May 14, 1948, was a Friday and time was running out. David Ben-Gurion was determined to declare the state of Israel on the same day the British mandate over Palestine expired. However, he had to do it before Shabbath was about to begin.
It was 4:00 P.M. sharp when he started to read the prepared declaration of independence at the Tel Aviv Museum on Rothschild Boulevard. Thereby the Jewish state came into existence. Only a few hours later, the United States acknowledged the state of Israel.
However, in the early morning hours of the following day, Egyptian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Syrian and Lebanese forces invaded the newly established state. The Israelis had to fight for their lives and for the survival of their young state with their back against the wall.
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