Page 180 - big friday
P. 180
mundane, routine affairs: a routine weekend of battles, on one hand, and plays, films and
lectures, on the other.
T he headlines were all full of excitement, but one newspaper – Maariv – displayed
a particularly festive headline: "The Mandate is dead! Long live our state!" The other
newspapers were more restrained: Yediot Aharonot announced, "State of Israel to be
established at 4pm"; Davar: "State of Israel to be declared today at a special session of the
People’s Council"; Al HaMishmar: "Today – declaration of the state and appointment of
government." HaTzofeh linked the establishment of the state to the conclusion of the British
Mandate at midnight: "Tonight the Jewish State will be established." The Communist paper,
Kol HaAm, joined the celebrations: "Today the Jewish State and Provisional Government
will be established."
All the newspapers on that day reported on the desperate battles of the defenders of
Kfar Etzion, and on Jaffa's surrender to the Hagana forces.
Along with Alterman's analysis in Davar, another poetic reflection on the day appeared in
the Communist Kol HaAm. It was signed by "Yud Het", the pen-name of poet Alexander
Penn. He bid the Mandatory regime an unsentimental farewell in a column entitled, "The
Passing of Rest in Peace".
The events of Friday evening
Some of the activities on Friday evening revolved around the novelty of independence, but
there were also routine events. In the Mograbi Hall there was a routine weekly "Reporters'
Newspaper" - a culture and media event in which journalists and public leaders summed
up the week. The central figure on the night of May 14 was the Minister of Immigration
in the Provisional Government, Moshe Shapira. To the audience's applause he announced
that on Saturday morning, 1,000 immigrants would arrive at the Tel Aviv port; they would
enter the country, for the first time, without permits issued by a foreign ruler. He also
promised, "Gush Etzion [which had fallen on that same day] will be rebuilt, and the sound
of Torah and labor will yet be heard in the hills of Hebron."
The United Workers' Party (Mapam) held a festive gathering on Friday night at
the "Esther" cinema hall in Dizengoff Square. The packed hall was addressed by party
heads Meir Yaari and Yitzhak Ben-Aharon. Their words were broadcast by speakers in
the adjacent square, where many hundreds more were listening, as well as in the nearby
coffee houses. Towards the end of the gathering, a procession of HaShomer HaTza'ir
and Mahanot HaOlim youth movement members arrived at the square. By this time the
speakers were blaring songs of the army and the partisans, at the initiative of the Tel Aviv
Workers' Council.
T he Communist Party held a general meeting at the "Allenby" cinema, where Esther
Vilenska lectured on the subject of "May 15 – a Decisive Day."
C lose to midnight, thousands gathered in Mograbi Square. They listened to a transmission
of the National Census Center which was broadcast over speakers. When the newsreader
178 The Friday That Changed Destiny
lectures, on the other.
T he headlines were all full of excitement, but one newspaper – Maariv – displayed
a particularly festive headline: "The Mandate is dead! Long live our state!" The other
newspapers were more restrained: Yediot Aharonot announced, "State of Israel to be
established at 4pm"; Davar: "State of Israel to be declared today at a special session of the
People’s Council"; Al HaMishmar: "Today – declaration of the state and appointment of
government." HaTzofeh linked the establishment of the state to the conclusion of the British
Mandate at midnight: "Tonight the Jewish State will be established." The Communist paper,
Kol HaAm, joined the celebrations: "Today the Jewish State and Provisional Government
will be established."
All the newspapers on that day reported on the desperate battles of the defenders of
Kfar Etzion, and on Jaffa's surrender to the Hagana forces.
Along with Alterman's analysis in Davar, another poetic reflection on the day appeared in
the Communist Kol HaAm. It was signed by "Yud Het", the pen-name of poet Alexander
Penn. He bid the Mandatory regime an unsentimental farewell in a column entitled, "The
Passing of Rest in Peace".
The events of Friday evening
Some of the activities on Friday evening revolved around the novelty of independence, but
there were also routine events. In the Mograbi Hall there was a routine weekly "Reporters'
Newspaper" - a culture and media event in which journalists and public leaders summed
up the week. The central figure on the night of May 14 was the Minister of Immigration
in the Provisional Government, Moshe Shapira. To the audience's applause he announced
that on Saturday morning, 1,000 immigrants would arrive at the Tel Aviv port; they would
enter the country, for the first time, without permits issued by a foreign ruler. He also
promised, "Gush Etzion [which had fallen on that same day] will be rebuilt, and the sound
of Torah and labor will yet be heard in the hills of Hebron."
The United Workers' Party (Mapam) held a festive gathering on Friday night at
the "Esther" cinema hall in Dizengoff Square. The packed hall was addressed by party
heads Meir Yaari and Yitzhak Ben-Aharon. Their words were broadcast by speakers in
the adjacent square, where many hundreds more were listening, as well as in the nearby
coffee houses. Towards the end of the gathering, a procession of HaShomer HaTza'ir
and Mahanot HaOlim youth movement members arrived at the square. By this time the
speakers were blaring songs of the army and the partisans, at the initiative of the Tel Aviv
Workers' Council.
T he Communist Party held a general meeting at the "Allenby" cinema, where Esther
Vilenska lectured on the subject of "May 15 – a Decisive Day."
C lose to midnight, thousands gathered in Mograbi Square. They listened to a transmission
of the National Census Center which was broadcast over speakers. When the newsreader
178 The Friday That Changed Destiny
