FROM AIPAC

The modern State of Israel was established as the homeland of the Jewish people in 1948. Based on the basic tenet of Zionism-that Jews must have their own country to survive-Israel has served as a refuge for Jews the world over and has been built on the values of freedom and democracy, fulfilling both a political and historic imperative.




The Land of Israel had not been an independent political entity for the previous 2,000 years, and Jews suffered nearly two millennia of exile and persecution. Israel's creation allowed the Jewish people to control their own destiny in a sovereign state on the very land where ancient Jews had once established a great nation and built a thriving civilization.