Israel's Declaration of Independence

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May 8, 2025, 6:14 AM

Remembering Harry Truman: Israel and a President’s Conviction

As early as 1797, the second United States President, John Adams, supported the idea of a Jewish State in Palestine, then ruled by the Ottoman Empire, by stating “I really wish the Jews again in Judea an independent nation.” On...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Apr 30, 2025, 8:52 AM

Where did the State of Israel get its name?

The name Medinat Yisrael, The State of Israel, seems to make sense for the modern Jewish State. However, the choice of the name was not finalized until two days before the Declaration of the State in May, 1948. Suggestions for...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Apr 21, 2025, 9:59 PM

The Holocaust and the Establishment of Israel

Megillat HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Declaration of Independence, was proclaimed on May 14, 1948 by David Ben Gurion. The document begins with the history of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael (The Land of Israel), our connection to the Land in the...

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

Dec 27, 2024, 8:00 AM

From the State of Israel to the State of Judea

While we are celebrating Hanukkah today, a question arises: why isn’t the State if Israel called the “State of Judea”? Not only was the last successful Jewish war of independence led by Judah Maccabee, but the nation that earlier...

Dec 16, 2024, 7:46 AM

What my grandfather Rabbi Harry Davidowitz never told me

A street newly named for him recognizes one of the many stories I never knew, his role in writing Israel’s Declaration of Independence

Sep 29, 2024, 11:59 AM

Over 8,000 Invisible Hezbollah Rockets Fired Toward Israel?

Not exactly, it’s just that the press too often neglects to mention that Hezbollah has almost daily fired rockets at Israel ever since 10/8/2024. 8,000 missiles can’t be an oversight. What is it? You be the judge. Can you...

Aug 22, 2024, 10:49 PM

From my distant little trench!

I was born in Guatemala in 1956, 12 years after six million Jews were murdered in Europe, 11 years after World War II ended, and six years after the State of Israel declared its independence and fought its first...

Jul 30, 2024, 10:50 AM

There will always be terrorists…

Unspoken terror: photo by Shoshana Lavan

...our job is to give them what they don't want! The year is 2030. After the war ended, the international community put great pressure on the State of Israel to agree to creating a Palestinian State. Palestine has now been...

Jul 2, 2024, 8:26 PM

Three Inter-Locking Liberal Imperatives for Israel

Three Interlocking Imperatives for a Better Shared Future

Liberals committed to shaping Israel’s future as envisaged in the Declaration of Independence must urgently reclaim the meaning and purpose of Zionism. Liberally minded Diaspora Jewry everywhere must raise its voice boldly but with humility, appreciating the need to better...

May 10, 2024, 10:16 AM

Parashat Kedoshim and Yom Haatzmaut

This Shabbat we read Parashat Kedoshim and on Monday night and Tuesday we will be celebrating Yom Haatzmaut, the anniversary of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Is there a connection between the two? I believe the answer may be found in...

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