Page 166 - ISRAEL'S CRADLE

"Caution – Snipers! A typical sign in Jerusalem in the summer of 1948, even during the lull in the battles
had envisaged. Employees of the National Institutions, representatives of the Israeli Government and many guests participated in the commemoration.
In August 1948, Jewish Jerusalem began to recover from the lengthy siege and the bombardments, even though shots could still be heard, since the forces of the Jordanian Arab Legion, which surrounded Jerusalem on three sides would often open fire, and were met by Israeli return fire.
Jerusalemites saw a sign of recovery in the completion of the pouring of the roof of the Keren Hayesod Wing in the National Institutions Building, which was heavily damaged in an explosion five months previously. The "HaTzofe" Newspaper noted: "The completion of the building in these difficult days may constitute encouragement to the residents of the city, since for now the Keren Hayesod Building is the first among the buildings of Jerusalem [ruined as a result of the bombardments] that is being rebuilt."
Jerusalemites could find an even more prominent sign of the recovery of the city in general and of the National Institutions Building in particular in the decision to hold the session of the Zionist General Council in their city. This Zionist entity usually convened once a year, and was second only to the Zionist Congress in importance. About eighty representatives – from Israel and throughout the Jewish World – attended the session that opened in Jerusalem on August 22, 1948.
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