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Today in History: The State of Israel Is Established
05/14/10
On May 14, 1948, as thirty years of British Mandate over Palestine expired, David Ben-Gurion officially announced the establishment of the independent Jewish state of Israel. Written in the wake of the Holocaust, the Israeli Declaration of Independence emphasized the importance of creating a homeland for the world’s Jews. “The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people—the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe—was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Israel the Jewish State,” the historic document stated.
Only eleven minutes after Ben-Gurion began speaking, President Harry S. Truman issued a press release announcing U.S. recognition of Israel. The establishment of Israel met with fierce opposition in the Arab world, however. Within a few days the armies of Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria invaded the former Palestine to launch the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Read the DECLARATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
Read the PRESS RELEASE ANNOUNCING U.S. RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL