Karen Schmelter, age 15, of Nashville, Tenn.
WHEN WAS THE NATION OF ISRAEL CREATED?
Israel came into existence on May 14, 1948. The first prime minister was a leader named David Ben Gurion.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to end British control of Palestine and divide the country into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews agreed to the UN plan but the Arabs wanted all Palestine to be an Arab state. Six months later the new nation was born.
The small new nation on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea was founded as a homeland for Jews from all parts of the world. Most of the people of Israel are Jews although about half of them were born in other countries.
Israel makes up most of the region once called Palestine, the Holy Land of the Bible. In ancient times, the Jews built a nation there, but Palestine fell to a series of conquerors. By the A.D. 200s, most of the Jews had settled outside the region.
Palestine later become an Arab territory, and then a Turkish one, though Jews continued to live there. In 1918, during World War I, Palestine came under the control of Great Britain.
For many Jews in all parts of the world, the establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine provided them with a place to escape from the religious persecution they often faced in other lands.
During the late 1800s, in the hope of establishing such a nation, Jewish immigrants began arriving in Palestine. They drained swamps, irrigated deserts, sank wells and planted forests. Farm land was developed and settlements grew as useless land became fertile.
By 1948, the Jews had become strong enough to declare Israel independent.
After the birth of Israel, the people improved the land even further. Schools, factories and towns were built. Manufacturing became a leading source of income.
Today, Israel is the most advanced country in the Middle East.
Unfortunately, prosperity and independence have not brought peace and security to Israel. The Arab nations along Israel's borders continue to bitterly oppose the creation of Israel because they want all Palestine to be an Arab land.
The Arabs invaded the Jewish state the day after it was established, but the Israelis defeated them. The Arabs still did not accept Israel, and pledged to destroy it.
There were Arab Israeli wars in 1956, 1967 and 1973. Clashes continue to this day.
Israel is a democratic republic. An elected parliament has the highest political power. There is no constitution. The government is based on a series of laws passed by the parliament.
Israel took much of its system of law from Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire, now Turkey. Israeli law is based largely on British common law, on which United States law is also based.
Parliament, called the Knesset, has 120 members who are elected to four year terms.