The 1950s saw the establishment of ’tent cities’ for new immigrants while new homes were being built. Many immigrants came from the Islamic world and the Communist bloc rather than the United States and the West in general.

In the Soviet Union, Stalin who had originally supported the establishment of Israel launched a campaign against Jews within the Communist bloc which culminated in several show trials and the Doctors Plot of 1953 in which mainly Jewish physicians were accused of poisoning the leaders of the Kremlin.

The Egyptian revolution which saw the overthrow of the monarchy gained the support of the USSR and the influx of arms. The Suez war of 1956 was launched by Israel in collusion with Britain and France, following the Egyptian nationalisation of the Suez Canal. American opposition ended the British and French presence and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.