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When asked to describe his reaction upon hearing the text of the declaration, he
could not remember when the exact wording of the declaration became known to
him, or how he felt at the time. But he is willing to say this much: "It was a declaration
which, had I been part of its formulation, I would certainly have had some comments
about. But I didn’t think that it would take the place of a Constitution. It was a mere
declaration, as I thought then, and as others thought too. We assumed that we would
be called to a constituent assembly, and I believed that at that constituent assembly
we would hold a discussion about the Constitution and the fundamental ideas of
Zionism – just as any party that brings about the establishment of a state, or a new
order that comes about as a result of a revolution or an uprising, must give expression
to the essential aspirations that are to be realized in the state. Unfortunately, my
hope was not fulfilled. I wasn't elected to the first Knesset, so I couldn't oppose the
reversal that was effected by the non-execution of the obligation that the first Knesset
took upon itself in being elected as the constituent assembly of the State of Israel."
9. Avraham Granovsky (Granot): The tale of a Ukrainian colonel
Avraham Granot, chairman of the JNF Board of Directors, was in Jerusalem at the
time of the declaration of the state and did not attend the ceremony, but after the state
was declared a special plane was sent from Tel Aviv, which landed in Jerusalem in
order to bring a few members of the Provisional State Council to Tel Aviv. "They told
me that I must fly to Tel Aviv. We waited an entire day for the plane at the small airport
in the Valley of the Cross, and towards evening we flew to Tel Aviv. During the flight
I was told that the pilot was an overseas volunteer from South Africa, named Senior.
I knew his parents well – good Zionist activists from South Africa. The old man
Eliyahu Berlin was with me on the flight. They delivered us directly to the People's
Council. The people in Tel Aviv received us warmly and enthusiastically as the first
emissaries from besieged Jerusalem. A day or two later, Ben-Gurion invited me to his
office in the government headquarters, and there I signed the Scroll."
W hat were Dr. Granot's feelings (Dr. Granovsky, at the time) on the eve of May 15?
"That evening we sat in Jerusalem in our dark apartment, with no electricity, no
possibility of listening to the radio, hungry and thirsty. The general feeling was a
heavy one, but full of hope. We weren't certain that the declaration would take place,
but there was a rumor spreading that the establishment of the state would be declared
that evening. So I called my wife and children, and recounted for them an experience
from the distant past: In 1911, 37 years before the declaration of the state, I had
been imprisoned in a Russian jail for Zionist activity. They accused me of founding a
Zionist youth movement. I was interrogated by a colonel in the secret police. When
the interrogation was over – it lasted several nights in a row – this Ukrainian colonel
named Stadranko said to me, with malicious derision: "Listen, Mr. Granovsky; when
52 The Friday That Changed Destiny
could not remember when the exact wording of the declaration became known to
him, or how he felt at the time. But he is willing to say this much: "It was a declaration
which, had I been part of its formulation, I would certainly have had some comments
about. But I didn’t think that it would take the place of a Constitution. It was a mere
declaration, as I thought then, and as others thought too. We assumed that we would
be called to a constituent assembly, and I believed that at that constituent assembly
we would hold a discussion about the Constitution and the fundamental ideas of
Zionism – just as any party that brings about the establishment of a state, or a new
order that comes about as a result of a revolution or an uprising, must give expression
to the essential aspirations that are to be realized in the state. Unfortunately, my
hope was not fulfilled. I wasn't elected to the first Knesset, so I couldn't oppose the
reversal that was effected by the non-execution of the obligation that the first Knesset
took upon itself in being elected as the constituent assembly of the State of Israel."
9. Avraham Granovsky (Granot): The tale of a Ukrainian colonel
Avraham Granot, chairman of the JNF Board of Directors, was in Jerusalem at the
time of the declaration of the state and did not attend the ceremony, but after the state
was declared a special plane was sent from Tel Aviv, which landed in Jerusalem in
order to bring a few members of the Provisional State Council to Tel Aviv. "They told
me that I must fly to Tel Aviv. We waited an entire day for the plane at the small airport
in the Valley of the Cross, and towards evening we flew to Tel Aviv. During the flight
I was told that the pilot was an overseas volunteer from South Africa, named Senior.
I knew his parents well – good Zionist activists from South Africa. The old man
Eliyahu Berlin was with me on the flight. They delivered us directly to the People's
Council. The people in Tel Aviv received us warmly and enthusiastically as the first
emissaries from besieged Jerusalem. A day or two later, Ben-Gurion invited me to his
office in the government headquarters, and there I signed the Scroll."
W hat were Dr. Granot's feelings (Dr. Granovsky, at the time) on the eve of May 15?
"That evening we sat in Jerusalem in our dark apartment, with no electricity, no
possibility of listening to the radio, hungry and thirsty. The general feeling was a
heavy one, but full of hope. We weren't certain that the declaration would take place,
but there was a rumor spreading that the establishment of the state would be declared
that evening. So I called my wife and children, and recounted for them an experience
from the distant past: In 1911, 37 years before the declaration of the state, I had
been imprisoned in a Russian jail for Zionist activity. They accused me of founding a
Zionist youth movement. I was interrogated by a colonel in the secret police. When
the interrogation was over – it lasted several nights in a row – this Ukrainian colonel
named Stadranko said to me, with malicious derision: "Listen, Mr. Granovsky; when
52 The Friday That Changed Destiny
