MAY 11 • 2023 | 13
T
his year, Israel
celebrates 75 years
of independence
as a Jewish state.
Commemorations were
held by Israelis, diaspora
Jews and their
friends around
the world. It is
indeed a special
occasion for an
extraordinary
nation.
It is nothing
short of
miraculous that
Israel has transformed itself
from a poor, nascent country
into one of the world’s
most prosperous, high-tech
nations, all within seven
decades. Moreover, as recent
political affairs in Israel have
demonstrated, its citizens
have the right to express
their views within a vibrant
democracy. As author and
Israel-advocate Daniel Gordis
recently concluded, the State
of Israel “has accomplished
far more than what anyone
might have dared hope for
in 1948.” Indeed, Israel has
earned its 75th celebration.
For more than 100 years,
the Detroit Jewish Chronicle
and the Detroit Jewish News
have reported the remarkable
story of modern Israel. Most
Jews living today do not
know a time when the Jewish
homeland did not exist, but
there was no nation of Israel
when the Detroit Jewish
Chronicle began publishing
in 1916, or even when the JN
began publishing in 1942.
PRE-ISRAEL HISTORY
In 1916, most of the Middle
East, including the areas
once ruled by ancient Jewish
kingdoms thousands of
years ago, were controlled
by the Ottoman Empire.
This included the land now
known Israel, as well as
the current states of Syria,
Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan
that border modern Israel
to its north and east. Egypt,
an ancient land to the west
of Israel, was controlled by
the British. Although small
numbers of Jews had lived
in Jerusalem for thousands
of years, most of the world’s
Jews were scattered around
the globe in the diaspora.
The largest populations of
Jews were in Europe and
America, but smaller Jewish
communities could be found
in nearly every nation on
earth.
Life for Jews has never
been easy. Throughout the
past centuries (and still today,
unfortunately), they have faced
prejudice and, in many cases,
violence such as the pogroms
in Russia and Eastern Europe.
And this says nothing about
less virulent, but still strong,
antisemitism in the U.S.,
Europe and elsewhere.
The JN celebrates Israel@75.
of a Jewish
Homeland
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
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