12 February –
Avraham Stern, the leader of the
Lehi underground Zionist group, is assassinated by British Intelligence officers, who storm the
Tel Aviv apartment in which he is hiding, tie him up and shoot him.
24 February –
MV Struma, carrying Jewish refugees from
Axis-allied
Romania to Palestine, is
torpedoed and sunk by the
Shch-213, killing at least 768 civilians, and possibly as many as 791, of whom 785 were Jews.
6–11 May – The
Biltmore Conference, held in New York City at the prestigious
Biltmore Hotel with 600 delegates and Zionist leaders from 18 countries attending, makes a fundamental departure from traditional Zionist policy and demands "that Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth" (state), rather than a "homeland." This sets the ultimate aim of the movement.
2 August – The British form the
Palestine Regiment, consisting of one Arab and three Jewish battalions. Initially, the Regiment is principally involved in guard duties in
Egypt and
North Africa. The British also want it to undermine efforts of Hajj
Amin al-Husayni, who is working to obtain Arab support for the
Axis Powers against the
Allies.