The process of creating the state of Israel began in 1897 with the emergence of the political Zionism movement. Zionism exists simultaneously in the form of a national movement and ideology, and is aimed at the unification of the Jewish people and the revival of the state in its historical homeland in Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel). Its appearance is associated with various socio-political processes in countries in the 19th century, in particular with the spread of anti-Semitism, the development of nationalism, etc. At that time, two dominant positions were formed in the Jewish community regarding the prospect of solving the “Jewish question”: 1) the creation of national and cultural autonomies in the countries where Jews lived; 2) creation of an independent Jewish state on a specially allocated territory, where Jews would constitute the majority of the population. It is the last direction that can be considered the interpretation of the term “Zionism”, the founder of which is considered to be the famous political and social figure Theodor Herzl. In 1896, he published the pamphlet “Jewish State – the experience of the modern solution of the Jewish question”, which became a kind of manifesto of supporters of Zionism. The latter finally decided on the construction of the Jewish state in August 1897, at the Zionist Congress in Basel (Switzerland). The World Zionist Organization was formed, headed by T. Herzl, and a fund was established for the purchase of land in Palestine. The unification of all Jews into a national state was also facilitated by numerous immigration movements (aliyah), which began in the 1880s.
During the First World War, the establishment of the Jewish state was officially confirmed. On November 2, 1917, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain, Lord Balfour, gave Lord L. Rothschild a mandate to inform the World Zionist Organization about “favorable attitude of the government of His Majesty the King to the idea of creating a Jewish national hearth in the lands of Eretz Israel” (so-called. “Balfour Declaration”).
The post-war Versailles Peace Conference gave Great Britain a special mandate to manage Syria and Palestine (the system of mandates was established officially with the aim of preparing the population of certain territories for the creation of an independent state). However, subsequent events – the coming to power of A. Hitler in Germany (1933), the Anschluss of Austria (1938) and the outflow of Jewish emigrants to other countries, and primarily to Palestine – caused numerous riots of the local Arab population, to which in a certain way the British authorities listened and established special restrictive quotas for entry into Palestine. In response, Jewish and Zionist organizations began illegal immigration, which was served by about 150 transport ships.
After World War II, dissatisfied with the refusal of the British authorities to issue additional visas for Jewish settlers from Europe, the Jewish militarist organizations “Etzel” and “Lehi” began actions of defiance against the British administration. Finally, in February 1947, Great Britain referred the resolution of the issue with Palestine to the UN.
On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations, by 33 votes to 13, adopted Resolution No. 181 “The Future Government of Palestine”, which provided for the division of British Mandatory Palestine into Jewish and Arab (Palestinian) states, with the introduction of a special regime for the city of Jerusalem.
On January 5 (May 14), 1948, the first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Israel's Independence: “We, the representatives of the Jewish population of the country and the Zionist movement, on the day of the end of the British mandate on Eretz Israel, by virtue of our natural and historical right, as well as on the basis of the decision of the UN General Assembly, recognize the establishment of the Jewish state in Eretz Israel, which will be called the State of Israel”. So, after almost two thousand years of exile, the most desired dream of the Jewish people came true - an independent state was reborn in Eretz Israel.
From the first hours, the newly created state had to prove its right to exist. Already on May 15, 1948, the day the British mandate expired, the armies of five countries – Egypt, Transjordan (modern Jordan), Lebanon, Syria and Iraq – invaded the territory of Israel. After Israel's victory in this war, which lasted more than a year, the existence of the Jewish state became an indisputable fact, and for the first time the Jews of the world were granted the right to immigrate to their national countriesи. Thus, by the end of 1951, as a result of another aliyah, approximately 685,000 Jewish immigrants arrived in the country, a significant part of which were people from Eastern Europe who survived the Holocaust.
However, the Arab-Israeli conflict continued in the following years, weakening the Israeli economy. So, since the second half of the 1990s, Israeli governments have been implementing a “land for peace” policy. The state agreed to grant autonomy to the Palestinian population, and in the future - to create an Arab Palestinian state. Such a position caused considerable resistance in Israeli society, as well as among representatives of Palestinian radical groups. The conflict resumed and gained international status, in which the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations took and continue to participate. It is also aggravated by the uncertainty of the status of the city of Jerusalem and other territories.
Israel persisted in subsequent numerous wars and armed conflicts. He created a competitive multi-party system. There were also important changes in the economy, including its liberalization. Over the years of its existence, Israel has turned from a small, mainly agrarian country into one of the most developed countries in the world. Not the last role in this transformation was played by the kibbutz that have existed in Israel since the time of the first settlers (see Kibbutz).
Currently, the basis of Israel's economy is industry and the service sector. Metallurgy and mechanical engineering, including aircraft and shipbuilding, in particular military, are developing successfully. The latest scientific developments are used for the manufacture of medical devices, in the production of computers and robots, fiber optics, pharmaceutical and chemical products. More than 50% of state exports are high-tech products. Tourism is an important direction in the economic life of the country. In Israel there are shrines of three religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which attracts pilgrims from all over the world.
All this became possible thanks to emigrants, both from Europe and the Soviet Union, primarily from Ukraine, who became an integral part of Israel's life.