Page 49 - big friday
P. 49
t left all the Mandatory laws in place, except for the White Paper and the land
transfer regulations. I signed first, as chairman, and after me all the members of
the [Provisional State] Council signed in alphabetical order. Space was left for the
Jerusalemites to sign.
I concluded the meeting with the words, "The State of Israel is established," and
went back to the meeting of the General Staff at the Red House. That night they
woke me twice. Once when the notification came from Truman about recognition,
and again when they asked that I speak on the radio to America. We drove to the
"broadcast" at the Yona camp in a jeep, wearing pyjamas… During the broadcast [the
Arabs] began the bombardment, and "over there" [in the US] they understood right
away what was happening.
When I came back I was told that Sde Dov Airport had been bombed. I walked
slowly home and then I saw: people aren't afraid! The same faces that I had seen in
England, during the Blitz. And I said to myself, these people will withstand it!"
2. Daniel Auster: " It was an elevating feeling"
Daniel Auster, who was one of the 37 signatories of the independence scroll, was
serving at the time as Mayor of Jerusalem. How did he relate to the honor of signing
the Declaration of Independence?
A s one of the most prominent figures among the General Zionists, Auster was
chosen to represent the party in the People's Council. He was notified in Jerusalem,
along with another nine members of the Council who were in the city at the time.
They were unable to travel to Tel Aviv for the signing ceremony; they signed shortly
afterwards. On the first lull in fighting, an "Auster" plane landed on the small runway
in Jerusalem and took… Mr. Auster to Tel Aviv. In the office of the Prime Minister
of the Provisional Government, Mr. Ben-Gurion gave the historical document to the
Jerusalem mayor to sign. "I signed the scroll the way I sign all sorts of documents,"
Mr. Auster says, "and the signature looked elaborate and quite unintelligible. Ben-
Gurion was a little angry about the appearance of the signature, but then I explained
that that was how I always signed…".
On the very day of 5th Iyar Mr. Auster had sat, with the other members of the
Council who had remained in Jerusalem, in one of the offices of the Jewish Agency
executive, discussing ways of preparing for the imminent attack on the borders.
They waited expectantly to hear the name of the new state, and when they heard that
"Israel" had been chosen, many of them were disappointed. "We wanted it to be called
Eretz Yisrael – the Land of Israel'," Mr. Auster reports.
A s of the signing itself, he adds: "It was a very profound feeling, to come from
Jerusalem, where the siege had just been lifted, and to sign the Declaration of
A State is Born 47
transfer regulations. I signed first, as chairman, and after me all the members of
the [Provisional State] Council signed in alphabetical order. Space was left for the
Jerusalemites to sign.
I concluded the meeting with the words, "The State of Israel is established," and
went back to the meeting of the General Staff at the Red House. That night they
woke me twice. Once when the notification came from Truman about recognition,
and again when they asked that I speak on the radio to America. We drove to the
"broadcast" at the Yona camp in a jeep, wearing pyjamas… During the broadcast [the
Arabs] began the bombardment, and "over there" [in the US] they understood right
away what was happening.
When I came back I was told that Sde Dov Airport had been bombed. I walked
slowly home and then I saw: people aren't afraid! The same faces that I had seen in
England, during the Blitz. And I said to myself, these people will withstand it!"
2. Daniel Auster: " It was an elevating feeling"
Daniel Auster, who was one of the 37 signatories of the independence scroll, was
serving at the time as Mayor of Jerusalem. How did he relate to the honor of signing
the Declaration of Independence?
A s one of the most prominent figures among the General Zionists, Auster was
chosen to represent the party in the People's Council. He was notified in Jerusalem,
along with another nine members of the Council who were in the city at the time.
They were unable to travel to Tel Aviv for the signing ceremony; they signed shortly
afterwards. On the first lull in fighting, an "Auster" plane landed on the small runway
in Jerusalem and took… Mr. Auster to Tel Aviv. In the office of the Prime Minister
of the Provisional Government, Mr. Ben-Gurion gave the historical document to the
Jerusalem mayor to sign. "I signed the scroll the way I sign all sorts of documents,"
Mr. Auster says, "and the signature looked elaborate and quite unintelligible. Ben-
Gurion was a little angry about the appearance of the signature, but then I explained
that that was how I always signed…".
On the very day of 5th Iyar Mr. Auster had sat, with the other members of the
Council who had remained in Jerusalem, in one of the offices of the Jewish Agency
executive, discussing ways of preparing for the imminent attack on the borders.
They waited expectantly to hear the name of the new state, and when they heard that
"Israel" had been chosen, many of them were disappointed. "We wanted it to be called
Eretz Yisrael – the Land of Israel'," Mr. Auster reports.
A s of the signing itself, he adds: "It was a very profound feeling, to come from
Jerusalem, where the siege had just been lifted, and to sign the Declaration of
A State is Born 47
