This is the front page of the May 21, 1948 edition of the American Jewish newspaper B’nai Brith Messenger, announcing the creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. The large headline on the front page announces, “World Hails New Israel State.” The other articles on the front page are all related to the establishment of what they call “The Jewish Republic of Israel.” The newspaper, published in Los Angeles, California, also has articles about the Los Angeles Jewish community’s celebrations in reaction to the creation of Israel, a picture of Chaim Weizmann who had been chosen as Israel’s first president, and a photograph of a ceremony to send off a ship bearing supplies for Israel. At the top of the page are greetings to the new state, written in Hebrew by Rabbi S.M. Neches together with this translation:
"Greetings to your, State of Israel for the People of Israel! Sovereignty of Israel! Greetings to you, the People of Israel liveth! … Greetings and peace to you, heads of the thousands of Israel who are guiding the destinies of the State of Israel in the Land of Israel. He who hath chosen Zion and Jerusalem shall give you His help to guide the destiny of the State of Israel…. ... For the Lord has comforted His people and has redeemed Israel. Long liveth the people of Israel! Long liveth the State of Israel! Long liveth the Sovereignty of Israel!"
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Declaration of the State of Israel – On November 29, 1947 the United Nations voted on the Partition Plan which called for the creation of two states: one Jewish and one Arab. Following the decision, the British chose May 15, 1948 as the day that they would leave Israel. The Arab states rejected the Partition Plan, and fighting broke out between Arabs and Jews. As of April 12 1948, the leadership of the Yishuv met to determine the steps necessary to create a state. The Americans, whose support would be needed once a state was created, urged the Yishuv to postpone declaring statehood and to accept a “temporary” UN trusteeship. However, on May 12, 1948, the leadership of the Yishuv decided they would declare the state on May 14. David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the creation of the State of Israel at the Tel Aviv Museum, which is now called “Independence Hall.” Ten minutes after the proclamation, the United States of America became the first country to recognise the new state.
B’nai Brith Messenger – The B’nai Brith Messenger was a Jewish newspaper published in Los Angeles, California from 1897–1995. It was named after the largest Reform congregation in Los Angeles and was published twice a month until the 1920s when it became a weekly publication. The newspaper chronicled a period of tremendous growth in the Los Angeles Jewish community.
Jewish Community of the United States – At the time of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, between 1,500 and 2,500 Jews were living in the United States, most of them Sephardi. In the middle of the nineteenth century, a wave of German Jews, largely secular and educated, arrived in the United States. Another wave of immigration arrived from Eastern Europe, a result of pogroms and the difficult economic situation in these countries . Most of these new immigrants were Ashkenazi and spoke mainly Yiddish. They arrived, believing that the United States was a “goldene medina,” a country of gold, but the reality was hard. Many of the newcomers worked as manual labourers in difficult conditions, such as in the sweatshops in New York’s Lower East Side. By the beginning of the twentieth century, more than a million Jews lived in the United States, most of them in New York City. Despite immigration quotas, by 1940 the American Jewish population numbered more the 4.5 million. While the first generation of immigrants lived in close-knit Yiddish-speaking communities, the next generation integrated quickly and, in many cases, assimilated into American society and became prominent in many areas of American life. Today American Jews are extremely influential in American politics, business, academia, and culture. Over the last few decades Jews from many countries, such as Russia, Iran, and Israel, have arrived in the United States. The American Jewish community is the second largest Jewish community in the world, numbering between 5.5 and 7 million people. More than 2 million Jews live in New York, making it the city with the largest Jewish population in the world. Half of American Jews consider themselves religious, and there are many Jewish organisations and institutions in the country.
