Celebrating 60 Years

Israel and the American Cyrus

Recognizing Israel Promptly May 14, 19486:11 pm EST

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept,

when we remembered Zion.”

The President insisted that the Old Testament had made a commitment to the Jewish people that

someday they would have a homeland of their own.

“I had faith in Israel even before it was established. I knew it was based on the love of freedom, which has been the guiding star of the Jewish people since the days of Moses.”

Israel has been a sacred

place for Jewish people since

biblical times. According to the Torah, it was a land

promised by God to Jews as

their homeland.

The reason for the mass migration of Jews was due to the Russian persecution of Jews.

When the czar Alexander II of Russia was assassinated, the Jews were blamed, and many settlement options were taken away from them.

Czar Alexander II

Between the years of 1904 and 1914, the Second Aliyah took place. This was an event in which approximately 40,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine. Most of these Jews came from Russia and Poland.

During World War I, British

Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued

the Balfour Declaration.

This document viewed with

favor the establishment of

Palestine becoming a

national home for the Jewish

people.

The Jewish Legion, a battalion composed of Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British conquest of Palestine. When the Arabs opposed the plan, the 1920 Palestine riots began. This led to the formation of the Jewish group known as Haganah, or the defense in Hebrew.

In 1922, the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom a mandate over Palestine. They stated it would “secure the establishment of the Jewish national home.”

The League of Nations

Jewish immigration continued with the Third and Fourth Aliyah between the years of 1919 and 1929. During this period of time 100,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine.

The British Mandate of Palestine, or the Mandate of Palestine, was international recognition for establishing Palestine as a national home for Jewish people. The mandate began in 1920.

The Jaffa Riots were the riots and killings between the Arabs and the Jews in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1921 between May 1st and May 7th. These riots resulted in the death of 47 Jews, 48 Arabs, and also left 146 Jews and 73 Arabs injured.

The rise of Nazism in Europe led to the Fifth Aliyah, which resulted in the influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This great influx led to the Arab Revolt of 1936 – 1939. With many countries turning down Jews who were fleeing the Holocaust, the Aliyah Bet was organized to bring Jews to Palestine.

The Aliyah Bet was the code name given to illegal immigration of Jews to the British Mandate of Palestine against British laws forbidding immigration. This helped Jews escaping Europe during the Holocaust.

At the end of World War II in 1945, Jews made up 33 % of Palestine’s population. This was up from the 11 % that populated the area in 1922.

After 1945, the United Kingdom became increasingly violent with the Jews. In 1947, the British government withdrew from the Mandate of Palestine stating that they were unable to find a solution between the Jews and Arabs conflicts over Palestine.

The United Nations, on November 29, 1947, approved the UN Partition Plan. This divided Israel in two, one side for the Jews, the other for the Arabs. Jerusalem was to be international city.

On May 12th, 1948 at a meeting in the Oval Office, President Harry Truman stated that the Middle

East was a place of no democratic government. He felt that if Israel

was recognized as a country, it could be a place of such

government.

On May 14, 1948 the State of Israel was proclaimed. This was one day before the Mandate of Palestine expired..

Recognizing Israel Promptly May 14, 19486:11 pm EST