Foundational facts

The Merneptah Stela, Tel Dan Stele, Sennacherib Prism, Hebrew inscriptions and archaeology place Israelite and Judahite societies in the documented ancient Near East.

It was the capital of Judah and the site of the First and Second Temples. Jewish liturgy preserved Jerusalem at the centre of prayer throughout the diaspora.

Jewish communities remained or re-formed under successive rulers, while the Old Yishuv preceded organised modern political Zionism.

The movement restored the Jewish people’s capacity to build national institutions, welcome returning communities, defend themselves and govern in their ancestral homeland.

The First Aliyah began in the 1880s, Herzl published in 1896, and the First Zionist Congress met in 1897.

Educators, writers, families and public institutions transformed Hebrew into the shared language of a modern society.

Schools, farms, cities, labour organisations, healthcare, representative bodies and defence institutions formed a functioning society before 1948.

Mizrahi, Sephardi, Ashkenazi, Ethiopian and other communities brought traditions from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Africa and Asia.

The Jewish leadership accepted the UN compromise and declared independence when the British Mandate ended.

Five neighbouring Arab armies entered the former Mandate the day after Israel declared independence.

The founding document pledges complete equality of social and political rights irrespective of religion, race or sex.

Arab citizens vote, sit in the Knesset, have joined governing coalitions, serve as judges and work throughout the health system.