09.05.2008Israel Turns 60A History of a ConflictMay 14 marks the
60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. While
Arabs call the day "the catastrophe," many Israelis aren't in
the mood to celebrate. A look back on six decades of dreams and
nightmares. Peter Philipp reports The land of Israel has been in
dispute since before the state was even founded On May 14, 1948,
the leaders of Palestine's Jewish population, the Yishuv,
gathered in Tel Aviv's museum to realize the dream that had
begun taking shape over decades of growing Jewish immigration:
to establish the Jewish state propagated by the father of
political Zionism, Theodor Herzl. The opportunity had finally
arrived. Just hours before the British Mandate over Palestine
came to an end and the British high commissioner left the
country, David Ben-Gurion declared the founding of the state of
Israel. The Israelis quickly recognized that the realization of
their dream actually meant a shift from one nightmare to the
next: from persecution and ann