Page 264 - big friday
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had stationed there for this purpose was jostled by the crowd into - pardon the expression
– the nearby toilet; the door closed, people leaned up against it, and there was no way at all
that he could get out… There were three raps of the gavel, followed by silence. The Prime
Minister, startled, glanced towards me. Realizing that some hitch had occurred, I gestured
to him, indicating unequivocally that the anticipated rendering of HaTikva was not going
to happen. He immediately collected himself and began to speak. The anthem was played
afterwards, at the end of the ceremony; I made sure of that.”
According to Rivkind, in light of his success in organizing the ceremony, Zeev Sharef
offered that he serve as the master of the ceremony to be held in the State of Israel. His
answer was in the negative: “I told him that I had taken on this task as an ordinary person
who wanted some share in this great historical occasion. I am not the sort of person who
is capable of wearing a top-hat on a daily basis, and for this reason I was quite content with
this one-time experience, which I will never forget for as long as I live.”
( From Rafi Mann’s blog, “Footnotes to History” [Hebrew])
“The Orchestra Pays a Visit”, 1948 version
T he role of the Palestine Symphony Orchestra (later known as the Philharmonic
Orchestra) at the ceremony of the Proclamation of the State has been described in various
sources, including in earlier chapters of this volume. The following account offers another
perspective on this musical episode.
Ofer Bavli tells a story about his grandmother, violinist Hanna Bavli, who was known
in the young State of Israel as the high priestess of good manners.
“My grandfather, Yitzhak Bavli, was one of those privileged to receive an invitation to
the ceremony of the Proclamation of the State. Owing to the lack of space in the hall, the
invitations were addressed to individuals, without spouses. His wife (my grandmother)
was disappointed to hear that she would not be able to attend this important event. At the
time she served as the honorary secretary of the Philharmonic Orchestra, and so an idea
began to take shape in her mind.
She called David Ben-Gurion and told him that she knew about the ceremony that
was being planned. She asked him whether the program included a performance of the
anthem. Ben-Gurion replied that there was no room in the hall – narrow as it was –
for an orchestra. Then Hanna Bavli suggested placing the orchestra on the second floor,
above the hall where the ceremony was to take place. Ben-Gurion was preoccupied with
the anticipated invasion of the Arab armies, and could not devote his attention to this
question. He neither rejected nor approved Hanna Bavli’s idea.
262 The Friday That Changed Destiny
– the nearby toilet; the door closed, people leaned up against it, and there was no way at all
that he could get out… There were three raps of the gavel, followed by silence. The Prime
Minister, startled, glanced towards me. Realizing that some hitch had occurred, I gestured
to him, indicating unequivocally that the anticipated rendering of HaTikva was not going
to happen. He immediately collected himself and began to speak. The anthem was played
afterwards, at the end of the ceremony; I made sure of that.”
According to Rivkind, in light of his success in organizing the ceremony, Zeev Sharef
offered that he serve as the master of the ceremony to be held in the State of Israel. His
answer was in the negative: “I told him that I had taken on this task as an ordinary person
who wanted some share in this great historical occasion. I am not the sort of person who
is capable of wearing a top-hat on a daily basis, and for this reason I was quite content with
this one-time experience, which I will never forget for as long as I live.”
( From Rafi Mann’s blog, “Footnotes to History” [Hebrew])
“The Orchestra Pays a Visit”, 1948 version
T he role of the Palestine Symphony Orchestra (later known as the Philharmonic
Orchestra) at the ceremony of the Proclamation of the State has been described in various
sources, including in earlier chapters of this volume. The following account offers another
perspective on this musical episode.
Ofer Bavli tells a story about his grandmother, violinist Hanna Bavli, who was known
in the young State of Israel as the high priestess of good manners.
“My grandfather, Yitzhak Bavli, was one of those privileged to receive an invitation to
the ceremony of the Proclamation of the State. Owing to the lack of space in the hall, the
invitations were addressed to individuals, without spouses. His wife (my grandmother)
was disappointed to hear that she would not be able to attend this important event. At the
time she served as the honorary secretary of the Philharmonic Orchestra, and so an idea
began to take shape in her mind.
She called David Ben-Gurion and told him that she knew about the ceremony that
was being planned. She asked him whether the program included a performance of the
anthem. Ben-Gurion replied that there was no room in the hall – narrow as it was –
for an orchestra. Then Hanna Bavli suggested placing the orchestra on the second floor,
above the hall where the ceremony was to take place. Ben-Gurion was preoccupied with
the anticipated invasion of the Arab armies, and could not devote his attention to this
question. He neither rejected nor approved Hanna Bavli’s idea.
262 The Friday That Changed Destiny
