The Jewish state marks 78 years since its founding and is once again trying to deal decisively with those who threaten its existence.

Tel Aviv, Magen David Square (ed: Star of David), November 29, 1947. Jews in the city celebrate the adoption of Resolution 181 by the General Assembly of the UN, which provided for the termination of the British Mandate in Palestine and the creation of two independent states in the region: one Jewish and one Arab. Jerusalem would be subject to international status under the UN.

Thirteen states voted against “181”, including the six Arab (Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen), as well as Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Cuba, Cuba, Greece and Turkey. However, in 1949 Ankara moved to de jure recognition of Israel, making it the first Muslim country to recognize the Jewish state. Athens followed suit in 1990.

As their fellow Jews celebrated, David Ben Gurion was telling Simon Peres:“Today they are dancing in the street. Tomorrow they will have to shed their blood in the street” (book “There is no room for small dreams: Courage, Imagination and the Making of Modern Israel”, Shimon Peres).

The Horror of the Holocaust

After all, it had just been two years since the horror of the Holocaust, during which six million Jews were murdered by Nazi Germany because of their ethno-religious origins. The struggle for survival had already been written into the Jewish liturgical code.

Gurion proved prophetic. On May 14, 1948, he read the Declaration of Independence of Israel in Tel Aviv and became the country’s first prime minister. The following day, the military forces of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria attacked Israel. The War of Independence was the first of the four Arab-Israeli wars.

Jews anticipated the war and prepared for it before the resolution. Gurion had tasked Peres with assembling the necessary defensive equipment – under the radar and immediately. While the US, Britain, France had imposed an arms embargo on the Middle East, the Soviet Union – through Czechoslovakia – provided arms to the Jews and politically supported Resolution 181 at the UN.

Israel won its first war, as well as the following ones: the Crisis of Suez (1956: it militarily occupied the Sinai desert from which it withdrew with substantial reparations), the Six Day War (1967) and the War of Yom Kippur (1973). The victories highlighted the determination and resilience of a quasi-Western-style democracy to survive amid a flood of hostile – to it – Arab states.

“I am known as one of Israel’s most ardent pacifists. However, the first two decades of my career were spent not pursuing peace, but preparing for war.Peace is an end – a goal worth pursuing, while war is an operation born of a reluctant necessity,” Peres, former president, former prime minister and former minister (of foreign affairs and defence) of Israel, stressed in his book.

Today Israel marks 78 years since its founding. This coming Monday its embassy in Athens will celebrate the anniversary at the Gudi Metropolitan Park. This will be the last event under Ambassador Noam Katz, who is stepping down in the coming months. In his place, according to Manifesto, a political official – not a career diplomat – affiliated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party is expected to be appointed.

How is Israel finding its 78th year? After the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, Israel launched an all-out war against the Palestinian terrorist organization. Until the signing of a ceasefire on October 10, 2025, it was still accused of war crimes, which offered embarrassment to many of its supporters or allies, including Greece.

In addition, after “skirmishes” in 2024 and a 12-day Israeli-Iranian war in June 2025, in late February Israel and the US jointly attacked Iran. Tsimultaneously, Israel began hitting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The massive destruction in the country, at least 1,700 dead and around one million displaced led to international protests and interventions, even from Athens, which supports the Lebanese government.

Many estimated that after the latest war the political map and alliances in the Middle East would change. But so far, and given the resilience Iran has shown – both militarily and diplomatically – it is not clear what the change will be and whether it will be to Jerusalem’s advantage.

In any case,the geography and demographic composition of the Middle East does not favor Israel. Therefore, unless it can find a modus vivendi with its neighbours, its combativeness, resilience and innovation may not prove to be sufficient conditions for survival.