Page 74 - big friday
P. 74
B en-Gurion went on to read the wording of the declaration. The participants in the
debate, from the Left and the Right, raised a few reservations, but among the vast majority
An historic event
It was an historic event that none of the participants will ever forget, and one that
they will recount to their children and grandchildren to the last generation. Owing to
the seriousness of the hour, the People's Administration made no public preparations
for the ceremony of the declaration of independence of the Hebrew state. It was decided
that the ceremony, majestic in its simplicity, would be held in the modestly-sized hall
of the museum on Rothschild Boulevard, once home to the first mayor of Tel Aviv,
Meir Dizengoff.
T he hall
On the eastern side of the hall, facing blue-white national flags spread over grey sheets
of fabric and a large portrait of the visionary of the Jewish state, Dr. Theodor Herzl, a long
table was positioned on a raised platform for the members of the Provisional Government.
The table was covered with grey fabric, and eleven chairs were placed for the 11 members
of the government who attended the declaration ceremony.
In front of the table, on a dais, 18 chairs were placed for the other members of the State
Council, who represent a sort of miniature parliament. To the right and the left, on both
sides of the hall, there were seats marked for the invited guests, Zionist veterans, the last
surviving delegates to the first Zionist Congress, who had merited to reach this occasion;
representatives of Zionist institutions, and of foreign consulates in Tel Aviv. Space was
reserved in the entranceway to the hall for journalists.
Fearful anticipation
In Tel Aviv there were very few people, other than the invitees, who knew what was
going to happen at the museum in the afternoon. Only those who came to Herzl Street or
Rothschild Boulevard during the afternoon felt the special atmosphere and noticed the
Civil Guard personnel who cordoned off the thoroughfare and directed the traffic to side
streets.
But as the hour of the ceremony drew closer, hundreds of people began streaming
to the barricaded areas, waiting quietly and with tense anticipation for the arrival of the
public representatives – those who were going to sign the Scroll of Independence. Next
72 The Friday That Changed Destiny
debate, from the Left and the Right, raised a few reservations, but among the vast majority
An historic event
It was an historic event that none of the participants will ever forget, and one that
they will recount to their children and grandchildren to the last generation. Owing to
the seriousness of the hour, the People's Administration made no public preparations
for the ceremony of the declaration of independence of the Hebrew state. It was decided
that the ceremony, majestic in its simplicity, would be held in the modestly-sized hall
of the museum on Rothschild Boulevard, once home to the first mayor of Tel Aviv,
Meir Dizengoff.
T he hall
On the eastern side of the hall, facing blue-white national flags spread over grey sheets
of fabric and a large portrait of the visionary of the Jewish state, Dr. Theodor Herzl, a long
table was positioned on a raised platform for the members of the Provisional Government.
The table was covered with grey fabric, and eleven chairs were placed for the 11 members
of the government who attended the declaration ceremony.
In front of the table, on a dais, 18 chairs were placed for the other members of the State
Council, who represent a sort of miniature parliament. To the right and the left, on both
sides of the hall, there were seats marked for the invited guests, Zionist veterans, the last
surviving delegates to the first Zionist Congress, who had merited to reach this occasion;
representatives of Zionist institutions, and of foreign consulates in Tel Aviv. Space was
reserved in the entranceway to the hall for journalists.
Fearful anticipation
In Tel Aviv there were very few people, other than the invitees, who knew what was
going to happen at the museum in the afternoon. Only those who came to Herzl Street or
Rothschild Boulevard during the afternoon felt the special atmosphere and noticed the
Civil Guard personnel who cordoned off the thoroughfare and directed the traffic to side
streets.
But as the hour of the ceremony drew closer, hundreds of people began streaming
to the barricaded areas, waiting quietly and with tense anticipation for the arrival of the
public representatives – those who were going to sign the Scroll of Independence. Next
72 The Friday That Changed Destiny
