Page 181 - big friday
P. 181
New recruits at the first intake base in the north of Tel Aviv quickly dug trenches,
anticipating the Egyptian bombardment (which was not long in coming)
announced, "It is now midnight. The British Mandate over Eretz Yisrael has ended," the
crowd responded with a powerful rendition of HaTikva. As HaMashkif reported on Sunday
morning, "As the singing concluded, there were shouts of joy in honor of the Jewish state."
T here were other gatherings, too. A meeting of the young guard of Mapai was held in the
"Ohel" hall, near Dizengoff Square, and on Saturday morning a public meeting took place
there, with a speech delivered by Avraham Herzfeld, Head of the Histadrut's Settlement
Department. The day was also marked at the party's branches in the various neighborhoods
of the city.
H owever, not everything centered around the new state. At Beit HaAm (People's
House), a memorial gathering was held on Friday night honoring the author Yaakov
Rabinowitz, who had recently died (in a road accident). At Ohel Shem various lectures
were offered over the course of Saturday, on current issues as well as other subjects: A.
Brishansky spoke about the prophet Jeremiah; Dr. M. Silberg delivered one lecture on the
Talmudic tractate Bava Batra, and another entitled "About the State". The writer Yehuda
Burla's topic was "In Light of Our Experience in Battle," while Dr. A. Kaminka discussed
the Talmudic tractate Ethics of the Fathers.
In Haifa, gatherings and meetings were organized by the Jewish National Council, the
After the Declaration 179
anticipating the Egyptian bombardment (which was not long in coming)
announced, "It is now midnight. The British Mandate over Eretz Yisrael has ended," the
crowd responded with a powerful rendition of HaTikva. As HaMashkif reported on Sunday
morning, "As the singing concluded, there were shouts of joy in honor of the Jewish state."
T here were other gatherings, too. A meeting of the young guard of Mapai was held in the
"Ohel" hall, near Dizengoff Square, and on Saturday morning a public meeting took place
there, with a speech delivered by Avraham Herzfeld, Head of the Histadrut's Settlement
Department. The day was also marked at the party's branches in the various neighborhoods
of the city.
H owever, not everything centered around the new state. At Beit HaAm (People's
House), a memorial gathering was held on Friday night honoring the author Yaakov
Rabinowitz, who had recently died (in a road accident). At Ohel Shem various lectures
were offered over the course of Saturday, on current issues as well as other subjects: A.
Brishansky spoke about the prophet Jeremiah; Dr. M. Silberg delivered one lecture on the
Talmudic tractate Bava Batra, and another entitled "About the State". The writer Yehuda
Burla's topic was "In Light of Our Experience in Battle," while Dr. A. Kaminka discussed
the Talmudic tractate Ethics of the Fathers.
In Haifa, gatherings and meetings were organized by the Jewish National Council, the
After the Declaration 179
