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Israeli independence

FILE: With the Dome of the Rock on the right, an Israeli man covered in a flag watches Israelis wave the national flag as they march in the Jerusalem Day parade in Jerusalem's Old City, June 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
May 1, 2025, 8:05 pm
Jewish state or state of the Jews? How Israel’s independence sparked an identity conflict
In his book ‘To Be a Jewish State,’ Oxford professor Yaacov Yadgar raises provocative questions in the context of the old-new arguments about national and religious identity
By Rich Tenorio
Left: Conservative Rabbi Shalom Tzvi (Harry) Davidowitz (public domain); right: From right to left, Rabbi Mauricio Balter, executive director of Masorti Olami, Dr. Yizhar Hess, Rabbi Ashira Konigsberg, Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, look up at the street sign named for Shalom Tzvi (Harry) Davidowitz, Herzliya, December 11, 2024. (Herzliya Municipality)
December 15, 2024, 6:06 am
1st street in Israel named for Masorti rabbi who influenced Declaration of Independence
In Herzliya, the Conservative Movement celebrates the commemoration of US cleric Shalom Tzvi Davidowitz, who is likely responsible for adding God into the historic 1948 statement
By Mati Wagner
The rear view of the old Mekor Haim synagogue. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
May 11, 2024, 7:04 am
The tragic pre-1948 history of Jerusalem’s now-posh Mekor Haim neighborhood
The Jewish enclave south of the capital was subject to brutal Arab attacks, and holds a memorial for 12 men killed fighting for it in the War of Independence
By Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am
Miriam Peretz holds a torch during the Israeli 66th Independence Day Ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on May 5, 2014. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
May 3, 2024, 8:45 am
Torch lighters for Independence Day chosen to highlight October 7 heroism
This year’s ceremony, which will be prerecorded without an audience, will include soldiers, medical personnel and civilians who saved lives during the Hamas massacre
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: Israeli families celebrate Israel's Independence Day at the JCC in Palo Alto, California on May 9, 2019. (Saul Bromberger/Courtesy JCC Palo Alto)
April 21, 2023, 5:52 am
Amid overhaul debate, US Jews’ plans for Israel’s 75th birthday get complicated
Communities ponder whether they can – or should – put aside the political controversy rocking the Jewish state as they celebrate its independence this year
By Andrew Lapin
Entering the newly restored Mount Zion tunnel from the top point near the Jerusalem University College. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
September 4, 2021, 8:44 am
Get into the trenches of Israeli history at the revamped Mt. Zion supply tunnel
When Jordanian snipers threatened supply lines before Israel unified Jerusalem, IDF engineers built a secret trench now renovated and open to visitors after lying dormant for years
By Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am
Eddie Jacobson, left, with former US president Harry S. Truman. (Courtesy of the National Archives)
August 18, 2021, 2:19 am
How buddies-in-chief sway US presidents, from the Civil War to Israel’s creation
A new book by Gary Ginsberg reveals how ‘first friends’ can make history over a drink or round of golf – and may have been crucial in the formation of the Jewish state
By Dave Gordon
A man riding his bicycle is reflected on an old picture of Jaffa displayed in a window, in the Jaffa neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
May 1, 2021, 4:15 pm
1921 Jaffa riots 100 years on: Mandatory Palestine’s 1st ‘mass casualty’ attack
Among the some 150 casualties was Hebrew-language literature giant Yosef Haim Brenner, who was buried with dozens of other slaughtered Jews in a common grave in Tel Aviv
By Oren Kessler
Artwork for 'Miriam and Youssef' designed by Adish, Israeli-Palestinian fashion house operating in Tel Aviv and Ramallah; show creator Steve Waters. (Courtesy BBC World Service)
April 29, 2020, 3:57 pm
BBC dramatizes birth of Israeli nation in ‘balanced’ new 10-part radio play
Out April 29, ‘Miriam and Youssef’ blends fact with fiction as it depicts nascent state from multiple viewpoints: a Jewish woman, her Arab neighbor, and a British Mandate official
By Jenni Frazer
Mordechai Chertoff, an American who lived in pre-state Palestine from 1947-1950, where he wrote for the Palestine Post and served in the Haganah (Courtesy Daniel Chertoff)
December 14, 2019, 9:47 am
Rediscovered: A father’s lost letters from Israel’s foundational years
Finding the letters after his father’s death, Daniel Chertoff tells stories from pre-state Israel through his dad’s experiences
By Jessica Steinberg
Yael Shahar
May 8, 2019, 8:27 am
Yael Shahar
The sudden, shocking, fitting leap from mourning to jubilation
It’s jarring, but don’t forget we went from the darkest period of a long, terrible exile into the sunshine of rebirth in a single generation
A photo of the 1964 declaration recognizing Israel's independence, signed by former president Harry Truman. (Courtesy Raab Collection)
May 1, 2019, 10:22 am
Only copy of US recognition of Israel signed by Truman up for sale
The unique document endorsed by president Harry Truman has only been displayed in public four times
By Ben Zehavi
Illustrative image: Azrieli Towers, Tel Aviv (Moshe Shai/Flash90)
April 18, 2018, 6:00 pm
The blooming of the desert: Key stages of Israel’s economic growth
The absorption of immigrants, an economic stabilization plan, a vibrant tech scene and fiscal restraint have helped the country prosper
By Shoshanna Solomon
A child follows the Independence Trail down Rothschild Bouldevard in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2018. (courtesy)
April 16, 2018, 10:20 pm
Tel Aviv’s new Independence Trail follows footsteps of founders
Kilometer-long path, marked in golden brick and illuminated at night, highlights important points in history of the nation
By Melanie Lidman
Sally Abrams
April 16, 2018, 3:42 pm
Sally Abrams
Israeli statehood changed everything
The miracle of sovereignty includes Israel’s corrupt and criminal, together with her doers and dreamers
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