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• David Ben Gurion was the first and longest serving Prime Minister of Israel. He is often referred to as the "Founding Father of Israel" for his role in molding and setting the course for Zionist history. He led Israel during it's War of Independence and proclaimed the state's independence during a speech in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948.

  After establishing the independent state of Israel, Gurion built most of its institutions and set about attracting Jews from all over the world to the newly founded Jewish state. During his time in office, the Jewish population in Israel tripled from ¹/₂ million to 1¹/₂ million.

• Fast Facts

  1. Born: October 16, 1886 in Plonsk, Poland
  2. In office: 1948-1953 and 1955-1963
  3. Wrote and published Israel: A Personal History in 1970 after retiring from politics
  4. Another book, The Jews in Their Land was published posthumously in 1974
  5. Died: December 1, 1973 in Israel
  6. Israel's largest airport and the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are named after him
  7. Named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century

• Quotes

  1. "Everybody sees a difficulty in the question of relations between Arabs and Jews. But not everybody sees that there is no solution to this question. No solution! There is a gulf, and nothing can bridge it… We, as a nation, want this country to be ours; the Arabs, as a nation, want this country to be theirs."
  2. "Terrorism benefits the Arabs, it may lay waste the Yishuv and shake Zionism. But to follow in the Arabs' footsteps and ape their deeds is to be blind to the gulf between us. Our aims and theirs run counter: methods calculated to further theirs, are ruinous to us."
  3. Let me first tell you one thing: It doesn't matter what the world says about Israel; it doesn't matter what they say about us anywhere else. The only thing that matters is that we can exist here on the land of our forefathers. And unless we show the Arabs that there is a high price to pay for murdering Jews, we won't survive."

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Middle East | Palestine | Egypt | Sinai Peninsula | Golan Heights | Negev Desert | Gaza | Yizhak Shamir | Ariel Sharon | Golda Meir

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