Brief History of Israel

The history of Israel is important as it is intimately entangled with a history of the need for self-protection. The Jewish people trace their origin to the first monotheist. Abraham who lived in the Land of Canaan – later known as Israel. The name Israel comes from the name given to Jacob (Abraham’s grandson) whose 12 sons became the leaders of the 12 tribes of the Jewish nation. One of the tribes, Judah is the origin of the term Jew. The organized nation of Israel began about 1300 BCE after an exodus from Egypt under Moses. Correspondent Charles Krauthammer wrote (1998): "Israel… is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago.”

From 1250 BCE for almost 700 years, Israel was ruled by Jewish leaders such as King David – who made Jerusalem the Capital and his son King Solomon – who built the famous Temple. From about 587 BCE the region was invaded by a succession of superpower empires beginning with the Babylonian (modern day Iraq) army, Persian, Greek Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Christian crusaders, Ottoman, and finally the British Empire. On May 14, 1948 under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion, the modern State of Israel reclaimed their ancient independence with the departure of the British forces. The following day armies of five Arab countries, Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, invaded Israel – beginning the War of Independence. Five full scale wars have been waged against Israel.

1) 1948 – War of Independence
2) 1956 – Sinai War
3) 1967 – Six Day War
4) 1973 – Yom Kippur War
5) 1982 – Lebanon War. Facing insurmountable odds (Israel, about 60 miles wide can be crossed in about two hours of driving or one days walk - which one of the FIMA founders has actually done), Israel successfully defended itself each time.

For many years since the last major war, Israelis have faced many attacks from neighboring countries and from within. Continual rocket attacks and terrorist threats involving every type of weapon are commonplace. Spontaneous surprise knife and gun attacks require preparedness and a society where virtually every man and woman in the country has had some training in personal defense.