May 14, 1948: Israel Declares Its Independence

Ben-Gurion reads the Declaration

May 14, 1948: With the British Mandate of Palestine expiring, the State of Israel declares its independence. On the Hebrew calendar, it was 5 Iyar 5708, and so, every year, on 5 Iyar -- which is not necessarily on May 14, and is usually earlier on the Gregorian calendar -- the nation celebrates its independence.

As shown in the photograph above, the Declaration was proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization. When the country had its 1st election the following year, he was elected its 1st Prime Minister.

The announcement took effect at midnight, Tel Aviv time, when the Mandate expired. At exactly that time, a Zionist delegate took the podium at the United Nations -- then in a temporary headquarters in the New York suburb of Lake Success, Long Island, before the East Side headquarters opened in 1951 -- and made the announcement.

The Declaration was signed while a civil war was being fought between the Jewish and Arab populations of the Mandate. Once it took effect, the neighboring nations of Egypt, Jordan and Syria attacked, and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War began.

The minutes passed. The tension mounted. What would happen if nobody recognized the new nation? What would happen if America did, and the Soviet Union didn't? Or, considerably less likely (since the Soviets were already supporting insurgents in the Arab nations in question), the other way around?

Eleven minutes in, having gotten the order from President Harry S Truman, the American representative, Warren Austin, took the podium, and announced that the United States recognized the State of Israel. In what now looks like a retroactive irony, the 2nd nation to do so was Iran. Actually, it was kind of ironic at the time, since Britain, which had just lost control of the land that became Israel, was then heavily influential in Iran. Five more nations recognized Israel that day.

On May 17, the Soviet Union followed suit. With both of the 2 major powers of the time recognizing Israel, it was clear that the Arabs couldn't count on either one to help.

Somehow, tiny Israel fought all 3 of these much larger countries off, and on July 24, 1949, an armistice was signed.

Despite the worst efforts of Egypt until 1973, "the Palestinians" since 1970, Jordan until 1994, Iran since 1979, Syria throughout, and anti-Semites all over the world throughout, Israel stands as a Jewish state, one that gives the Arab people living within its borders more rights than any nation ruled by Arabs.