1948 : STATE OF ISRAEL PROCLAIMED:
On May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion
proclaims the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in
2,000 years. In an afternoon ceremony at the Tel Aviv Art Museum,
Ben-Gurion pronounced the words "We hereby proclaim the establishment
of the Jewish state in Palestine, to be called Israel," prompting
applause and tears from the crowd gathered at the museum. Ben-Gurion
became Israel's first premier.
In the distance, the rumble of guns could be heard from fighting that
broke out between Jews and Arabs immediately following the British
army withdrawal earlier that day. Egypt launched an air assault
against Israel that evening. Despite a blackout in Tel Aviv--and the
expected Arab invasion--Jews joyously celebrated the birth of their
new nation, especially after word was received that the United States
had recognized the Jewish state. At midnight, the State of Israel
officially came into being upon termination of the British mandate in
Palestine.
Modern Israel has its origins in the Zionism movement, established in
the late 19th century by Jews in the Russian Empire who called for the
establishment of a territorial Jewish state after enduring
persecution. In 1896, Jewish-Austrian journalist Theodor Herzl
published an influential political pamphlet called The Jewish State,
which argued that the establishment of a Jewish state was the only way
of protecting Jews from anti-Semitism. Herzl became the leader of
Zionism, convening the first Zionist Congress in Switzerland in 1897.
Ottoman-controlled Palestine, the original home of the Jews, was
chosen as the most desirable location for a Jewish state, and Herzl
unsuccessfully petitioned the Ottoman government for a charter.
After the failed Russian Revolution of 1905, growing numbers of
Eastern European and Russian Jews began to immigrate to Palestine,
joining the few thousand Jews who had arrived earlier. The Jewish
settlers insisted on the use of Hebrew as their spoken language. With
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Britain took
over Palestine. In 1917, Britain issued the "Balfour Declaration,"
which declared its intent to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Although protested by the Arab states, the Balfour Declaration was
included in the British mandate over Palestine, which was authorized
by the League of Nations in 1922. Because of Arab opposition to the
establishment of any Jewish state in Palestine, British rule continued
throughout the 1920s and '30s.
Beginning in 1929, Arabs and Jews openly fought in Palestine, and
Britain attempted to limit Jewish immigration as a means of appeasing
the Arabs. As a result of the Holocaust in Europe, many Jews illegally
entered Palestine during World War II. Radical Jewish groups employed
terrorism against British forces in Palestine, which they thought had
betrayed the Zionist cause. At the end of World War II, in 1945, the
United States took up the Zionist cause. Britain, unable to find a
practical solution, referred the problem to the United Nations, which
in November 1947 voted to partition Palestine.
The Jews were to possess more than half of Palestine, although they
made up less than half of Palestine's population. The Palestinian
Arabs, aided by volunteers from other countries, fought the Zionist
forces, but by May 14, 1948, the Jews had secured full control of
their U.N.-allocated share of Palestine and also some Arab territory.
On May 14, Britain withdrew with the expiration of its mandate, and
the State of Israel was proclaimed. The next day, forces from Egypt,
Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded.
The Israelis, though less well equipped, managed to fight off the
Arabs and then seize key territory, such as Galilee, the Palestinian
coast, and a strip of territory connecting the coastal region to the
western section of Jerusalem. In 1949, U.N.-brokered cease-fires left
the State of Israel in permanent control of this conquered territory.
The departure of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs from
Israel during the war left the country with a substantial Jewish
majority.
During the third Arab-Israeli conflict--the Six-Day War of
1967--Israel again greatly increased its borders, capturing from
Jordan, Egypt, and Syria the Old City of Jerusalem, the Sinai
Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. In
1979, Israel and Egypt signed an historic peace agreement in which
Israel returned the Sinai in exchange for Egyptian recognition and
peace. Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed a
major peace accord in 1993, which envisioned the gradual
implementation of Palestinian self-government in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process moved slowly,
however, and in 2000 major fighting between Israelis and Palestinians
resumed in Israel and the occupied territories.
history.com/tdih.do
1796 : Jenner tests smallpox vaccine
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4998
1804 : Lewis and Clark depart
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4999
1904 : First American Olympiad
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5000
1973 : Skylab launched
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5001
#############################################
On May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion
proclaims the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in
2,000 years. In an afternoon ceremony at the Tel Aviv Art Museum,
Ben-Gurion pronounced the words "We hereby proclaim the establishment
of the Jewish state in Palestine, to be called Israel," prompting
applause and tears from the crowd gathered at the museum. Ben-Gurion
became Israel's first premier.
In the distance, the rumble of guns could be heard from fighting that
broke out between Jews and Arabs immediately following the British
army withdrawal earlier that day. Egypt launched an air assault
against Israel that evening. Despite a blackout in Tel Aviv--and the
expected Arab invasion--Jews joyously celebrated the birth of their
new nation, especially after word was received that the United States
had recognized the Jewish state. At midnight, the State of Israel
officially came into being upon termination of the British mandate in
Palestine.
Modern Israel has its origins in the Zionism movement, established in
the late 19th century by Jews in the Russian Empire who called for the
establishment of a territorial Jewish state after enduring
persecution. In 1896, Jewish-Austrian journalist Theodor Herzl
published an influential political pamphlet called The Jewish State,
which argued that the establishment of a Jewish state was the only way
of protecting Jews from anti-Semitism. Herzl became the leader of
Zionism, convening the first Zionist Congress in Switzerland in 1897.
Ottoman-controlled Palestine, the original home of the Jews, was
chosen as the most desirable location for a Jewish state, and Herzl
unsuccessfully petitioned the Ottoman government for a charter.
After the failed Russian Revolution of 1905, growing numbers of
Eastern European and Russian Jews began to immigrate to Palestine,
joining the few thousand Jews who had arrived earlier. The Jewish
settlers insisted on the use of Hebrew as their spoken language. With
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Britain took
over Palestine. In 1917, Britain issued the "Balfour Declaration,"
which declared its intent to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Although protested by the Arab states, the Balfour Declaration was
included in the British mandate over Palestine, which was authorized
by the League of Nations in 1922. Because of Arab opposition to the
establishment of any Jewish state in Palestine, British rule continued
throughout the 1920s and '30s.
Beginning in 1929, Arabs and Jews openly fought in Palestine, and
Britain attempted to limit Jewish immigration as a means of appeasing
the Arabs. As a result of the Holocaust in Europe, many Jews illegally
entered Palestine during World War II. Radical Jewish groups employed
terrorism against British forces in Palestine, which they thought had
betrayed the Zionist cause. At the end of World War II, in 1945, the
United States took up the Zionist cause. Britain, unable to find a
practical solution, referred the problem to the United Nations, which
in November 1947 voted to partition Palestine.
The Jews were to possess more than half of Palestine, although they
made up less than half of Palestine's population. The Palestinian
Arabs, aided by volunteers from other countries, fought the Zionist
forces, but by May 14, 1948, the Jews had secured full control of
their U.N.-allocated share of Palestine and also some Arab territory.
On May 14, Britain withdrew with the expiration of its mandate, and
the State of Israel was proclaimed. The next day, forces from Egypt,
Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded.
The Israelis, though less well equipped, managed to fight off the
Arabs and then seize key territory, such as Galilee, the Palestinian
coast, and a strip of territory connecting the coastal region to the
western section of Jerusalem. In 1949, U.N.-brokered cease-fires left
the State of Israel in permanent control of this conquered territory.
The departure of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs from
Israel during the war left the country with a substantial Jewish
majority.
During the third Arab-Israeli conflict--the Six-Day War of
1967--Israel again greatly increased its borders, capturing from
Jordan, Egypt, and Syria the Old City of Jerusalem, the Sinai
Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. In
1979, Israel and Egypt signed an historic peace agreement in which
Israel returned the Sinai in exchange for Egyptian recognition and
peace. Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed a
major peace accord in 1993, which envisioned the gradual
implementation of Palestinian self-government in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process moved slowly,
however, and in 2000 major fighting between Israelis and Palestinians
resumed in Israel and the occupied territories.
history.com/tdih.do
1796 : Jenner tests smallpox vaccine
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4998
1804 : Lewis and Clark depart
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4999
1904 : First American Olympiad
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5000
1973 : Skylab launched
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5001
#############################################
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