The state of Israel was founded on 14 May 1948. The following day the Manchester Guardian reported David Ben Gurion’s proclamation of independence, his appointment as prime minister, and the reaction of other countries to the creation of the Jewish state.
![Manchester Guardian, 15 May 1948.](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/07211c5337916139141a2a918722489969248cbf/0_0_1744_1046/master/1744.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none)
Ben Gurion announced that his government’s first act was the revocation of the white paper of 1939 limiting immigration, and of the mandatory’s restrictions on land sales.
![Manchester Guardian, 15 May 1948.](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/14/1336999250210/USrecog.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none)
How the United Nations partition scheme of the region looked was illustrated in a graphic.
![Manchester Guardian, 15 May 1948.](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/14/1336999295830/partitionmap.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none)
Meanwhile, the paper’s leader column noted:
Last night the British Mandate for Palestine came to an ignoble end after twenty-five years …The Jews have set up their State and the Arabs have begun to cross the frontiers of Egypt, Syria and Transjordan. A civil war will be transformed into a war between nations.