Page 145 - big friday
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lin, of blessed memory, delivered a captivating address in which he set forth the story
of the divided and wounded Jerusalem; Jerusalem – the heart of the nation throughout
the generations, viewing its wayward children in a positive light, insisting that corruption
was not their own inborn trait but rather a trait learned from the foreign regime, as it is
written, 'The Egyptians caused 'us' affliction" – the direct ('otanu') rather than indirect
('lanu') object in the Hebrew hinting that not only did they cause us affliction, but also
caused us to afflict.
It was twilight, but no-one turned on the lights. Rabbi Berlin sat and spoke, in a soft
voice, swallowing tablet after tablet to strengthen his weak heart, and every word that he
spoke echoed in the room and caused hearts to tremble. With his heavy body, leaning back
weakly in the chair, and with his full and pale face, Rabbi Berlin looked like a Buddha
preaching fraternal love even towards a brother unworthy of it.
T hat session was branded with the address, inspired with vision, that Ben-Gurion
delivered on the subject of the political and security battle that loomed ahead, and
preparedness for what was to come. The Executive Committee accepted Ben-Gurion's
suggestion to establish a "Provisional Government of Israel", comprising members of the
Jewish Agency executive and of the Jewish National Council, to form a supreme institution
with exclusive authority to manage all the vital affairs of the country: security and supplies,
transport and manpower, and to set down policy in anticipation of the longed-for goal –
independence. In addition to this institution, comprising thirteen members, which would
function as a sort of government, the Zionist Executive Committee decided to establish
a broader forum, a Council, to serve as the future legislature. This Council would be
composed of representatives of the parties and groups that made up the opposition to
the executive of the Jewish Agency and the Jewish National Council: Revisionists, Agudat
Yisrael, and even the Communists, who had just emerged from the murky underground,
basking in [Soviet envoy to the UN] Gromyko's support for a Jewish state…
Putting together the Provisional State Council
Ben-Gurion was fully occupied with military concerns, so it fell to Eliezer Kaplan
[treasurer of the Jewish Agency and the future Minister of Finance] to negotiate with
the representatives over the conditions for their joining the Council, their level of
representation, and so on. I invited their delegations at a set time. They were invited two
by two, but four or five would arrive, and not necessarily the top brass. The severance from
Jerusalem and the absence of reliable contact with overseas countries, where some of the
leaders were located, led to a situation whereby the negotiations over joining the Council
were handled by underlings, who viewed this as an opportune moment to jump aboard
the carriage making its swift and sure way towards a state – but they had trouble with the
allocation of seats. The number of seats on this Council was fixed at 37; this could not be
changed, and time was pressing: if they spent too much time arguing, the carriage would
Before the Declaration 143
of the divided and wounded Jerusalem; Jerusalem – the heart of the nation throughout
the generations, viewing its wayward children in a positive light, insisting that corruption
was not their own inborn trait but rather a trait learned from the foreign regime, as it is
written, 'The Egyptians caused 'us' affliction" – the direct ('otanu') rather than indirect
('lanu') object in the Hebrew hinting that not only did they cause us affliction, but also
caused us to afflict.
It was twilight, but no-one turned on the lights. Rabbi Berlin sat and spoke, in a soft
voice, swallowing tablet after tablet to strengthen his weak heart, and every word that he
spoke echoed in the room and caused hearts to tremble. With his heavy body, leaning back
weakly in the chair, and with his full and pale face, Rabbi Berlin looked like a Buddha
preaching fraternal love even towards a brother unworthy of it.
T hat session was branded with the address, inspired with vision, that Ben-Gurion
delivered on the subject of the political and security battle that loomed ahead, and
preparedness for what was to come. The Executive Committee accepted Ben-Gurion's
suggestion to establish a "Provisional Government of Israel", comprising members of the
Jewish Agency executive and of the Jewish National Council, to form a supreme institution
with exclusive authority to manage all the vital affairs of the country: security and supplies,
transport and manpower, and to set down policy in anticipation of the longed-for goal –
independence. In addition to this institution, comprising thirteen members, which would
function as a sort of government, the Zionist Executive Committee decided to establish
a broader forum, a Council, to serve as the future legislature. This Council would be
composed of representatives of the parties and groups that made up the opposition to
the executive of the Jewish Agency and the Jewish National Council: Revisionists, Agudat
Yisrael, and even the Communists, who had just emerged from the murky underground,
basking in [Soviet envoy to the UN] Gromyko's support for a Jewish state…
Putting together the Provisional State Council
Ben-Gurion was fully occupied with military concerns, so it fell to Eliezer Kaplan
[treasurer of the Jewish Agency and the future Minister of Finance] to negotiate with
the representatives over the conditions for their joining the Council, their level of
representation, and so on. I invited their delegations at a set time. They were invited two
by two, but four or five would arrive, and not necessarily the top brass. The severance from
Jerusalem and the absence of reliable contact with overseas countries, where some of the
leaders were located, led to a situation whereby the negotiations over joining the Council
were handled by underlings, who viewed this as an opportune moment to jump aboard
the carriage making its swift and sure way towards a state – but they had trouble with the
allocation of seats. The number of seats on this Council was fixed at 37; this could not be
changed, and time was pressing: if they spent too much time arguing, the carriage would
Before the Declaration 143
