Page 128 - big friday
P. 128
W hat were you doing between 3pm and
5pm o n that historic Friday?
I n 1973, on the eve of the 25th anniversary of Israeli independence,
the IDF radio station broadcast a program entitled "Two Hours That
Made History", with a reenactment of the proclamation ceremony and
interviews with dozens of men and women who had been present at the
ceremony, as well as others who had been elsewhere in Israel and around
the world at the time. The following seven brief interviews were included
in the broadcast, which was edited by Mordecai Naor and Avri Ravid.
Moshe Rusnak: The fighters' spirit was strong
D espite the siege, a good feeling prevailed in the Jewish Quarter of the
Old City of Jerusalem. Moshe Rusnak, Hagana commander of the Jewish
Quarter, recalls:
"Immediately after the declaration in Tel Aviv, the first legal roll-calls were held with no
British threat; there was no longer any need to hide the weapons from their malevolent
eyes. The spirit of the fighters was strong.
Not all the soldiers gathered for a single roll-call. Each commander held a roll-call for
his own men. I remember especially the roll-call by Immanuel Meidav, one of our best and
most beloved commanders. He read out the following statement to his soldiers:
The State of Israel will not soon be secured. Its establishment will entail a great many
sacrifices, but it will arise.
We have gathered for a first military roll-call as legal soldiers who have emerged from
the underground.
Forget the six months of siege, and the life you have been living. From now it is forbidden
to leave the area of the military position without permission.
The weapons and ammunition in our possession is limited. No further ammunition will
be distributed - for there is none.
Every bullet must hit its target. If you know that it will not hit – don't shoot.
There will be no more manpower beyond those who are here with us now. It will not
be easy for us to receive reinforcements of manpower and weapons; we may not receive
any at all.
Every boy is precious to us. Take care of yourselves. If someone is struck, there is no-
one to take his place.
126 The Friday That Changed Destiny
5pm o n that historic Friday?
I n 1973, on the eve of the 25th anniversary of Israeli independence,
the IDF radio station broadcast a program entitled "Two Hours That
Made History", with a reenactment of the proclamation ceremony and
interviews with dozens of men and women who had been present at the
ceremony, as well as others who had been elsewhere in Israel and around
the world at the time. The following seven brief interviews were included
in the broadcast, which was edited by Mordecai Naor and Avri Ravid.
Moshe Rusnak: The fighters' spirit was strong
D espite the siege, a good feeling prevailed in the Jewish Quarter of the
Old City of Jerusalem. Moshe Rusnak, Hagana commander of the Jewish
Quarter, recalls:
"Immediately after the declaration in Tel Aviv, the first legal roll-calls were held with no
British threat; there was no longer any need to hide the weapons from their malevolent
eyes. The spirit of the fighters was strong.
Not all the soldiers gathered for a single roll-call. Each commander held a roll-call for
his own men. I remember especially the roll-call by Immanuel Meidav, one of our best and
most beloved commanders. He read out the following statement to his soldiers:
The State of Israel will not soon be secured. Its establishment will entail a great many
sacrifices, but it will arise.
We have gathered for a first military roll-call as legal soldiers who have emerged from
the underground.
Forget the six months of siege, and the life you have been living. From now it is forbidden
to leave the area of the military position without permission.
The weapons and ammunition in our possession is limited. No further ammunition will
be distributed - for there is none.
Every bullet must hit its target. If you know that it will not hit – don't shoot.
There will be no more manpower beyond those who are here with us now. It will not
be easy for us to receive reinforcements of manpower and weapons; we may not receive
any at all.
Every boy is precious to us. Take care of yourselves. If someone is struck, there is no-
one to take his place.
126 The Friday That Changed Destiny
