When was Israel formed?

Answer 1

It depends on what you are referring to.

Old Testament

The Biblical Israel was founded around 1000 BCE, by the confederation of various Israelite tribes uniting behind one monarch. According the Biblical Narrative, that monarch was Saul, who was appointed to challenge the Philistine peoples along the Mediterranean coast.

Modern State of Israel

Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948.

Some individuals claim incorrectly that UNGA Resolution 181 (II), passed on November 29, 1947, "created" a Jewish State (Israel) and an Arab State (Palestine) on the map. This is not the case. What the UN Resolution does provide for is the permission for the different ethno-religious groups in Mandatory Palestine to declare a state. In the case of most mandates, the understanding was that the mandate would eventually become independent as one new state, like Iraq or Syria had. The case of Palestine was therefore unique and needed the permission to deviate from the traditional path of independence. Because of there being two states, provisional borders had to be provided, which is why a map was used, but those borders would only come into play if both sides decided to remain at peace, which, unfortunately, was not the case. There was internecine violence between the Jewish and Arab communities of Mandatory violence from November 30, 1947 on, in what has been termed the Palestinian Civil War of 1947-1948 and is the preliminary part of the Jewish-Arab Engagement of 1947-1949. After six months of fighting, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion made the executive decision to declare independence because it would allow for Israel to negotiate for foreign weapons purchases, even though it resulted in immediate declarations of war by Israel's Arab neighbors, thus expanding the Jewish-Arab Engagement from internecine strife to a "full-on" international war.

Answer 2

The Modern State of Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948.

It is incorrect to claim that UNGA Resolution 181 (II), passed on November 29, 1947, "created" a Jewish State (Israel) and an Arab State (Palestine) on the map, because this is not the case. What the UN Resolution does provide for is the permission for the different ethno-religious groups in Mandatory Palestine to declare a state. In the case of most mandates, the understanding was that the mandate would eventually become independent as one new state, like Iraq or Syria had. The case of Palestine was therefore unique and needed the permission to deviate from the traditional path of independence. Because of there being two states, provisional borders had to be provided, which is why a map was used, but those borders would only come into play if both sides decided to remain at peace, which, unfortunately, was not the case. There was internecine violence between the Jewish and Arab communities of Mandatory violence from November 30, 1947 on, in what has been termed the Palestinian Civil War of 1947-1948 and is the preliminary part of the Jewish-Arab Engagement of 1947-1949. After six months of fighting, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion made the executive decision to declare independence because it would allow for Israel to negotiate for foreign weapons purchases, even though it resulted in immediate declarations of war by Israel's Arab neighbors, thus expanding the Jewish-Arab Engagement from internecine strife to a "full-on" international war.

Answer 3

The United Nations passed Resolution 181 which partitioned the British Mandate into a Jewish State and an Arab State and gave both states the Right to Declare a State. Israel used that opportunity to establish a state.

Answer 4

Israel became a member of the United Nations on March 4, 1949 according to UNSC Resolution 69.