Land of Israel
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Sea of Galilee
Jerusalem&_160;· Tel Aviv&_160;· HaifaThe Israeli Declaration of Independence (Hebrew ????? ????????, Hakhrazat HaAtzma'ut or Hebrew ????? ???????? Megilat HaAtzma'ut), made on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar, 5708), the day the British Mandate expired, was the official announcement that the new Jewish state named the State of Israel had been formally established in parts of what was known as the British Mandate for Palestine and on land where, in antiquity, the Kingdoms of Israel, Judah and Judea had once been.
It has been called the start of the "Third Jewish Commonwealth" by some observers. The "First Jewish Commonwealth" ended with the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 586 BCE, the second with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, and the crushing of Bar Kokhba's revolt by the Roman Empire in the year 135.
In Israel the event is celebrated annually with the national holiday Yom Ha'atzmaut (Hebrew ??? ????????, lit. Independence Day), the timing of which is based on the Hebrew calendar date of the declaration (5, Iyar, 5708). Palestinians commemorate the event as Nakba Day (Arabic ??? ???????, Yawm al-nakba, lit. Catastrophe Day) on 15 May every year.[1]
