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 –, carrying Jewish refugees from Axis-allied Romania to Palestine, is torpedoed and sunk by the, 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.
