Page 68 - big friday
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27. B erl Repetur: "We sat not by political party"
Like many others, Mr. Repetur, at the time a representative of Ahdut HaAvoda in the
Jewish National Council and a member of the Yishuv's security committee, was aware
of the severity of the security situation, but supported the establishment of the state
with no hesitation or reservation, for "we dare not miss this historic chance."
With the help of "underground" letters and notes from those days, Mr. Repetur tries
to recall the fateful day:
"We were told that on the morning of May 14, a meeting of the People's Council
would be held at the JNF building, where there would be a discussion of procedure.
Only at the meeting itself did I realize exactly what we were undertaking. Outside,
cars were waiting to take us to the museum. Ahead of us drove the future Prime
Minister and the other ministers. The streets were full of people, and there was a
sense of anticipation and tension. I remember that the conversation in the car went
something like this:
'Okay, we're going to declare the state, but what will be the fate of this state? Will
the public be able to stand up to attacks in a few hours' time? And what about the
Russians? Even the Americans can't always be relied upon….'.
At the ceremony itself I sat next to Zvi Luria; facing us, I believe, was David Zvi
Pinkas. There was no special order in the seating. At that moment no-one even
thought about seating ourselves by political party. When Rabbi Fishman recited the
blessing, I did wonder why his blessing had to be formulated just that way (in such a
traditional manner), but such small issues were covered over, at that time, beneath a
sense of unity."
Many of the signatories encountered problems with regard to their original names.
Repetur, too, was subjected to attempts to persuade him to change his name: "Yitzhak
Ben-Zvi sent me two letters prior to the declaration, asking me to Hebraize my name.
'Berl Repetur,' he wrote, 'should change his name already!' David Remez was even
more insistent; he offered me a list of possible names, such as Perat or Bar-Tora, and
after the establishment of the state he would always ask me, 'What is going to happen
with your name, Berl?..."
28. Mordechai Shatner: "The high point of my entire life"
M ordechai Shatner, currently the Ministry of Finance official overseeing the savings
market, was head of the Jewish National Council's economics department on the eve
of the establishment of the state. In that capacity he was one of the 37 members of the
People's Council in May, 1948. A few days prior to the ceremony at the museum in
Tel Aviv, Mr. Shatner received notification, and a short time before the ceremony set
out by foot from his apartment on Rothschild Boulevard.
66 The Friday That Changed Destiny
Like many others, Mr. Repetur, at the time a representative of Ahdut HaAvoda in the
Jewish National Council and a member of the Yishuv's security committee, was aware
of the severity of the security situation, but supported the establishment of the state
with no hesitation or reservation, for "we dare not miss this historic chance."
With the help of "underground" letters and notes from those days, Mr. Repetur tries
to recall the fateful day:
"We were told that on the morning of May 14, a meeting of the People's Council
would be held at the JNF building, where there would be a discussion of procedure.
Only at the meeting itself did I realize exactly what we were undertaking. Outside,
cars were waiting to take us to the museum. Ahead of us drove the future Prime
Minister and the other ministers. The streets were full of people, and there was a
sense of anticipation and tension. I remember that the conversation in the car went
something like this:
'Okay, we're going to declare the state, but what will be the fate of this state? Will
the public be able to stand up to attacks in a few hours' time? And what about the
Russians? Even the Americans can't always be relied upon….'.
At the ceremony itself I sat next to Zvi Luria; facing us, I believe, was David Zvi
Pinkas. There was no special order in the seating. At that moment no-one even
thought about seating ourselves by political party. When Rabbi Fishman recited the
blessing, I did wonder why his blessing had to be formulated just that way (in such a
traditional manner), but such small issues were covered over, at that time, beneath a
sense of unity."
Many of the signatories encountered problems with regard to their original names.
Repetur, too, was subjected to attempts to persuade him to change his name: "Yitzhak
Ben-Zvi sent me two letters prior to the declaration, asking me to Hebraize my name.
'Berl Repetur,' he wrote, 'should change his name already!' David Remez was even
more insistent; he offered me a list of possible names, such as Perat or Bar-Tora, and
after the establishment of the state he would always ask me, 'What is going to happen
with your name, Berl?..."
28. Mordechai Shatner: "The high point of my entire life"
M ordechai Shatner, currently the Ministry of Finance official overseeing the savings
market, was head of the Jewish National Council's economics department on the eve
of the establishment of the state. In that capacity he was one of the 37 members of the
People's Council in May, 1948. A few days prior to the ceremony at the museum in
Tel Aviv, Mr. Shatner received notification, and a short time before the ceremony set
out by foot from his apartment on Rothschild Boulevard.
66 The Friday That Changed Destiny
