Noted historian Martin Kramer transports you to the fateful days in 1948 when Israel’s founders discussed, debated, and, ultimately, declared independence.
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Following a twenty-five year career at Tel-Aviv University, where he directed the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Martin Kramer was the founding president of Shalem College in Jerusalem, Israel’s first liberal arts college, where he continues to teach the modern history of the Middle East. Dr. Kramer is also the
Koret visiting fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The author
of many essays and articles in Commentary, Mosaic, the Wall Street Journal,
Foreign Affairs, and elsewhere, Professor Kramer is also the author of ten
books, most recently The War on Error: Israel, Islam, and the Middle East.
Israel's Declaration of Independence is the most important Jewish document written in two thousand years.
The Declaration of Independence is "a contingent document, stitched together, written against a deadline." Dr. Kramer tells the story of how Israel's founders drafted an enduring document in the middle of war.
Who actually declared the State of Israel, and by what authority did they do so? The questions of identity that still tear Israel apart were first debated in the fateful days of May 1948.
The American Declaration of Independence contains numerous references to God. But where is God in Israel's Declaration?
Israel's Declaration of Independence is an exercise in hasbara—making the case for a Jewish state to a skeptical world.
What does it mean for Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state? What rights does the Declaration affirm for both Jews and Arabs?
Israel's Declaration of Independence was never meant to be a legal document. Yet, in modern Israel, it has become one. Explore the enduring legacy of the Declaration in Israeli law and society.
Click here to review the full text of Israel Declaration of Independence.
Discover the story behind Israel’s most important document: Its Declaration of Independence.
