Yom Ha'atzmaut: Israel's Independence Day

Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, is May 10, 2011, which is 5 Iyar 5771 on the Hebrew calendar.

The 5 Iyar, 5708, was the Hebrew date of the re-establishment of the State of Israel, 63-years-ago.  The corresponding date on the Roman calender is May 14, 1948.  The declaration of the State of Israel was authorized by Great Britain in 1917, under the British Mandate.

The British Mandate included the West Bank of the Jordan River all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the landmass on the East Bank of the Jordan River, an area known as Trans-Jordan. The British held sovereign control of this region and re-named it “Palestine.”

The name Palestine was coined by the Romans after their destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, which they re-named Aelia Capitolina.  The Jewish people were dispersed from their ancient homeland by the Babylonians is 597 CE, knows as the Disporia.

Israeli Statehood was declared by future Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, one day before the end of the British Mandate of Palestine, which was due to end on May 15, 1948, thus ending British control of the region. The new State was quickly recognized by the Soviet Union, the United States, and many other countries, but not by the surrounding Arab states.

Their Arab neighbors launched an aggressive campaign against the newborn Jewish state to eliminate them.  This became known as the War of Independence.  The Arab coalition was defeated by the Jews.

The Arab nations surrounding Israel today are still trying to figure out a way to get rid of the Jewish nation. They have failed time-and-time again, yet they refuse to acknowledge the Jewish State.  How can we expect them to live peaceably with the Jews in a Palestinian state?

This Yom Ha'atzmaut, may we remember the State of Israel, and God's miracle that explains her existence.

Mazel Tov Ysrael,
Dawn 

http://bit.ly/kxhFel