Page 79 - big friday
P. 79
zed the entire city and all its inhabitants. While the first hour after the proclamation
had witnessed only a sparse scattering of flags, all at once there was a great surge. The
houses in the streets were decorated with the flags of the State of Israel.
The Jewish flag hung over doors, windows, balconies, roofs, and assorted vehicles - cars,
motorbikes, bicycles, horse-drawn carriages, baby carriages. Adults and children alike
waved the flags they were holding.
The streets that had been almost empty at 4 or 5 o' clock began to teem with masses
of people and vehicles. These included a convoy of armored cars on Allenby Street, large
vehicles carrying equipment, platoons of soldiers in uniform with their kits; squads of
armed men on motorcycles. At the same time a plane of the Jewish state was circling in
the skies, dropping colored fliers calling upon the population of the state to sign on the
national loan.
"State Day"
A short time later, the streets were filled with the shouts of newspaper vendors, brandishing
the special "State Day" edition that had been published jointly by all the country's
newspapers in honor of the event. The people crowded in the streets grabbed newspapers
and devoured the contents of the historic proclamation.
"This newspaper will be preserved in my private archive, so I can show it to my children
and grandchildren," said one man, giving expression to everyone's feelings.
In the midst of all the flurry the "Sabbath man" suddenly arrived with his trumpet,
announcing with a blast that the time for candle-lighting had arrived. These were the first
Shabbat candles to be lit in Israeli homes in the independent State of Israel.
The name "Israel"
The name of the new state is 'Israel'. This Haaretz reporter was told that it was Mr. D.
Ben-Gurion who proposed this name, following consultation with several scientists and
scholars, out of all the names that had originally been suggested – Yehuda (Judea), Zion,
Eretz HaIvrim (Land of the Hebrews). The name was accepted by the members of the
Provisional State Council, and thus the state was given its name.
Gruenbaum didn't arrive because of an airplane
Member of the Provisional Government and Minister of the Interior, Mr. Yitzhak
Gruenbaum, was unable to attend the declaration ceremony because of an airplane. He
and some other members of the Government and the Council left for Jerusalem some
A State is Born 77
had witnessed only a sparse scattering of flags, all at once there was a great surge. The
houses in the streets were decorated with the flags of the State of Israel.
The Jewish flag hung over doors, windows, balconies, roofs, and assorted vehicles - cars,
motorbikes, bicycles, horse-drawn carriages, baby carriages. Adults and children alike
waved the flags they were holding.
The streets that had been almost empty at 4 or 5 o' clock began to teem with masses
of people and vehicles. These included a convoy of armored cars on Allenby Street, large
vehicles carrying equipment, platoons of soldiers in uniform with their kits; squads of
armed men on motorcycles. At the same time a plane of the Jewish state was circling in
the skies, dropping colored fliers calling upon the population of the state to sign on the
national loan.
"State Day"
A short time later, the streets were filled with the shouts of newspaper vendors, brandishing
the special "State Day" edition that had been published jointly by all the country's
newspapers in honor of the event. The people crowded in the streets grabbed newspapers
and devoured the contents of the historic proclamation.
"This newspaper will be preserved in my private archive, so I can show it to my children
and grandchildren," said one man, giving expression to everyone's feelings.
In the midst of all the flurry the "Sabbath man" suddenly arrived with his trumpet,
announcing with a blast that the time for candle-lighting had arrived. These were the first
Shabbat candles to be lit in Israeli homes in the independent State of Israel.
The name "Israel"
The name of the new state is 'Israel'. This Haaretz reporter was told that it was Mr. D.
Ben-Gurion who proposed this name, following consultation with several scientists and
scholars, out of all the names that had originally been suggested – Yehuda (Judea), Zion,
Eretz HaIvrim (Land of the Hebrews). The name was accepted by the members of the
Provisional State Council, and thus the state was given its name.
Gruenbaum didn't arrive because of an airplane
Member of the Provisional Government and Minister of the Interior, Mr. Yitzhak
Gruenbaum, was unable to attend the declaration ceremony because of an airplane. He
and some other members of the Government and the Council left for Jerusalem some
A State is Born 77
