Page 63 - big friday
P. 63
Golda Meir(son) was one of the two women who signed the
Scroll of Independence
On our way to the ceremony we knew what was about to happen, but it still seemed
unreal. It's difficult to describe my impressions of a ceremony like that. There was a
festivity and a tension and a special quiet, although the museum was jam-packed.
I was very emotional and wasn't sure I'd manage to reach the dais and sign. Also, I
was thinking all the time of the many friends who had played such a great part in
paving the road to that occasion, and who had not merited to reach it. I couldn't bear
that thought…
After the ceremony ended, I returned to the hotel (at the time I was staying not
at the 'Dan' but rather at the 'Kaete Dan' [a small guest house on the seashore]) and
people were celebrating. The building was close to some other 'nerve centers' on
HaYarkon Street, and indeed, at 1:00am they came to tell me that the enemy armies
had started moving. Early on Shabbat morning I heard the Egyptian bombardments,
and then they called me on the phone and told me that the American President,
Truman, had granted recognition to the state. At noon we dined together – Sharett,
Shiloah and I – and already there was talk of different nominations as ambassadors.
Everything was 'as though' already in place. The next day, Sunday evening, it
was decided that I would travel to the US, and on Monday, May 17, I already left
the country."
A State is Born 61
Scroll of Independence
On our way to the ceremony we knew what was about to happen, but it still seemed
unreal. It's difficult to describe my impressions of a ceremony like that. There was a
festivity and a tension and a special quiet, although the museum was jam-packed.
I was very emotional and wasn't sure I'd manage to reach the dais and sign. Also, I
was thinking all the time of the many friends who had played such a great part in
paving the road to that occasion, and who had not merited to reach it. I couldn't bear
that thought…
After the ceremony ended, I returned to the hotel (at the time I was staying not
at the 'Dan' but rather at the 'Kaete Dan' [a small guest house on the seashore]) and
people were celebrating. The building was close to some other 'nerve centers' on
HaYarkon Street, and indeed, at 1:00am they came to tell me that the enemy armies
had started moving. Early on Shabbat morning I heard the Egyptian bombardments,
and then they called me on the phone and told me that the American President,
Truman, had granted recognition to the state. At noon we dined together – Sharett,
Shiloah and I – and already there was talk of different nominations as ambassadors.
Everything was 'as though' already in place. The next day, Sunday evening, it
was decided that I would travel to the US, and on Monday, May 17, I already left
the country."
A State is Born 61
