40th Anniversary of Israel's Independence

Israel's Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzmaut in Hebrew) commemorates the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948, celebrating the declaration of the state of Israel by David Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948, and the end of the British Mandate of Palestine.

The possibility of a Jewish homeland in Palestine had been a goal of Zionist organizations since the late 19th century. The British Foreign Secretary stated in the Balfour Declaration of 1917:

His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

After World War I, the United Kingdom was given a mandate over the area known as Palestine, which it had conquered from the Ottomans during the war. In 1937 the Peel Commission suggested partitioning Mandate Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state, though it was rejected as unworkable by the government and was at least partially to blame for the renewal of the 1936–39 Arab revolt.

The miniature or sovenir sheet on the cover was issued on 19.4.1988 to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Israel's Independence. On the sheet are shown 18 insignias of the the various units of Israeli Armed Forces. The Armed Forces of Israel have served the country very well, and are greatly respected. 

Thank you Merja for this impressive FDC.