Ben Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, chose his words wisely when speaking about Israel's victory in the War of Independence. He told the people they had much to celebrate and that their victory might seem to be miraculous and amazing, but this was only the beginning; and he was right when he said that. The battle has never ended. Israel has been fighting for its survival since the day it declared independence. And although Israel has enjoyed many miraculous victories, it has also made many mistakes; otherwise it wouldn't always be on the verge of defeat, depending upon miracles to survive.

During the War of Independence, many arabs fled from Israel because they feared they would face the same fate they had planned for Israel. The arabs attacked, hoping they would destroy Israel and massacre its people. And they would have done this had Israel not fought back so strongly. The arabs don't care about public opinion. They want Israel to be theirs and what they mean by, "theirs," is that the nation of Israel, with all its people, will cease to be. They don't care about the Land so much as they despise the presence of Israel, because the existence of Israel makes them look bad (since it exposes them in their true light). All they want is a return to their time of "glory," when the arabs reigned supreme and could do whatever they wanted in the region and in the world. The arabs have a concept of pride that makes them want to rule over everyone and destroy anyone that's better than them.

And what if they conquered Israel and killed all its people? What would others do, especially when it was the others that have killed the Jews throughout history. Perhaps the world would express its grief, yet it would stand by, as it has in the Holocaust, because people don't know what Justice is. The world thinks that once its done, there's nothing more to be done. As if to say, "After the murderer has murdered, it would be 'murder' to kill him; for the victim is already dead, and how can more killing undo the crime?" The nations only care about themselves, and the world is impervious to the Laws of G-d, living in a state of denial. Nations have consumed one another and people have killed each other, yet nothing has changed. But an attack against Israel is an attack against G-d; because when Israel follows G-d's Laws and walks in the Ways of G-d, to destroy it is to banish G-d and curse the world Created for us. Israel has not been Reborn for nothing. Those that plot to destroy Israel in the moment of its Rebirth, want nothing less than to prevent its Redemption and the Redemption of all the earth.

When Israel fought back and repelled the arab invaders, many of the arabs in Israel fled. However, many also remained and many others returned because they saw that Israel didn't wish them any harm and that the Jewish people even offered them a place in their Home. This was a big mistake! In its beginnings, after Israel possesed the Land under the leadership of Joshua, it Inherited the Land yet lived amongst the nations (as it says in the Book of Judges). Israel was Commanded to occupy the Land and drive out its people, as the Land was Given to Israel as a Heritage. It was considered a rebellious act to live amongst the condemned, for while Israel lived amongst them it was tempted by their corruption, which eventually led to Israel's destruction. Israel has made the same mistake today, although Israel doesn't exactly follow G-d's Laws (yet) anyway. But if Israel is to be a nation of its people, and Israel is inhabited by arabs, then it can be called an arab nation. Israel can never be a secular society of mixed nationalities, for this is called assimilation, and Israel would cease to be.

Israel has nothing to celebrate, for Israel hasn't realized its identity and thus it never really gained its independence. Sure, Israel is an independent sovereignty, but what kind of nation is it? You can call Israel another America and you can say that its people have been fighting and dying for the American cause, but this is not the Role of G-d's people. You can call them Israel, because they are the remnant of Israel living in the Land of Israel, but so were those that were driven out in the past.

When Israel declared its independence and won the War of Indpendence, the Zionists had to make a very important decision. They had to decide if they wanted the responsibility of freedom. They weren't willing to give up and die in the face of opposition, but instead they "died" amongst their doubts. The people of Israel weren't willing to distinguish themselves and drive out the arabs from amongst them. They weren't willing to become a nation of G-d, upholding His Torah and living according to His Laws. They wanted to be a people once again, that could fight for their rights, preserve their dignity, and defend their life, but they didn't want to bear the Responsibility of Israel. Therefore they let the arabs crowd out their identity, as they hid behind the conflict and buried themselves beneath their doubts. They've lived as slaves although they had been Freed, and have depended upon others although they had won their independence. It is because of this that Israel had no reason to celebrate; for Israel has never ceased to fight its "war of independence."

Prime Minister Ben-Gurion On Victory
(January 12, 1949)

Five days after the fighting ended, Mr. Ben-Gurion warned the nation not to be intoxicated with victory and act over-confident: