Page 24 - big friday
P. 24
The British Mandate lowers its flags – May 14, 1948
fury. But beyond Sharett's taking offense, the two different wordings of the Declaration of
Independence illustrated the differences between their authors – differences of both style
and content.
S harett's Hebrew was flawless but overloaded with flowery phrases; his formulations
were always overly long and used formalist, legal terminology. His quest for a polished
wording, his zealousness over the exact expression, were related to a certain pedantic
punctiliousness, a tendency to correct others, which was sometimes annoying. Ben-
Gurion, in contrast, could not bear linguistic ornateness. His style was far simpler, laconic
and to the point. He appreciated precision in wording, but not punctiliousness. He was not
intoxicated by fancy expressions or nuances of meaning. Sharett's wordiness also aroused
his impatience.
F ar more important than the differences of opinion in matters of form, however, were
the differences of opinion as to the content. Moshe Sharett viewed international legitimacy
for Israel's existence and its actions as a matter of great importance. His version of the
declaration included [mention of] the UN Partition Plan, since he viewed this as a legal
foundation for Israel's existence. Ben-Gurion, on the other hand, based his approach
on "self-reliance", and did not attach much importance to international institutions.
Following a brief period when the "Old Man" had pinned his hopes on the UN – between
November, 1947 and March, 1948 – and had been disappointed, he ceased to view the
22 The Friday That Changed Destiny
fury. But beyond Sharett's taking offense, the two different wordings of the Declaration of
Independence illustrated the differences between their authors – differences of both style
and content.
S harett's Hebrew was flawless but overloaded with flowery phrases; his formulations
were always overly long and used formalist, legal terminology. His quest for a polished
wording, his zealousness over the exact expression, were related to a certain pedantic
punctiliousness, a tendency to correct others, which was sometimes annoying. Ben-
Gurion, in contrast, could not bear linguistic ornateness. His style was far simpler, laconic
and to the point. He appreciated precision in wording, but not punctiliousness. He was not
intoxicated by fancy expressions or nuances of meaning. Sharett's wordiness also aroused
his impatience.
F ar more important than the differences of opinion in matters of form, however, were
the differences of opinion as to the content. Moshe Sharett viewed international legitimacy
for Israel's existence and its actions as a matter of great importance. His version of the
declaration included [mention of] the UN Partition Plan, since he viewed this as a legal
foundation for Israel's existence. Ben-Gurion, on the other hand, based his approach
on "self-reliance", and did not attach much importance to international institutions.
Following a brief period when the "Old Man" had pinned his hopes on the UN – between
November, 1947 and March, 1948 – and had been disappointed, he ceased to view the
22 The Friday That Changed Destiny
