Trials and Tribulations of Israel Getting Here Today

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

When I was 13 years old,   there is one country in the world that was created for Jewish people.   Early Zionist leaders like Theodor Herzl believed a Jewish state was essential for Jewish safety and self-determination. 

Centuries of Persecution and then the Holocaust: Jews had faced centuries of antisemitism and violence in Europe, culminating in the horrific Holocaust of World War II, where six million Jews were systematically murdered. This genocide underscored, for many, the urgent need for a safe homeland where Jews could live securely and independently.  This had started in Germany with Hitler in the 1930s and finally ended in 1945.  

British Mandate for Palestine: After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Britain was granted a League of Nations mandate to administer Palestine. The Balfour Declaration of 1917, incorporated into the mandate, expressed British support for establishing a Jewish national home in Palestine. This created a complex situation with competing promises made to both Jewish and Arab populations in the region.                                       

Roosevelt also sought to convince the public that an international organization was the best means to prevent future wars. The Senate approved the UN Charter on July 28, 1945, by a vote of 89 to 2. The United Nations came into existence on October 24, 1945, after 29 nations had ratified the Charter.

  Golda Meir:  Golda Meyerson (1898-1978) Born in Russia, immigrated to US when a child, settled in Palestine (name change from Judah in 135 CE) in 1921.  Was Labor Zionist, in Histadrut and Jewish Agency.  1st Israel minister to the USSR.  In Knesset since 1949, 1969 became Prime Minister-position during YOM KIPPUR WAR.   Reelected at the end of 1973 but retired in 1974;  wrote MY LIFE.  

It was because of this that Israel was created on May  14, 1948.   Four months later I was 14.  I had high hopes for the world.  

On May 14, 1948, the Jewish population of the newly declared State of Israel was approximately 630,000. This constituted about a third of the total population at the time. The total population of the area that became Israel is estimated to have been around 1,764,520. This included Muslims, Christians, and others, in addition to the Jewish population.

Moses took a census at the beginning of 40 year Exodus and had 603,550to start, but only 601,730 at the end of the 40 years.  Jewish historical tradition places the Exodus from Egypt at 1446 BCE. This date is derived from the biblical account in 1 Kings 6:1, which states that the Exodus occurred 480 years before the start of the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Since the Temple's construction began in 967 BCE, this calculation points to 1446 BCE as the year of the Exodus. Some scholars also use the book of Jubilees and Judges 11:26, which independently support the 1446 BC date and the 1406 BCE date for the beginning of the conquest of Canaan.   

So the Exodus with Moses in Egypt started in 1446 BCE and ended 40 years later in 1406 BCE.  It's taken us from 1406 BCE to 1948 ; 3,354 years  to have the same population that Moses had and better it by 38,270 population. 

Today, the population is  estimated to be around 10.1 million people, with approximately 77.6% being Jewish (including those in the "other" category) and 21% being Arab. The remaining 2% are categorized as "other," which includes non-Arab Christians, Baha'i, Samaritans, and others who identify as Jewish but don't meet the Orthodox definition used for civil procedures. 

Our Jewish country was started by our Israelite ancestors with King Saul, King David and his son following who was King Solomon.  When he died,his Kingdom of Israel split into Israel and Judah with Judah keeping Jerusalem.  The House of David continued until King Zedekiah of Judah (597-586 BCE).

Everyone has wanted to "OWN" ISRAEL.  

Assyrians, Babylonians, Persian, Greek, and then Roman Empires.

After the Roman Empire, the territory of Judah (part of the Byzantine Empire at the time) was successively invaded and held by the following powers:

• Sasanian Empire (614-628 CE): The Sasanian Persians, allied with Jewish rebels, conquered Jerusalem during the Byzantine-Sasanian War. Jerusalem was recaptured by the Byzantines in 629 CE.
• Rashidun Caliphate (637-638 CE): The Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate under the command of Caliph Umar conquered Jerusalem from the Byzantines.
• Umayyad Dynasty (660-750 CE): Jerusalem flourished under the Umayyad dynasty, who made it a Muslim religious center and built the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.
• Abbasid Dynasty (750-969 CE): The Abbasids, based in Baghdad, took over from the Umayyads, according to Fanack.
• Fatimid Dynasty (969-1073 CE): The Fatimids, a Shi'a Caliphate from North Africa, conquered Egypt and subsequently Palestine.
• Seljuk Turks (1073-1098 CE): The Seljuk Turks took control of Jerusalem from the Fatimids.
• Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099-1187 CE): Following the First Crusade, Christian rulers established the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which controlled Jerusalem and much of Palestine for nearly a century.
• Ayyubid Sultanate (1187-1229 CE and 1244 CE): Saladin's forces defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin, ending the first Kingdom of Jerusalem and placing most of Palestine under Ayyubid control. Jerusalem was briefly retaken by the Second Kingdom of Jerusalem (ruled from Acre) through diplomacy in 1229 but fell back to the Ayyubids in 1244.
• Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517 CE): The Mamluks, a military caste that overthrew the Ayyubids in Egypt, expanded their rule to include Palestine and held it until the Ottoman conquest.
• Ottoman Empire (1516-1917 CE): The Ottomans conquered Palestine from the Mamluks, initiating a period of rule that lasted for four centuries. This era ended during World War I with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. 
  
• World War I from 1914 to 1917 saw the Ottoman Empire side with the Axis -mainly Germany, a wrong decision, and they lost almost all their land but was able to keep Turkey. 
  
  
  
• Now Israelis have shared Gaza, a former section of Israel that the Philistines had once occupied, with our surrounding Arab neighbors who poured in like syrup seeking French Toast, and think they should own the whole section of land.  Again, Israelis, descendants of the ancient Israelites, are fighting to keep what they have created, this time out of the wasted deserted land that no one kept up, land waiting for its Jews to return;  land that become either swampland full of mosquitoes or desert land.  This time Jews (from Judah) are not leaving;  Romans are not here anymore;  and Jews have turned into warriors as well as scholars.  Israel will not make this mistake again of sharing land with people who have refused to change from never accepting Israel and live in peace  with them.  
• Resource:
• https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/muslim-population-by-country 
• https://biblearchaeology.org/research/exodus-from-egypt/2954-the-biblical-date-for-the-exodus-is-1446-bc-a-response-to-james-hoffmeier#:~:text=Home%20%C2%BB%20Research%20%C2%BB%20Latest%20Research%20Articles,el%2DMaqatir)%20and%20Hazor.
• https://brainly.com/question/43513626
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasanian_conquest_of_Jerusalem#:~:text=The%20Sasanian%20conquest%20of%20Jerusalem,Disputed
• https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/postwar-refugee-crisis-and-the-establishment-of-the-state-of-srael#:~:text=In%20the%20aftermath%20of%20this,longer%20be%20a%20vulnerable%20minority.
• https://www.google.com/search?q=United+Nations+was+created+when%3F&sca_esv=1b48caf93e236e97&sxsrf=AE3TifMuZe1NN_6KQ0OrDaTjiKiJI-D5Sw%3A1755298170903&source=hp&ei=ermfaOCJNd-F0PEPt731kAI&iflsig=AOw8s4IAAAAAaJ_Hig5wXX