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O n Friday, May 14, 1948, at 4pm precisely, the members of the People's Administration,
headed by David Ben-Gurion, were seated on the stage in the hall. Around the stage sat
the members of the People’s Council. In attendance, and filling the hall to capacity, were
members of the Zionist Executive Committee, the Jewish Agency, veterans of the Zionist
Movement, the Chief Rabbis of Tel Aviv, senior public figures, senior Hagana commanders,
newspaper editors, and local and foreign journalists and photographers who had been
invited to cover the event.
B en-Gurion arose, struck the wooden gavel on the table, and announced: "I shall
read to you the Founding Scroll of the State of Israel which was approved, after its first
reading, by the State Council." All those gathered spontaneously began to sing HaTikva.
When the singing ended, Ben-Gurion read out the Scroll of Independence, the formative
document of the State of Israel, and concluded with the words, "We hereby proclaim the
establishment of a Jewish State in the Land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel." The
audience rose to its feet and burst into wild applause.
"Every nation has a homeland;
the Jewish People has two"
As noted, Dizengoff bequeathed his home to the Tel Aviv Municipality. After
the museum moved to its new quarters, the municipality sold the building to the
State of Israel. It remained empty for years, and began to show signs of neglect.
Word of the abandoned structure reached the ears of David Ben-Gurion, who served as
President of the Association for Bible Research. At his urging the building was given over
to the association, and the Bible Museum was opened in it – a museum of Jewish art and
Jewish history. Ben-Gurion defined the purpose of the Bible Museum as "dissemination of
knowledge and love of the Bible through textual and visual means."
D aniel Ophir, who was Director of the Bible Museum for many years, would recount
how Ben-Gurion had claimed that every nation has a homeland, but the Jewish People has
two: the Land of Israel is the body of the homeland, while the Bible is its soul.
To honor Tzina and Meir Dizengoff, the Bible Museum directorate established the
Dizengoff Academy for the study of the history of the Zionist movement and its values,
and of Tel Aviv, the first Jewish city.
Sometime during the first years of the Bible Museum's activities, Deputy Mayor Yitzhak
Arzi, together with WIZO Canada, raised the idea of restoring the hall in which the state
had been declared. The Tel Aviv Municipality requested and received the first floor of
the building. However, despite its rich inherent value, Dizengoff House was in less than
rosy condition. Budgetary constraints had prevented the Bible Museum directorate from
maintaining the upper two floors. Time had left its mark on the premises, and the first floor
– where the proclamation had taken place - was too cramped to accommodate the tens of
200 The Friday That Changed Destiny
headed by David Ben-Gurion, were seated on the stage in the hall. Around the stage sat
the members of the People’s Council. In attendance, and filling the hall to capacity, were
members of the Zionist Executive Committee, the Jewish Agency, veterans of the Zionist
Movement, the Chief Rabbis of Tel Aviv, senior public figures, senior Hagana commanders,
newspaper editors, and local and foreign journalists and photographers who had been
invited to cover the event.
B en-Gurion arose, struck the wooden gavel on the table, and announced: "I shall
read to you the Founding Scroll of the State of Israel which was approved, after its first
reading, by the State Council." All those gathered spontaneously began to sing HaTikva.
When the singing ended, Ben-Gurion read out the Scroll of Independence, the formative
document of the State of Israel, and concluded with the words, "We hereby proclaim the
establishment of a Jewish State in the Land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel." The
audience rose to its feet and burst into wild applause.
"Every nation has a homeland;
the Jewish People has two"
As noted, Dizengoff bequeathed his home to the Tel Aviv Municipality. After
the museum moved to its new quarters, the municipality sold the building to the
State of Israel. It remained empty for years, and began to show signs of neglect.
Word of the abandoned structure reached the ears of David Ben-Gurion, who served as
President of the Association for Bible Research. At his urging the building was given over
to the association, and the Bible Museum was opened in it – a museum of Jewish art and
Jewish history. Ben-Gurion defined the purpose of the Bible Museum as "dissemination of
knowledge and love of the Bible through textual and visual means."
D aniel Ophir, who was Director of the Bible Museum for many years, would recount
how Ben-Gurion had claimed that every nation has a homeland, but the Jewish People has
two: the Land of Israel is the body of the homeland, while the Bible is its soul.
To honor Tzina and Meir Dizengoff, the Bible Museum directorate established the
Dizengoff Academy for the study of the history of the Zionist movement and its values,
and of Tel Aviv, the first Jewish city.
Sometime during the first years of the Bible Museum's activities, Deputy Mayor Yitzhak
Arzi, together with WIZO Canada, raised the idea of restoring the hall in which the state
had been declared. The Tel Aviv Municipality requested and received the first floor of
the building. However, despite its rich inherent value, Dizengoff House was in less than
rosy condition. Budgetary constraints had prevented the Bible Museum directorate from
maintaining the upper two floors. Time had left its mark on the premises, and the first floor
– where the proclamation had taken place - was too cramped to accommodate the tens of
200 The Friday That Changed Destiny
