The United States was the first country to recognize Israel as an independent state on May 14, 1948, when President Harry Truman issued a statement of recognition following Israel's proclamation of independence on the same date.
At midnight on May 14, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new State of Israel. On that same date, the United States recognized the provisional Jewish government as de facto authority of the Jewish state (de jure recognition was extended on January 31, 1949).
On May 17, 1948, three days after Israel declared independence, the Soviet Union legally recognized it de jure, becoming the first country to grant de jure recognition to the Jewish state.
The Soviet Union was the first country to grant de jure recognition to Israel on 17 May 1948, followed by Nicaragua, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland. The United States extended de jure recognition after the first Israeli election, on 31 January 1949.
As part of the Arab–Israeli conflict, Saudi Arabia has not recognized Israel since the latter's independence in 1948. Traditionally, the official Saudi policy towards the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has been supportive of the Palestinian Arabs and against Israel.
(Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen do not recognise Israel as a state.) (Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan do not recognise Israel as a state.) (None of these countries recognise Israel.)
China is one of the few countries in the world to concurrently maintain warm relations with Israel, Palestine, and the Muslim world at large.
U.S. President Harry Truman was the first world leader to officially recognize Israel as a legitimate Jewish state on May 14, 1948, only eleven minutes after its creation. His decision came after much discussion and advice from the White House staff who had differing viewpoints.
Since diplomatic relations were established between Germany and Israel on 12 May 1965, the relationship between the two countries has continuously been deepened and grown stronger, both at the official level and in the sphere of civil society.
Although it had voted against the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, Turkey recognized the State of Israel in 1949.
Following the Oslo I Accord in 1993, the Palestinian Authority and Israel conditionally recognized each other's right to govern specific areas of the country. This boosted Israel's legal authority and legitimacy on the international stage.
After the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948, Israel and Iran maintained close ties. Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel as a sovereign state after Turkey.
Yugoslavia recognized Israel on 19 May 1948. In 1948 Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia sought and received permission from the authorities to send material help and organize Jewish emigration to Israel. More than a half of Yugoslav Jews who survived Holocaust have emigrated to Israel.
In 1917, in order to win Jewish support for Britain's First World War effort, the British Balfour Declaration promised the establishment of a Jewish national home in Ottoman-controlled Palestine.
The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire (circa 722 BCE), and the Kingdom of Judah by the Neo-Babylonian Empire (586 BCE).
While the State of Israel was established on 15 May 1948 and admitted to the United Nations, a Palestinian State was not established. The remaining territories of pre-1948 Palestine, the West Bank - including East Jerusalem- and Gaza Strip, were administered from 1948 till 1967 by Jordan and Egypt, respectively.
However, the UK recognised Israel de facto on 13 May 1949, and de jure on 28 April 1950. Sir Alexander Knox Helm was the first British Chargé d'Affaires in Israel, whose rank was later raised to Minister, serving from 1949 to 1951. He was succeeded in 1951 by Francis Evans, whose rank was raised to Ambassador in 1952.
France has established a robust bilateral relationship with Israel, marked by constant commitment to the its existence and security. France was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, on 11 May 1949.
After World War II, according to the Potsdam conference held between July 17 and August 2, 1945, Germany was to pay the Allies US$23 billion mainly in machinery and manufacturing plants. Dismantling in the west stopped in 1950. Reparations to the Soviet Union stopped in 1953.
King Saul is regarded as the first king to unite the tribes of Israel, including ancient Israel and Judah, under a single rule. He ruled around the 11th century B.C. and is mentioned in the Hebrew Tanakh and Old Testament of the Christian Bible.
Israel and North Korea do not have official diplomatic relations, and unofficial communications between the two countries are hostile. North Korea does not recognise Israel, denouncing it as an "imperialist satellite state".
On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation on the same day.
Among countries considered most powerful because they “consistently dominate news headlines, preoccupy policymakers and shape global economic patterns,” US News & World Report put Israel in tenth place. Top of the list was the United States, followed by China and then Russia.
When Israel and Japan established diplomatic relations on May 15, 1952, the gesture was a mutual milestone for both nations. Israel was the first Middle Eastern country to recognize Japan, and Japan was the first Asian country to recognize Israel.
Following Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, Singapore established full diplomatic relations with Israel. However, Singapore kept the relationship on a low profile for the next thirty years due to its relationship with its Muslim neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia.