Answers to Yom Ha'atzma'ut Quiz
Israel was declared a state: May 14, 1948.
Israel was declared a state on 5th Iyar, 5708 - May 14, 1948. For 2000
years, following the destruction of Jewish sovereignty in Judea by the
hands of the Roman Empire, the Jewish people were scattered throughout
the world. At best they were suffered by host nations, knowing few periods
of safe autonomy; mostly they were hounded from country to country, suffering
exile and persecution that, even following the years of Enlightenment
and Emancipation in the West, culminated in the terrible atrocities of
the Holocaust. The Zionist movement, following earlier religious settlement
in the Holy Land, built a momentum of Jewish political self determination
and Aliyah to Palestine, especially before and during the British mandate
over Palestine. Despite Arab opposition and British connivance, events
culminated in the creation of the State of Israel and the fulfillment
of the historical dream of the ingathering of the exiles.
The Balfour Declaration supported: The Zionist cause.
In a letter to Lord Rothschild (November 2, 1917), British foreign secretary
Arthur James Balfour declared that the "British government favors
the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,
and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this
object." The statement was the result of long negotiations initiated
by Chaim Weizmann, Nahum Sokolov, and others at the end of 1914, supported
within the British Government and by President Wilson. It was later incorporated
into the terms of the British Mandate over Palestine within the framework
of the League of Nations.
Aliyah Bet was: Illegal immigration to Palestine.
During the Mandate period in Palestine, and in the face of Arab pressure,
the British issued the infamous White Paper of 1939 restricting Jewish
land purchase and the numbers of Jewish immigrants to Palestine. Aliyah
Bet referred to the clandestine immigration of Jews to Eretz Yisrael during
this period in which thousands of Jews - including many Holocaust survivors
- arrived in Palestine, largely in unseaworthy boats and at great risk
of capture and internment. The Story of the vessel Exodus, whose 'passengers'
were attacked and returned to the shores of Europe, is probably the best
known episode of this illegal Aliyah.
The UN vote, 29th November 1947: Accepted the Partition Plan.
In the light of the tragedy of the displaced refugees and disturbances
in Palestine in the post-War years, the United Nations was charged with
coming up with a solution. They finally recommended partition of Palestine
into two states, one Jewish, one Arab. The Arabs basically rejected the
plan; the Jews accepted it, even though it gave them untenable enclaves
in Arab territory and a commitment to subsidize the Arab state! After
unbelievable pressure by both parties, particularly on Britain, the USSR
and the U.S., the vote was passed in the UN on 29th Nov, 1947, by 33 to
13. Arab resistance began at once, as did British non-cooperation.
David Ben Gurion was: Head of Provisional State Council Leadership.
David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, had an impressive career
as a statesman in the embattled Jewish community of Palestine in the pre-State
days, including positions as founder of the Achdut Avodah workers' party
and chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive. BG also headed the Minhelet
Ha'am, the leadership division of the Provisional State Council that proclaimed
the birth of the State of Israel, largely at his initiative and despite
the acute military risks of doing so. In proclaiming the new State of
Israel - on the day the British flag was lowered in Palestine - BG underscored
its legal and moral foundations, its democratic character and the right
of all Jews to return to Israel.
In the War of Independence: Jews from Gush Etzion were captured.
In the days preceding the Declaration of Independence, British indifference
made it easier for the Arab marauders to attack Jewish settlements, fire
on vehicles and carry out acts of terrorism in populated Jewish areas.
The Jewish population resorted to traveling in convoys but they were killed
daily. The Haganah and Irgun Zvai Le'umi, the two 'underground' Jewish
armies, thus fought both Arab and British antagonists. On May 4, 1948,
the Arabs attacked the southern flank of Jerusalem, the Gush Etzion settlements
on the road to Hebron, wiping out the defenders of four settlements and
taking 320 settlers into captivity.
(Psalm 126)When the Lord brought back the Returnees to Zion: "We
were like dreamers."
The longing for Zion finds expression in Jewish literature from the Bible
to Modern Hebrew poetry.
Here the Psalmist is relating to the fact that the supposedly unobtainable
was achieved; the psalm is a note of present and future thanks for Deliverance.
The defeat of the overwhelming force of seven Arab armies in the War of
Independence (which began in full force after the Declaration of Independence),
and subsequent victories during Israel's 50+ years, seem to be nothing
short of a miracle and worthy of thanksgiving.
(Herzl) If you will it: "It is no dream."
Binyamin Zev Herzl has been called the Father of Modern Zionism. As an
Austrian journalist he witnessed the French anti-Semitic show trial of
Dreyfus in 1894, and later wrote in Der Judenstaat that only a Jewish
state would free Jews from such oppression. As president of the World
Zionist Organization, Herzl worked strenuously for a Jewish state, against
not a little opposition. In his novel Altneuland, he envisioned such a
state in the Land of Israel. There he wrote: "If you wish it, it
is no dream."
In Israel, Yom Ha'atzma'ut is: A national holiday.
Independence Day in Israel is preceded by Yom Hazikaron, a national day
of remembrance for the fallen in its defense and by the hands of terrorists,
that is marked by national ceremonies and periods of silence. Surprisingly,
Israelis are still searching for a traditional way to celebrate Independence
Day. In recent years the emphasis on military parades has been withdrawn,
and during this national holiday, Israelis tend to go on family picnics,
visit the battle sites, and fill the streets with festivities. Some religious
Jews offer special prayers of thanks and the opportunity is also taken
to hold the International Bible Quiz on Yom Ha'atzma'ut.
Olive branches in the State symbol: Signify 'Government', 'Jewish tradition'
and 'Peace'.
The official symbol of Israel is a 7-branched menorah (candelabra) surrounded
by two olive branches with the word 'Israel' below. Its roots are found
in the prophecy of Zecharia (4:11) where the branches symbolize King and
High Priest anointed with olive oil. Today, it is said, they stand for
'government' and 'Jewish tradition,' while the olive branch itself symbolizes
peace. The menorah, recalling the Temple, is a symbol of the freedom and
self-determination of the Jewish people to express its spirituality and
sovereign rights in its own land.
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