In 1948 when the British felt that their task was done and withdrew from Palestine. on May 14 of that year Jewish leaders proclaimed the birth of the State of Israel. For the last 16 years Jews have been masters of their own faith. They have been eminently successful in building their new state as the best haven of refugee Jews. and they have already made Israel a model democratic state in the Middle East. There they have become the real champions of freedom. a powerful ally of the West. against all autocratic and Communist ideals. The State of Israel is a progressive. dynamic and growing entity. modeled upon a Socialist and welfare state. and because of this some people often think of Israel as a quasiCommunist state.