 His attempts to reduce the number of Mapam members in the senior ranks led to the "Generals' Revolt" in June 1948.As head of the Jewish Agency from 1935, Ben-Gurion was de facto leader of the Jewish population even before the state was declared.In this position, Ben-Gurion played a major role in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War When the IDF archives and others were opened in the late 1980s, scholars started to reconsider the events and the role of Ben-Gurion.