New Israel
Rescued from MicroWiki. This one was iffy, but if everything was burned, why not save something? Flag is cool- Ed.
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| Motto: none Musical Anthem: Onward Christian Soldiers | |
| Type of entity: | Micronation |
| Locations: | Taongi Atoll, Antarctica, the Congo, Mars |
| Area claimed: | various |
| Culture: | Fundamental Christian socialist |
| Date of foundation: | November 1985 |
| Head of State: | God |
| Head of Government | David Powell, High Priest |
| Purported organisational structure: | Theocracy, Communist State |
| Language: | English |
| Purported currency: | Shekel of Silver |
| Project ended: | July 1988 |
New Israel was a proposed theocratic socialist micronation created by David Powell between 1985 and 1988, while Powell was in middle school. The micronation had four different proposed locations throughout the project history, which included Taongi Atoll, Antarctica, Africa, and Mars. Ultimately, the project ended when its founder entered high school and lost interest in Christianity.
Powell's current micronational project is the Federated States of Antarctica.
History
In late 1985, David Powell teamed up with one of his classmates and decided to start a new Christian country. Powell had read the Bible over that summer and chose to model the new country after the covenant given to the Israelites by Moses. By most standards, New Israel would have been a dystopia of extreme porportions. All Old Testament laws became the law of the country, including the numerous crimes that called for the death penalty. Powell claimed the title of High Priest and appointed his classmate as Chief Elder.
Powell attempted to re-create the Ark of the Covenant, complete with the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. Plans were drawn up to re-build the temple exactly as described in the Bible. Maps were drawn showing a re-created Jerusalem circa the time of Christ.
The location of New Israel frequently changed. Initially, Taongi Atoll was proposed as the location. Powell chose this location by reading a textbook about the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands at the local college library. Unfortunately, when calculating the land area of the island, there did not appear to be enough room for a re-created Jerusalem. Taongi was soon abandoned for the jungles of Central Africa, at the point where the Congo, Zaire, and the Central African Republic join. Once it was realized that there would be issues of locating the new country within existing nations, the project was moved to Antarctica. In 1988, a location on the surface of Mars was chosen.
Powell and his friend had a serious falling out during the summer of 1988 and their friendship ended. Powell had began to run with friends who did not share his Christian faith, and he began to lose interest in Christianity. In late July of that year, Powell gathered everything having to do with New Israel-- which included maps, flags, constitutional documents, priestly garments he had made a year earlier, and research materials photocopied from the library-- and burned them. The one remaining artifact of the New Israel era was the one thing that could not be burned: the stone tablets. They still exist to this day in the attic of the home of Powell's step mother.
