70 years ago: The United Nations votes to partition Palestine

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. Deuteronomy 30:1-5

On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted 33-13 with 10 abstentions, and 1 member absent, in favour of Resolution 181, partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states by October 1, 1948. Six Arab delegations walked out of the session, declaring that they would not be bound by the decision.

Jewish Agency leader Hillel Silver hailed the vote as "a turning point in Jewish history." He was right; on May 14, 1948, the state of Israel came into existence.