Page 55 - big friday
P. 55
find yourself in the independent Land of Israel, remember me with favor."
"I kept my word, and on the night of the declaration of the state I made mention of
the Ukrainian colonel…".
10. E liyahu Dobkin: A guest from Tel Aviv
A t the exact time when David Ben-Gurion was reading out the historical declaration
at the Tel Aviv Museum, Mr. Eliyahu Dobkin, a member of the People’s Council and a
member of the Jewish Agency executive, was receiving one of the most tragic convoys
in the history of the War of Independence. The survivors of Gush Etzion had started
arriving at the entrance to the courtyard of the national institutions in Jerusalem,
carrying the dead and wounded in their arms: "Our heart was with the historic
ceremony, but for us, who had remained in besieged Jerusalem, it was a distant and
unreal occasion; our reality was one of a siege that was closing in around our capital,
and difficult days awaited us…".
At the joint decision of the Jewish National Council and the Jewish Agency
executive, Dobkin remained in the capital to organize the civil defense of the
inhabitants of besieged Jerusalem. On that day the Arab Legion forces had started
moving towards the Old City and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood; Atarot had
fallen, and the survivors of Gush Etzion had abandoned their land after a supremely
courageous stand. However, it was a visitor from Tel Aviv, arriving suddenly on the
morning of May 14, who gave Eliyahu Dobkin his own personal experience of that
day. It was Ziama Aharonovitch, today Minister of Education Zalman Aran, who
presented himself and explained simply: "What could I do; I couldn’t stay in Tel Aviv,
my heart went out to you all..."
11. Meir Vilner-Kovner: " I'd sign again today"
Meir Vilner was the representative of the Communist Party on the People's Council.
In the days leading up to the declaration, he participated in the discussions concerning
the text. He recalls, "I didn't argue much with the ideological part of the text, which
we didn't agree with. I insisted on the addition, "independent and sovereign". Today it
seems to me that the opposition to this addition was no coincidence, since today the
State of Israel is really not so independent…
On the day of the declaration I walked from the JNF building to the museum. I
remember meeting the party secretary there – Eliyahu Gozansky, of blessed memory.
We stood at the entrance, and he, with a giant camera, photographed the crowd.
He wanted to capture the "atmosphere." And indeed there was an atmosphere of a
people's holiday, and everything was quite spontaneous. People in the crowd suddenly
A State is Born 53
"I kept my word, and on the night of the declaration of the state I made mention of
the Ukrainian colonel…".
10. E liyahu Dobkin: A guest from Tel Aviv
A t the exact time when David Ben-Gurion was reading out the historical declaration
at the Tel Aviv Museum, Mr. Eliyahu Dobkin, a member of the People’s Council and a
member of the Jewish Agency executive, was receiving one of the most tragic convoys
in the history of the War of Independence. The survivors of Gush Etzion had started
arriving at the entrance to the courtyard of the national institutions in Jerusalem,
carrying the dead and wounded in their arms: "Our heart was with the historic
ceremony, but for us, who had remained in besieged Jerusalem, it was a distant and
unreal occasion; our reality was one of a siege that was closing in around our capital,
and difficult days awaited us…".
At the joint decision of the Jewish National Council and the Jewish Agency
executive, Dobkin remained in the capital to organize the civil defense of the
inhabitants of besieged Jerusalem. On that day the Arab Legion forces had started
moving towards the Old City and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood; Atarot had
fallen, and the survivors of Gush Etzion had abandoned their land after a supremely
courageous stand. However, it was a visitor from Tel Aviv, arriving suddenly on the
morning of May 14, who gave Eliyahu Dobkin his own personal experience of that
day. It was Ziama Aharonovitch, today Minister of Education Zalman Aran, who
presented himself and explained simply: "What could I do; I couldn’t stay in Tel Aviv,
my heart went out to you all..."
11. Meir Vilner-Kovner: " I'd sign again today"
Meir Vilner was the representative of the Communist Party on the People's Council.
In the days leading up to the declaration, he participated in the discussions concerning
the text. He recalls, "I didn't argue much with the ideological part of the text, which
we didn't agree with. I insisted on the addition, "independent and sovereign". Today it
seems to me that the opposition to this addition was no coincidence, since today the
State of Israel is really not so independent…
On the day of the declaration I walked from the JNF building to the museum. I
remember meeting the party secretary there – Eliyahu Gozansky, of blessed memory.
We stood at the entrance, and he, with a giant camera, photographed the crowd.
He wanted to capture the "atmosphere." And indeed there was an atmosphere of a
people's holiday, and everything was quite spontaneous. People in the crowd suddenly
A State is Born 53
