Page 179 - big friday
P. 179
G od, Lord of Israel, protect your soldiers. Grant blessing to their sword that is renewing
the covenant that was made between Your chosen people and Your chosen land. Arise,
O Lion of Judea, for our people, for our land. On to battle. Forward to victory.
Menachem Begin, HaMered. Translation based on that of Samuel Katz in The Revolt, Steimatzky
Agency Ltd; revised edition, 1977 (with omissions)
First Weekend of Independence
Mordecai Naor
Jewish residents of Eretz Yisrael awoke on Friday morning, 5th Iyar 5708 (May 14, 1948)
with a sense of uncertainty. They could not be sure what the rest of the day would bring:
would the Jewish state indeed arise that day? And what would be its name? Would the
British leave the country, as they had promised to do, or would they find some last-minute
excuse to remain? What of the threats by the leaders of the Arab countries to order their
armies to invade the Jewish state if it were declared?
The answers to these fateful questions were to be found in the Davar morning
newspaper, on page 2, in the far left column. There, the "Seventh Column" featured a poem
signed by Natan A. (Alterman), which addressed the current situation – as Alterman did
every week. The poem predicts that the state will in fact be declared, it deliberates as to
which countries would grant recognition, asserts that the Arab armies will invade and that
the Jews will fight, inspired by the dreams of the generations. Only one question is not
addressed: will the British leave? It seems that Alterman was sure of this. As to the state,
not only is he unequivocal concerning its establishment, but he also reveals its name – the
State of Israel, following days of reports and rumors about alternative suggestions, such
as "the Jewish State", "Judea", and "Land of Israel". The invasion is also a certainty as far as
the poet is concerned. And there is also a prediction as to who will win the war, and who
will be driven away. Indeed, poets sometimes are prophets.
What did the media have to say?
A review of that Friday's newspapers reveals a semi-festive atmosphere: there are
headlines and reports about the establishment of the state, but there were also the more
After the Declaration 177
the covenant that was made between Your chosen people and Your chosen land. Arise,
O Lion of Judea, for our people, for our land. On to battle. Forward to victory.
Menachem Begin, HaMered. Translation based on that of Samuel Katz in The Revolt, Steimatzky
Agency Ltd; revised edition, 1977 (with omissions)
First Weekend of Independence
Mordecai Naor
Jewish residents of Eretz Yisrael awoke on Friday morning, 5th Iyar 5708 (May 14, 1948)
with a sense of uncertainty. They could not be sure what the rest of the day would bring:
would the Jewish state indeed arise that day? And what would be its name? Would the
British leave the country, as they had promised to do, or would they find some last-minute
excuse to remain? What of the threats by the leaders of the Arab countries to order their
armies to invade the Jewish state if it were declared?
The answers to these fateful questions were to be found in the Davar morning
newspaper, on page 2, in the far left column. There, the "Seventh Column" featured a poem
signed by Natan A. (Alterman), which addressed the current situation – as Alterman did
every week. The poem predicts that the state will in fact be declared, it deliberates as to
which countries would grant recognition, asserts that the Arab armies will invade and that
the Jews will fight, inspired by the dreams of the generations. Only one question is not
addressed: will the British leave? It seems that Alterman was sure of this. As to the state,
not only is he unequivocal concerning its establishment, but he also reveals its name – the
State of Israel, following days of reports and rumors about alternative suggestions, such
as "the Jewish State", "Judea", and "Land of Israel". The invasion is also a certainty as far as
the poet is concerned. And there is also a prediction as to who will win the war, and who
will be driven away. Indeed, poets sometimes are prophets.
What did the media have to say?
A review of that Friday's newspapers reveals a semi-festive atmosphere: there are
headlines and reports about the establishment of the state, but there were also the more
After the Declaration 177
