Creating the State of Israel began in 1897 with the emergence of the political Zionist movement. It was aimed at uniting the Jewish people and reviving the state in the historical homeland of Eretz Israel (Land of Israel). Theodor Herzl, a well-known political and public figure, is considered the founder of the movement. His work “The Jewish State: An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question” became a kind of manifesto of Zionism supporters. The further consolidation of all Jews into a nation-state was facilitated by numerous migration movements (Aliyah) that began in the 1880s. In the second showcase, you can see materials on the settlers who formed the modern state of Israel. Among them, well-known statesmen, public and cultural figures: Uri Zvi Greenberg, Aaron Appelfeld, Verdina and Abraham Schlonski, Bronislaw Guberman, and others.

During a regular meeting of Zionist movement representatives, the Jewish Colonization Bank was established to purchase land in Eretz Israel. It provided special certificates (bonds) at a nominal value of one pound sterling. You can see such a certificate in the first showcase, on the first shelf to the left. At this time, the creation of the first Zionist settlements in Israel started. The modern city of Rishon-les-Zion became one of them. In the third showcase, on the second shelf in the center, you can see the medal dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the founding of this settlement. On its back, there is a portrait of Theodor Herzl.

During World War I, the creation of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel was officially confirmed. In 1917, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Arthur Balfour, instructed Lord Lionel Rothschild to inform the World Zionist Organization of the government's agreement. It is known as the Balfour Declaration. You can read the text of this document in the first showcase, on the first shelf on the left. However, it became possible to implement it only after the Holocaust. It was then that the Jewish militarist organizations “Etzel” and “Lehi” started to disobey the British administration in Palestine.

Only in February 1947 did Great Britain refer the question of Palestine to the United Nations. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution No. 181, “The Future Government of Palestine.” It provided for the division of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states with a special regime for the city of Jerusalem. Thus, Theodor Herzl’s prophetic words, said back in 1897 during the First World Congress of Zionists in Basel, Switzerland, came true: “At Basel I founded the Jewish State... In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it.”

Israel’s Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on Iyar 5 (by Jewish calendar) or May 14, 1948. The first Prime Minister of the State of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, read the declaration text. You can find materials about this event in the first showcase on the third shelf. Among the many exhibits highlighting the long journey of the State of Israel, in the first showcase on the fourth shelf, you can see exhibits dedicated to Haim Weizmann - a prominent scientist and the first president of the State of Israel.

From the first days, the newly created state had to prove its right to exist. As early as May 15, the armies of the Arab countries invaded Israel. This Arab-Israeli conflict continues to this day. Since the creation of the state, and especially during the Six-Day War in 1967, the territory of Israel changed. You can track these changes via a stylized scroll with maps of Israel, placed between the first and second showcases.

To protect the borders, the state had to form its armed forces. IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is one of the most capable armies in the world. The state also created special security services, including the Mossad (Foreign Intelligence Service). You can learn more about the IDF and the conflict in the Middle East from the fourth showcase. It presents things, weapons, and photos of soldiers. Some of the Mossad’s operations (the abduction of Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann from Argentina in 1960, the release of hostages from Uganda in 1976, etc.) are highlighted in the information stand between the third and fourth showcases.

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