State of Israel

The State of Israel was founded in 1948 in much of the biblical land of Israel. Although a small community of Jews had lived in the region since ancient times, the late 19th century witnessed a modern effort to create a Jewish homeland. Zionist pioneers arrived during this period of time and throughout the first decades of the 20th century to settle the land and establish self-governing institutions. From 1920 until 1948, Great Britain was granted a Mandate for Palestine to govern affairs of the territory in cooperation with both Jewish and Arab councils. The establishment of Israel was approved by the United Nations in 1947, and the State was declared independent the following year.