Page 67 - big friday
P. 67
edge. We crowded around the small radio but the electricity was bad and we could
hear almost nothing. When we finally understood that the state had been declared, we
breathed a sigh of relief. We had feared hitches. We had heard rumors that pressure
had been applied by the US to postpone the declaration of the state, and we had sent
a telegram to Ben-Gurion in which we expressed opposition to any sort of delay. If
we had not declared it then, who knows if there would ever have been a declaration!
A fter the faulty radio broadcast of the ceremony in Tel Aviv was over, we remained
sitting in the Jewish Agency conference room. Our concern at that moment was for
the fate of Jerusalem, not for ceremonial niceties, especially after the catastrophe of
Gush Etzion…
The nine members under siege signed the Scroll later on, individually. I reached Tel
Aviv during the first lull in fighting. I flew alone, in a small “Primus” plane. I signed
the Scroll without any special sort of ceremony, in the cabinet conference room. After
the session Mr. Sharef, who was cabinet secretary at the time, approached me and
invited me to sign in the space that had been left for me. It was a brief, dry act."
26. Pinhas Rosenblüth-Rosen: " I felt strong… strong…"
The invitation that arrived at 9 Frishman Street in Tel Aviv was still top secret. But
for Dr. Felix Rosenblüth (today - Minister of Justice Pinchas Rosen) it came as no
surprise, since Dr. Rosenblüth was one of the "thirteen" – the thirteen members of
the People's Administration who, upon the declaration of independence, became the
Provisional Government. As such, Dr. Rosenblüth had been party to the resolutions,
the decisions, and the secrets.
When Dr. Rosenblüth set out for the museum, that "unforgettable afternoon,"
as he defines it, his title was still "Director of Laws" of the state-in-the-making. His
ministry-in-the-making consisted of a single room in the Dunkelblum law office on
Ahad haAm Street in Tel Aviv. Nevertheless, that same day, upon leaving the museum,
Dr. Rosen was already the State of Israel's first Minister of Justice, with an office and a
secretary in the government headquarters. The next day at his private home he could
fill his lungs with the sharp smell of the lettering that had just emerged from the
printing press. It was the first Official Gazette, formulated by the Ministry of Justice.
"My most powerful experience?" muses Dr. Rosen, shifting his spectacles, as though
viewing through them that distant, historical day. "At the end of the declaration
ceremony, when Rabbi Maimon raised the cup and recited the 'Shehehiyanu' blessing,
I felt… what can I tell you, I felt strong… strong…"
A State is Born 65
hear almost nothing. When we finally understood that the state had been declared, we
breathed a sigh of relief. We had feared hitches. We had heard rumors that pressure
had been applied by the US to postpone the declaration of the state, and we had sent
a telegram to Ben-Gurion in which we expressed opposition to any sort of delay. If
we had not declared it then, who knows if there would ever have been a declaration!
A fter the faulty radio broadcast of the ceremony in Tel Aviv was over, we remained
sitting in the Jewish Agency conference room. Our concern at that moment was for
the fate of Jerusalem, not for ceremonial niceties, especially after the catastrophe of
Gush Etzion…
The nine members under siege signed the Scroll later on, individually. I reached Tel
Aviv during the first lull in fighting. I flew alone, in a small “Primus” plane. I signed
the Scroll without any special sort of ceremony, in the cabinet conference room. After
the session Mr. Sharef, who was cabinet secretary at the time, approached me and
invited me to sign in the space that had been left for me. It was a brief, dry act."
26. Pinhas Rosenblüth-Rosen: " I felt strong… strong…"
The invitation that arrived at 9 Frishman Street in Tel Aviv was still top secret. But
for Dr. Felix Rosenblüth (today - Minister of Justice Pinchas Rosen) it came as no
surprise, since Dr. Rosenblüth was one of the "thirteen" – the thirteen members of
the People's Administration who, upon the declaration of independence, became the
Provisional Government. As such, Dr. Rosenblüth had been party to the resolutions,
the decisions, and the secrets.
When Dr. Rosenblüth set out for the museum, that "unforgettable afternoon,"
as he defines it, his title was still "Director of Laws" of the state-in-the-making. His
ministry-in-the-making consisted of a single room in the Dunkelblum law office on
Ahad haAm Street in Tel Aviv. Nevertheless, that same day, upon leaving the museum,
Dr. Rosen was already the State of Israel's first Minister of Justice, with an office and a
secretary in the government headquarters. The next day at his private home he could
fill his lungs with the sharp smell of the lettering that had just emerged from the
printing press. It was the first Official Gazette, formulated by the Ministry of Justice.
"My most powerful experience?" muses Dr. Rosen, shifting his spectacles, as though
viewing through them that distant, historical day. "At the end of the declaration
ceremony, when Rabbi Maimon raised the cup and recited the 'Shehehiyanu' blessing,
I felt… what can I tell you, I felt strong… strong…"
A State is Born 65
