Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel /
May 14, 1948
1. Eretz-Israel is the birthplace of the Jewish people. It was here that their spiritual, religious and national character was formed. It was here that they achieved independence, created a culture both national and universal in scope, and gave the Bible to the whole world.
2. Forced into exile, the Jewish people remained faithful to the land of Israel through all the dispersions, praying unceasingly to return there, always with the hope of restoring their national freedom.
3. On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution providing for the establishment of an independent Jewish state in the country of Israel, and invited the inhabitants of the country to take the necessary steps to implement this plan. The United Nations’ recognition of the right of the Jewish people to establish their independent state cannot be revoked. It is, moreover, the natural right of the Jewish people to be a nation like other nations, and to become masters of their own destiny in their own sovereign state.
4. The State of Israel will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries where they are dispersed; it will develop the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be founded on the principles of liberty, justice and peace taught by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights for all its citizens, without distinction of creed, race or sex; it will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education and culture; it will ensure the safeguard and inviolability of the holy places and shrines of all religions, and will respect the principles of the United Nations Charter.
5. We extend the hand of friendship, peace and good neighborliness to all the states that surround us and to their peoples. We invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute to the progress of the entire Middle East.277