Axis while maintaining the organization’s independent capacity. In 1941, the Haganah formed the Palmach as an elite force. Its military structure became a foundation of Israel’s armed forces: on May 26, 1948, the Provisional Government decided to transform it into the Israel Defense Forces. The Haganah history traces these stages; the history of Jewish defense organizations describes the organization’s relationship to elected communal leadership.
These bodies helped the Yishuv mobilize people and services through the transition to independence. They also faced internal divisions over armed tactics, covered in the account of resistance to British rule.