Israel Turns 60

A GREAT MIRACLE HAPPENED THERE - May 14, 1948 - 5 Iyar, 5708

On May 12, 1948, the provisional government of Israel voted six in favor of declaring independence to four to accept the American proposal for a truce. For security reasons, invitations to the declaration ceremony were hand delivered on the morning of May 14, and guests were told to keep the location a secret.

On May 14, at 4 pm in Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, David Ben Gurion called the meeting to order. The 250 guests spontaneously sang Hatikvah, soon to be Israel’s national anthem. On the wall behind the podium hung a picture of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, and two Israeli flags.

Ben-Gurion then read the מגילת העצמאות, (Megillat HaAtzma'ut, literally the Scroll of the Independence) the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, asked those present to rise and called on Rabbi Yehuda Fishman to recite the Shehecheyanu. The ceremony was broadcast live, the first transmission of the new radio station Kol Yisrael, (the Voice of Israel).



The United States formally recognized the State of Israel, eleven minutes after the Scroll of Independence was signed, followed by Iran (which had voted against the UN partition plan), Guatemala, Iceland, Nicaragua, Romania and Uruguay. Three days later the Soviet Union recognized Israel, followed by Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Ireland and South Africa.

Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria invaded the new State, beginning the War of Independence (Milhemet HaAtzma'ut). Fighting ended on July 24, 1949 and Israel signed an armistice agreement with Syria. Israel had not only defended it self, but increased it land area by more than 50%.

Following independence, Jews immigrated to Israel from all over the world; hundreds of thousands of survivors of the Holocaust, nearly 800,000 Jews fled Arab countries where they had lived for thousands of years. Nearly a million came from the former USSR. Operations Moses and Solomon brought more than 50,000 Jews from Ethiopia. Israel’s population in 1948 was about 600,000. Today there are 7.25 million Israeli citizens, 75 percent are Jews.

Israel is prosperous and Democratic. The one thing Israel lacks is peace. Israel won four major wars with its neighbors (1948, 1956, 1967 & 1973) but now has treaties with Jordan and Egypt. Terrorism remains an issue. Many Israelis, weary of fighting, are willing to take a risk and negotiate, hoping that once the Palestinians have their own State, they will stop the killing. Others believe that the Palestinians are not truly interested in peace and negotiate only to get concessions from Israel. Indeed, though Israel has sought peace, returning territory and allowing for Palestinian sovereignty, even arming the Palestinian police and para-military forces, terrorism has not stopped. Despite claims to the international community to the contrary, the language of Palestinian leaders, of schoolbooks, of radio and televisions shows is not of peace.

We celebrate 60 years of achievements that are nothing short of miraculous. May the next 60 years bring what Israel wants most, peace.