Page 106 - DK Life Stories Albert Einstein by AELC

Because of the horrors they had to endure

during World War II, Jewish people felt the
need for a homeland of their own.

This would become a reality in 1948, when
the United States, under the leadership of then-

US president Harry S. Truman, recognized
the nation of Israel as the official Jewish state.

Israel is located on ancient land neighbored by
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine,

as well as the Mediterranean Sea.
Israel’s first president was a man named

Chaim Weizmann, who started his career
as a chemist before turning to politics. When

Weizmann died in 1952, Israel’s prime minister,
David Ben-Gurion, asked Albert to be

Weizmann’s replacement. Israel’s government
had a parliamentary structure, which meant that

1968 bank
note from Israel
with Albert’s
face on it.

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