Page 146 - big friday
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move on, and they would be left behind. The delegations went in to Kaplan full of bravado
and brimming with demands; they emerged mumbling threats of non-participation, with
fear in their hearts… They slammed Kaplan's door behind them as though indicating
that there was no basis for negotiation; some came over to me to whisper some "final
concession", following which there would be "no chance of any further compromise."
The elected Knesset restored the leaders to their positions, but others had meanwhile,
almost without noticing, been given a one-time opportunity to eternalize their names by
signing the Scroll of the Declaration of the State; shortly afterwards their fame subsided
and they were forgotten.
Davar, 10th Independence Day anniversary edition, April 24, 1958
"Fateful Wednesday"
On one day – Wednesday, May 12, 1948 - three dramatic events took place
almost simultaneously, in the Land of Israel and in the US, impacting directly
on the declaration of the state two days later.
Mordecai Naor
Friday, 5th Iyar 5708, May 14, 1948, the day of the establishment of the state, was the Friday
that changed destiny. On that day the drama reached its climax: in both the internal and
external spheres; on the military, political, and international levels; in Israel and elsewhere
in the world, especially – then as now – in the US.
However, before that “big Friday”, the heads of the state-in-the-making had to clear
three hurdles, all concentrated on Wednesday, May 12, 1948: two in Tel Aviv, and one in
Washington. Unfortunately, the documentation of the two events in Tel Aviv is deficient; there
is even room to suspect that documents were deliberately concealed. Where Washington is
concerned, full reporting is available, although for many years it was kept secret.
A ct One – Central Committee recommendation and approval
O r: In pursuit of the lost protocols
The final week of British rule over Palestine began on Sunday, May 9, 1948. The Jewish
population and its main military force, the Hagana, had achieved great successes in the
previous weeks. The Arabs in the country had given up and fled en masse from their towns
and villages. The entire world was keeping a close eye on what was happening. The UN
144 The Friday That Changed Destiny
and brimming with demands; they emerged mumbling threats of non-participation, with
fear in their hearts… They slammed Kaplan's door behind them as though indicating
that there was no basis for negotiation; some came over to me to whisper some "final
concession", following which there would be "no chance of any further compromise."
The elected Knesset restored the leaders to their positions, but others had meanwhile,
almost without noticing, been given a one-time opportunity to eternalize their names by
signing the Scroll of the Declaration of the State; shortly afterwards their fame subsided
and they were forgotten.
Davar, 10th Independence Day anniversary edition, April 24, 1958
"Fateful Wednesday"
On one day – Wednesday, May 12, 1948 - three dramatic events took place
almost simultaneously, in the Land of Israel and in the US, impacting directly
on the declaration of the state two days later.
Mordecai Naor
Friday, 5th Iyar 5708, May 14, 1948, the day of the establishment of the state, was the Friday
that changed destiny. On that day the drama reached its climax: in both the internal and
external spheres; on the military, political, and international levels; in Israel and elsewhere
in the world, especially – then as now – in the US.
However, before that “big Friday”, the heads of the state-in-the-making had to clear
three hurdles, all concentrated on Wednesday, May 12, 1948: two in Tel Aviv, and one in
Washington. Unfortunately, the documentation of the two events in Tel Aviv is deficient; there
is even room to suspect that documents were deliberately concealed. Where Washington is
concerned, full reporting is available, although for many years it was kept secret.
A ct One – Central Committee recommendation and approval
O r: In pursuit of the lost protocols
The final week of British rule over Palestine began on Sunday, May 9, 1948. The Jewish
population and its main military force, the Hagana, had achieved great successes in the
previous weeks. The Arabs in the country had given up and fled en masse from their towns
and villages. The entire world was keeping a close eye on what was happening. The UN
144 The Friday That Changed Destiny
