Israel's Proclamation of Independence: Eng

Israel's 72 Independence day, April 2020

Israel's 73rd Independence Day, April 2021

Photographer: Pinn Hans, Government Press Office

MERCAZ Olami & Masorti Olami present:

Israel's Declaration of Independence

The Land of Israel was the of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the Book of Books.

birthplace

The people of Israel became a nation before arriving in the land of Israel – they became a nation in Egypt, or perhaps even during their journey in the desert. Why is then that the proclamation says it was in the land of Israel that we became a nation? Exodus 1, 9: "the Israelite people are much too numerous for us." Exodus 6, 7: "And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, the LORD, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians." Prof. Ruhama Weiss (HUC) claimes that the proclamation is an attempt to create national mythology and harness it to a current national mission. Rabbi Dr. Ariel Picard (Shalom Hartman Institute) suggests reading this sentence "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people" differently, referring to birthplace not as the actual place of our nation’s birth, but as the birth of our sovereignty; This is the place where the Jewish People can live full lives.

eternal

The Existence of an original Hebrew culture needs no proof. So long as the Bible is extant, the creative power of the Jewish mind will remain undeniable. Even those who deny that the Jews are a people at the present day are compelled to admit that when they were a people they were creative people, and the products of their creative power bear the indelible impress of their native genius. The spiritual revival, Ahad Haam, 1917.

Our people birthplace

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Exile

After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their .

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pray and hope

According to Dr. Rani Jaeger ( Shalom Hartman Institute), our prayers, whether on holidays or the day-to-day, always mention the land of Israel. The declaration relates to the prayer and hope as acts that replace living in the land of Israel. According to the declaration, the prayer shift into a pioneer zionist act of immigrating and building the country. The prayer has a role in preserving the relationship between the people and the land. It seems that when this is realized, the prayer's role ends; What is the point in longing poems to the land, when we are in this land, building it? However, an examination of Israeli culture shows that it is filled with prayers. For example: Hen Efshar (Chaim Chefer): *Written during the War of Independence Yes, it’s possible another evening will comeAnd the gate will creak quietlyAnd your eyes will be so goodAs if there were no war in the worldYes, it’s possible, yes, it’s possibleThat this will simply happen tomorrowYes, it’s possible, on the jeep that passed by -Young men roared, that it’s overYes, it’s possible, yes, it’s possibleThat this will simply happen tomorrow הן אפשר כי עוד ערב יבוא,והשער יחרוק לו דומם,ועינייך יהיו כה טובות,כמו אין מלחמה בעולם. הן אפשר, הן אפשר,שיהיה זה פשוט כבר מחר.הן אפשר ובג'יפ שעבר,שאגו בחורים כי נגמר.הן אפשר, הן אפשר

political freedom

Can we find similarity between the proclamation and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?

Impelled by this attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. , defiant returnees, and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.

This right was recognized in the Balfour Declaration of the 2nd November, 1917, and re-affirmed in the Mandate of the League of Nations which, in particular, gave international sanction to the historic connection between the Jewish people and Eretz-Israel and to the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National Home.

The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people - the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe - was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State, which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the community of nations.

Survivors of the Nazi holocaust in Europe, as well as Jews from other parts of the world, continued to migrate to Eretz-Israel, undaunted by difficulties, restrictions and dangers, and never ceased to assert their right to a life of dignity, freedom and honest toil in their national homeland.

In the Second World War, the Jewish community of this country contributed its full share to the struggle of the freedom- and peace-loving nations against the forces of Nazi wickedness and, by the blood of its soldiers and its war effort, gained the right to be reckoned among the peoples who founded the United Nations.

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historic and traditional

Are we discussing two different types of connections or is it an intertwined connection between both? David Ben Gurion called Zionism a revolution. Dr. Michah Goodman claims this wasn't a complete revolution: a revolution is usually an attempt to overthrow a ruler or change things from the ground. Zionism, however, embodies an intrinsic tension within it: rebelling against tradition, while seeking to return to the past – to the land of Israel and the language of our ancestors.

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The merits of the word "AND"

Pioneers

Susannah Heschel: "To be involved with Zionism it to be involved with one of the most intellectually and politically challenging movements of all human history.”

In the year 5657 (1897), at the summons of the spiritual father of the , Theodore Herzl, the First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in its own country.

What did Theodor Herzl dream of? A Jewish State or a state for the Jews?

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Jewish State

What did Theodor Herzl envision? A Jewish State or a state for the Jews? Is there a difference between the two?

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THE Vision

https://youtu.be/C9xjQ9q93oY

This right was recognized in the of the 2nd November, 1917, and re-affirmed in of the League of Nations which, in particular, gave international sanction to the historic connection between the Jewish people and Eretz-Israel and to the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its .

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National Home

Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People What Would Herzl Say About the Nationality Bill? an Op-ED by Nasreen Hadad Haj-Yahya, The Israel Democracy Institution What Would Herzl Say About the Nationality Bill?In recent years, I have often been under the impression that Israel's Arabs citizens have gotten caught in a crossfire between politicians from the...Idi

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Balfour Declaration

National HOme

the Mandate

The Mandate for Palestine, July 24, 1922

Op-Ed on the public debate in Israel regarding the Nation-State Law by Col (Res.) Dr. Raphael G. Bouchnik-Chen The Machiavellian Opponents of the Nation State LawThe public debate attending the Nation State Law is a clear indicator of Israel's vibrant democracy and an illustration of the freedom of expression...Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies

The catastrophe which recently befell the people - the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe - was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish , which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the community of nations.

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Jewish

How many times are the Jewish people mentioned in this paragraph? How are they called? Can we reference it to "the more they were oppressed, the more they increased and spread out " (Exodus 1; 22)?

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State

Haim Gouri resents the idea that the State of Israel was established as a result of the Holocaust. He explains that the establishment of the Israeli state began decades earlier with immigration waves and their fruits of efforts: Israeli culture, defense forces, Jewish labor, etc. The state of Israel wasn't established because of the Holocaust but despite this horrible disaster. And yet, this part of the declaration is important in understanding ourselves, therefore we should re-examine it, and delve deeper into it.

Historical Reasoning

of the Nazi holocaust in Europe, as well as Jews from other parts of the world, continued to to Eretz-Israel, undaunted by difficulties, restrictions and dangers, and never ceased to their their right to a life of , and

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Survivors

Prof. Dalia Ofer (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) explains that David Ben- Gurion was looking for a focal point, by which it will be possible to raise political support for the establishment of Israel. In his eyes - that could be achieved by bringing the Holocaust survivors (Sh'erit ha-Pletah) to Israel. Unlike most of his colleagues, who saw only Holocaust survivors as She'rit ha-Pletah, Ben-Gurion thought this term applies to all of the Jewish people. The entire public, millions of Jews, needed to be rescued, and this was possible only by changing the political position of Zionism. He thought that if Zionism succeeds in turning She'rit ha-Pletah into a weight-factor In the political considerations of the Powerful countries, the long-awaited change will happen.

SH'erit ha-pleta

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migrate

Menachem Begin, June 20, 1977: “On the basis of my assumption that tonight the Knesset will express confidence in the government… and my confidence in the agreement of members of the Knesset across, or almost across party lines, I announce that tomorrow, my first act as prime minister will be to give instructions to grant asylum in our country to refugees from Vietnam. “We all remember the ships with Jewish refugees in the ’30s that wandered the surface of the seven seas, asking to enter a specific country, or any number of countries, only to encounter rejection. Today, there exists the state of the Jews. We have not forgotten. We will behave with humanity. We will bring these unfortunate people, refugees saved by our ship from drowning in the depths of the sea to our country. We will provide them shelter and refuge.” וְגֵ֥ר לֹא־תוֹנֶ֖ה וְלֹ֣א תִלְחָצֶ֑נּוּ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ שמות כ"ב,כ You shall not wrong a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Exodus 22;20 כְּאֶזְרָ֣ח מִכֶּם֩ יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם הַגֵּ֣ר ׀ הַגָּ֣ר אִתְּכֶ֗ם וְאָהַבְתָּ֥ לוֹ֙ כָּמ֔וֹךָ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ ויקרא י"ט, ל"ד The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the LORD am your God. Leviticus 19;24

assert

Who are they asserting these rights from?

dignity

The Hebrew word in the declaration is כבוד Kavod, which can be translated as dignity or honor. The UN relates to dignity in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 ("Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world....) Why do we see this only once in the declaration?

freedom

Slaves of time, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi עַבְדֵי זְמָן עַבְדֵי עֲבָדִים הֵם – עֶבֶד אֲדֹנָי הוּא לְבַד חָפְשִׁי: עַל כֵּן בְבַקֵּשׁ כָּל-אֱנוֹשׁ חֶלְקוֹ “חֶלְקִי אֲדֹנָי!” אָמְרָה נַפְשִׁי. The servants of time are slaves of slave The servant of God – he alone is free Therefore, when each man doth sue for his portion My portion is God,” saith my soul

honest toil

(Hebrew follows English) I Believe Shaul Tchernichovsky Rejoice, rejoice now in the dreamsI the dreamer am he who speaksRejoice, for I’ll have faith in mankindFor in mankind I believe. For my soul still yearns for freedomI’ve not sold it to a calf of goldFor I shall yet have faith in mankindIn its spirit great and bold That will cast off binding chainsRaise us up, hold high our headsWorkers will not die of hungerFor souls – release, for poor folk – bread. Rejoice for I have faith in friendshipI’ll find a heart – in this I’ve faith –A heart that shares in all my hopes,A heart that feels both joy and pain. And I shall keep faith in the future,Though the day be yet unseenSurely it will come when nationsAll live in blessed peace. Then my people too will flourishAnd a generation shall ariseIn the land, shake off its chainsAnd see light in every eye. It shall live, love, accomplish, laborIn the land it is aliveNot in the future, not in heaven –And its spirit shall henceforth thrive. A poet shall sing a new anthem,His heart aware of beauty sublimeFor him, that young man, above my tombBlossoms in a wreath shall twine. Written in Odessa in 1892. Translated from Hebrew by Vivian Eden. שַׂחֲקִי, שַׂחֲקִי עַל הַחֲלוֹמוֹת, זוּ אֲנִי הַחוֹלֵם שָֹח. שַׂחֲקִי כִּי בָאָדָם אַאֲמִין, כִּי עוֹדֶנִּי מַאֲמִין בָּךְ. כִּי עוֹד נַפְשִׁי דְּרוֹר שׁוֹאֶפֶת לֹא מְכַרְתִּיהָ לְעֵגֶל-פָּז, כִּי עוֹד אַאֲמִין גַּם בָּאָדָם, גַּם בְּרוּחוֹ, רוּחַ עָז. רוּחוֹ יַשְׁלִיךְ כַּבְלֵי-הֶבֶל, יְרוֹמְמֶנּוּ בָּמֳתֵי-עָל; לֹא בָּרָעָב יָמוּת עֹבֵד, דְּרוֹר – לַנֶּפֶשׁ, פַּת – לַדָּל. שַׂחֲקִי כִּי גַּם בְּרֵעוּת אַאֲמִין, אַאֲמִין, כִּי עוֹד אֶמְצָא לֵב, לֵב תִּקְוֹתַי גַּם תִּקְוֹתָיו, יָחוּשׁ אֹשֶׁר, יָבִין כְּאֵב. אַאֲמִינָה גַּם בֶּעָתִיד, אַף אִם יִרְחַק זֶה הַיּוֹם, אַךְ בּוֹא יָבוֹא – יִשְׂאוּ שָׁלוֹם אָז וּבְרָכָה לְאֹם מִלְּאֹם. יָשׁוּב יִפְרַח אָז גַּם עַמִּי, וּבָאָרֶץ יָקוּם דּוֹר, בַּרְזֶל-כְּבָלָיו יוּסַר מֶנּוּ, עַיִן-בְּעַיִן יִרְאֶה אוֹר. יִחְיֶה, יֶאֱהַב, יִפְעַל, יָעַשׂ, דּוֹר בָּאָרֶץ אָמְנָם חָי לֹא בֶּעָתִיד – בַּשָּׁמַיִם, חַיֵּי-רוּחַ לוֹ אֵין דָי. אָז שִׁיר חָדָשׁ יָשִׁיר מְשׁוֹרֵר, לְיֹפִי וְנִשְׂגָּב לִבּוֹ עֵר; לוֹ, לַצָּעִיר, מֵעַל קִבְרִי פְּרָחִים יִלְקְטוּ לַזֵּר. אודיסה 1894

in their national homeland.

In the Second World War, the Jewish community of this country contributed its to the struggle of the freedom- and peace-loving nations against the forces of Nazi wickedness and, by the blood of its soldiers and its war effort, gained the right to be reckoned among the peoples who founded the

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Joint war efforts

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United Nations.

Prof. Gabriela Shalev, former Israeli ambassador to the UN explains: The UN is mentioned six times in the declaration. In the declaration’s historical part the Partition Plan is mentioned as the basis of the Jewish people’s right to their own state: “This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable.” In the operative part of the declaration, the new state's loyalty to the principles of the United Nations Charter is established. The new state will corporate with “the agencies and representatives of the United Nations”, and “…assist the Jewish people in the building-up of its State and to receive the State of Israel into the community of nations”. This demonstrates a deep connection in the vision of the state founders between the State of Israel and the family of nations. In recent years, the relation between the UN and the state of Israel had its ups and downs, many feel despair and frustration in the face of the attacks and difficulties that the State of Israel is experiencing in the global arena, and the question is repeatedly asked: Is the UN a friend or foe. To understand the relationship between Israel and the UN, we need to distinguish between the various UN bodies; there’s a distinction between the General Assembly, Security Council, Human Rights Council and other bodies within the UN. The General assembly is comproised of one representative per country. When Israel joined the UN and declared its loyalty to the UN charter, 60 countries were represented in the UN. Today this number has tripled (to 193), and as opposed to the past, many countries are not traditionally democratic. These countries, Arab and Muslim countries, are the majority in the General Assembly and tend to automatically vote against Israel. The Security council is the most important and effective body of the UN, and has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. Many (some will say too many) of the discussions of the council focus on Israel. In these discussions Israel relies on the council’s five permanent members that have veto rights for her interests. Of these members, the United States stands out for its continued support of Israel. Another important body is the Human rights council. The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly. Some of these countries are not known as protectors of human rights, and do not miss an opportunity to condemn Israel. Despite that, we must remember this is the only organization to unify nations. Hence, the UN is vital in accomplishing noble and crucial goals - not only preventing war and terror, but also protecting the environment, preventing hunger and protecting the vulnerable. Despite all the difficulties that Israel is facing within the UN bodies, Prof. Shalev suggests to continue and strengthen the connection between Israel and the UN, presenting Israel as a country that isn’t characterized only by conflict, but a country that contributes to the world and humankind with its knowledge and experience in the fields of medicine, agriculture, technology, science and culture.

full share

On the , the United Nations General Assembly passed calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel; the General Assembly required the inhabitants of Eretz-Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable.

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THE Un Partition Plan for Palestine

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a resolution

Dr. Orit Kamir: The declaration of Independence contains two declarations: -A Zionist one, that is written for the Yishuv Ha-Ivri, from their own point of view. This declaration presents a Zionist narrative: Using "we" in the last paragraphs allows to establish a new Israeli collective. -A Democratic declaration, focusing on the UN partition plan and the governing foundations of the new country. This declaration is written for the UN and speaks its language for the purpose of receiving international recognition. This declaration commits to a state that upholds equality between all its citizens and cooperates "with the agencies and representatives of the United Nations" (paragraph 14). Each declaration holds a different set of values. But both are present in each paragraph, sentence, and word - two souls in one body. They are intertwined and constitute the foundation of a Jewish state - Zionist and Democratic- as the resolution of November 29, 1947, requires.

29th November 1947

Prof. Ruth Gavison: The great achievement of the Zionist Enterprise, up to the founding of the state, has been its success (for about fifty years; with numerous ups and downs and with perseverance and determination) to do many things without relying on any state power. The Special Commission Report, set up to examine the end of the British mandate and which established recommendations for the November 29th vote, shows admiration of what the Jews had managed to do and of the Zionist Enterprise’s achievements. This impressive enterprise existed on November 29th, even before the Jewish state came into being, and it was the one who prepared the ground for this historical decision. 60 years to the November 29th, 1947 resolution, pp 76-90, Metzilah center, 2009

This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, , in sovereign State.

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Natural right

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their own

According to Prof. Asa Kasher, this paragraph, and especially the words בזכות עצמו (on their own), are the backbone of the declaration. Previously in the declaration, we read about Jewish history and collective memory. The upcoming paragraphs outline the future of the Jewish people in their state. Kasher sees three Fundamental ideas embodied in this paragraph – the backbone of the declaration: -Independence. For the first time in modern history, the Jewish people are in their own country, governed by themselves, not by foreign nations. -Responsibility. Independence and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. It is our right to be independent, and our duty to do so responsibly, taking into consideration all facets of governing. -Our natural right. Like any nation, the Jewish people are entitled to their own country in which they can be responsible for themselves. Our request for independence is not unique or farfetched – but a request and right all nations should have.

like all other nations

Resolution 3379: Zionism is a form of racism Chaim Herzog speech at the UN. To read the full text, go to Chaim Herzog: 'This resolution based on hatred, falsehood, and arrogance', Tears up UN Resolution 3379 - 1975 Resolution 4686, revocation of resolution 3379 Chaim Herzog: 'This resolution based on hatred, falsehood and arrogance', Tears up UN Resolution 3379 - 1975 - Speakola10 November 1975, United Nations, New York City, USA Resolution 3379 before the third committee condemned Zionism as racism. This is the Israeli...Speakola

Accordingly we, , representatives of the Jewish Community of Eretz-Israel and of the Zionist Movement, are here assembled on the day of the termination of the British Mandate over Eretz-Israel and, by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the

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celebratory declaration

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members of the People's Council

Who are these people? 35 men and 2 women, representing different political parties and organizations in the Zionist movement, and a few who didn't belong to it. This body, of 37 members, was chosen a month prior to the declaration, in a special session of the Zionist Va'ad Hapoel. In that same session, the Va'ad Hapoel decided to declare independence on the day the British mandate ends - May 15, 1948. They also decided that 37 members will be the provisional state council and 13 of them will be the proto-cabinet. The proto-cabinet met regularly. Among their historical decisions are: denying the ultimatum given by the US to postpone the declaration until a ceasefire will be agreed upon, and the naming of the new country. Out of the 37 people, 27 were born in Tsarist Russia (including 11 from Poland, 7 from Ukraine, 5 from Belarus, 2 from Lithuania and 2 from Bessarabia),4 from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 2 from Germany, 1 from Romania, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Yemen. Only one was born in the land of Israel.

State of Israel.

The naming of the new state appears twice in the declaration (the next paragraph is the second time). Is this a reference to Jacob and his naming? וַיֹּֽאמֶר־ל֥וֹ אֱלֹהִ֖ים שִׁמְךָ֣ יַעֲקֹ֑ב לֹֽא־יִקָּרֵא֩ שִׁמְךָ֨ ע֜וֹד יַעֲקֹ֗ב כִּ֤י אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה שְׁמֶ֔ךָ וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ God said to him, “You whose name is Jacob, You shall be called Jacob no more, But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He named him Israel. (Genesis 35, 10)

We declare that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with thewhich shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948, the People's Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, and its executive organ, the People's Administration, shall be the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, to be called "Israel."

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elected regular authorities

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Constitution

Israel’s first elections were not to the Knesset; there was no such thing. Instead voters chose representatives to the Constituent Assembly, that body charged in the declaration of Independence with drafting a constitution by October 1, 1948. That assembly’s very first act, however, would delay its raison d’être indefinitely. Within two days of its election, the Constituent assembly had disbanded and reformed itself as the first Knesset. After protracted debate, the first Knesset decided to delay writing a full constitution, citing immediate and pressing threats to Israel’s existence, an inability to bridge the religions-secular divide, and the impropriety of drafting a constitution for the Jewish state before world Jewry had had a chance to make Aliyah. The decision to delay, called the Harrari Decision after its initiator, MK Harrari, called for The Constitution, Law and Justice Committee to prepare a draft State Constitution. The constitution will be built chapter by chapter, in such a way that each will constitute a separate Basic Law. The chapters shall be presented to the Knesset when the committee completes its work, and all the chapters together shall comprise the Constitution of the State. There was no hurry, and it took almost ten years for the first Basic Law to be passed. Since then, subsequent Knessets have enacted a total of eleven Basic Laws, dealing mostly with the structure and powers of the governing bodies and, most recently, certain basic civil rights. Source: Constitution for Israel: A joint project of the Knesset and the Jewish Agency for Israel presented by the Israeli American Jewish forum

Where is the word "Democratic" in the declaration? Even though it describes democratic values, liberty, equality, and human rights, the word itself doesn't appear. Going through drafts of the declaration, it seems the word was omitted on purpose by Moshe Sharett. Additionally, the state is defined as a Jewish State. How did the founding fathers see the state's Jewish character? Op-Ed by Dr. Shuki Friedman, The Israel Democracy Institute, Jewish or Democratic? We Mustn’t Choose Between Them

The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit ; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the it will ensure complete of social and political rights irrespective of , race or sex; it will guarantee , conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

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equality

Our Duties as Americans, Our Responsibilities as Jews: The Presidential Address of the Hon. Joseph M. Proskauer at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Jewish Committee, January 1, 1948 (pp. 3-7): We have not, we cannot have and we will not have any political fealty except to our own America. Clear thinking requires that we begin with this axiom; and its first corollary is to say to the anti-Semite that the Jews of America suffer from no political schizophrenia, that politically we are not split personalities, and that in faith and in conduct we shall continue to demonstrate what the death-rolls of our army on many a battlefield have attested, that we are bone of the bone and flesh of the flesh of America… it is for us in the spirit of brotherhood to aid this new state to become a truly democratic state. Dr. Weizmann once voiced the ideal of a state where Jews did not dominate Arabs and Arabs did not dominate Jews. It is in the field of morality that Judaism has made its greatest contribution to the world. Let us work to the end that this new state will be reared upon that morality; that every citizen of it will be safeguarded in his life, in his liberty and his pursuit of happiness; that there shall be full political equality among all its citizens; that there shall be equal opportunity for all and with no discrimination by reason of race, religion, national origin or social position; and that it may set an example to the world of a triumphant rebirth of that true democracy which springs from the behest of our Old Testament "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." To read the full speech, go to https://www.bjpa.org/search-results/publication/13935

of all its inhabitants

Theodore Herzl, Zion & the Jewish National Idea', in Zionism Reconsidered, Macmillan, 1970 PB, p.185 "It is founded on the ideas which are a common product of all civilized nations ... It would be immoral if we would exclude anyone, whatever his origin, his descent, or his religion, from participating in our achievements. For we stand on the shoulders of other civilized peoples ... What we own we owe to the preparatory work of other peoples. Therefore, we have to repay our debt. There is only one way to do it, the highest tolerance. Our motto must, therefore, be, now and ever: 'Man, you are my brother"

The new state charachter

prophets of Israel;

How do the prophets of Israel envision freedom, justice,and peace?

to all its inhabitants

The opening of this paragraph is dedicated to the Jewish population of the state. From there, it is dedicated to non-Jews citizens. This paragraph expresses the Zionism vision, of intertwining modern Jewish nationality and humanism and enlightenment.

freedom of

In Israeli law, marriages are carried out by the sanctioned authorities of each religious community – Muslim, the various Christian denominations, Druze and so on. For Jews, this currently means that marriage and divorce are handled exclusively by the Orthodox Rabbinate. There is no way to conduct an interfaith marriage, and many Israelis whose Jewish status is in doubt are unable to marry at all. Opponents of the status quo argue that this situation harms freedom of religion and infringes upon basic human rights. Yet the recognition of alternative forms of marriage or the introduction of a civil procedure would have far-reaching and possibly destructive consequences for the Jewish identity of Israel’s Jewish citizens and the unity of Israeli society. The Orthodox monopoly on marriage, divorce, and conversion fulfill a “greatest common denominator” need; Orthodox procedures are recognized by all the other streams, but the same cannot be said for any of the others. Losing this greatest common denominator would create an ever-growing subclass of Jews unable to marry their brethren. In recent years, both secular and religious camps have begun to understand the need to compromise. Religioussecular dialogue has produced joint statements of principles and detailed proposals for regulating the relationship between religion and state. Recent months have seen major public figures from the Orthodox establishment coming out in favor of allowing some civil marriage. Yet the controversy over the place of Judaism in Israel is far from over. Source: Constitution for Israel: A joint project of the Knesset and the Jewish Agency for Israel presented by the Israeli American Jewish forum

religion

The Gavison-Medan Covenant is the most recent of a series of similar documents drawn up over the past decade that seek to mend these rifts. Its authors, Prof. Ruth Gavison and Rabbi Yaacov Medan, spent three years writing the Covenant, producing a comprehensive 300-page document that presents proposals, detailed explanations, and the authors' personal credos. The Covenant deals with many issues, including the Law of Return, citizenship, and conversion, marriage and divorce, the Sabbath, kashrut, burial, and the religious councils. Gavison-Medan Covenant

religion

David Ben Gurion on the Status Quo: … When I wanted to introduce national service conscription, the religious parties said they would, of course, support it but they insisted that all army kitchens be kosher. Kosher kitchens to them were of paramount importance; to me, they were of subsidiary interest. It was a price I was prepared to pay for their full-fledged support on a vital defense measure…. In the same way, I agreed not to change the status quo on religious authority for matters of personal status. I know it was hard on some individuals. But I felt, again in the national interest, that it was wise to pay the comparatively small price of religious status quo. Source: Howard Sacher, A History of Israel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991)

The State of Israel is prepared to cooperate with the agencies and representatives of the United Nations in implementing the resolution of the General Assembly of the 29th November, 1947, and will take steps to bring about the of the of Eretz-Israel.

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collaborations

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whole

What are the boundaries of the new state?

economic union

Meir David Loewenstein Zvi Luria Golda Myerson Nachum Nir Zvi SegalRabbi Yehuda Leib Hacohen Fishman David Zvi Pinkas Aharon Zisling Moshe Kolodny Eliezer Kaplan Abraham Katznelson Felix Rosenblueth David Remez Berl Repetur Mordekhai Shattner Ben Zion Sternberg Bekhor Shitreet Moshe Shapira Moshe Shertok

We appeal to the United Nations to assist the Jewish people in the building-up of its State and to receive the State of Israel into the .

Placing our trust in the Almighty, we affix our signatures to this proclamation at this session of the provisional Council of State, on the soil of the Homeland, in the city of Tel-Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the 5th day of Iyar, 5708 (14th May, 1948).

David Ben-Gurion Daniel Auster Mordekhai Bentov Yitzchak Ben Zvi Eliyahu Berligne Fritz Bernstein Rabbi Wolf Gold Meir Grabovsky Yitzchak Gruenbaum Dr. Abraham Granovsky Eliyahu Dobkin Meir Wilner-Kovner Zerach Wahrhaftig Herzl Vardi Rachel Cohen Rabbi Kalman Kahana Saadia Kobashi Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin

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community of nations

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community of nations

According to Prof. Nissim Calderon (Ben Gurion University), the declaration can be divided into three distinct parts: First - Historical Story. Second – Factual Declaration. Third – call to action. These parts, altogether, are designed to demonstrate and to prove that the Jewish nation is like all other nations – and has a natural and historical right for its own country: The first part discusses the historical and natural rights. The Zionist ideology presented in the declaration claims Israel as the place of our nation’s birth, therefore we have a historical right to it. The second part expresses how as all nations we have rights and duties – Commitments to ourselves, to others, and to act as a democratic state with equality to all. The third part is a call to action to other nations and finally to ourselves, to join us in the effort to fulfill the natural right of a nation to a country of its own.

We appeal - in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months - to the of the State of Israel to preserve peace and in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.

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a call for peace

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participate

Letter to my Palestinian Israeli neighbors, Yossi Klein Halevi

Arab inhabitants

We to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.

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A new neighbouring state

peace

The word peace appears five times in the declaration. This is to illustrate the uniqueness of this formative document that was drafted and published in the midst of a bloody, difficult war. In comparison - transcendent and universal values like equality and justice appear in the Declaration of Independence only once. However, despite the centrality of peace, it is not the dominant value in the declaration. The Jewish people's right to resurrection in their country is the most important issue in the Declaration of Independence, and the tension between it and the value of peace has accompanied Israel's political path from its inception to the present day.

extend our hand

Dr. Dalia Gavriely-Nuri points out to the visual aspect of the phrase – we only see one hand extended out, but we do not see the other side’s hand/reaction. The focus is not on the receiving end but on the delivering one. This phrase is used as a frequent metaphor, widely adopted by the Israeli leadership through generations, to such an extent that it has become a part of the Israeli Canon. Dr. Gavriely-Nuri recognizes four models through which the metaphor is used: 1. The European model: Using the metaphor for the purpose of emphasizing the moral superiority of the speaker and highlighting the asymmetry between him and the recipient. This use also expresses disappointment and a sense of victimhood. For example, Golda Meir, used this metaphor after the 1956 war, saying that Israel has, over and over, extended its hand for peach in vain. 2. The Sabra model: Using the metaphor from a position of power and threat. This model is usually used by sabra commanders-in-Chief of the IDF like Yitzhak Rabin who said that our hand is always extended for peace, but our fingers are on the trigger. 3. The peacemaking model: This model was used in speeches carried out through the Egypt–Israel Peace negotiations. In this model, the metaphor is an expression of interaction – an extension of hands on both sides. Menachem Begin used this metaphor in his speech at the Knesset during the historic visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat: "...Then will we know that the era of wars has ended, that we have extended a hand to one another, that we have shaken each other's hand, and that the future will be glorious for all the Peoples of the region... " 4. The post-modern model: Using the metaphor to emphasize and draw from its power, not from its content. This use is designed to improve the self-image of a person or of the state, making them seem peace seekers. PM Olmert at the Memorial Ceremony for David Ben-Gurion in Sde Boker on November 27th, 2006 said: ".. Already at the time of Israel's birth, Ben-Gurion extended his hand in peace to the Arab nations. His hand was rejected, but it remains extended. I extend my hand in peace to our Palestinian neighbors, hoping that it will not be rejected... ".

We appeal to the Jewish people throughout the to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of and upbuilding and in the great struggle for the of the age-old dream - the of Israel.

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The new state as a center for the jewish people

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immigration

Professor Aviva Halamish: Is immigration (or Aliyah) a goal or method? During the '30s, the immigration waves to the land of Israel cause the Zionist leadership to hope that that the immigration (method) will bring the establishment of a Jewish state (goal). The Arab revolt in 1936 and the change in the British policy, changed the Zionist leadership opinion - the immigration will not create a state. A state must be established at once, so it can have its own immigration policy. Two years after the establishment of the state, the Knesset passed unanimously the Law of Return on 5 July 1950.

to stand by them

According to Shmuel Rosner, the young State of Israel had three requests of the Jews of the world: The first was not answered, the second was answered but not necessarily as the founding fathers intended, and the third deserves a deeper examination. The call for aliyah was the unanswered call. Many gathered and came to Israel, but many more chose not to come. The call to build Israel was partially answered. It seems that the founders' words were meant as literal building, for those who would come to Israel and build it with their own hands. But the Diaspora Jews were smart- Participating in the building of the country, but not with their own hands but with their own donations. The third call is the most general of all. to stand by the state of Israel in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream - the redemption of Israel. 72 years later, beg the question – Today, when Israel is as strong and prosperous as ever, should we ask the Diaspora Jews to stand by us, or is it the duty of the State of Israel to stand by the Diaspora Jews?

Diaspora

redemption

When a miracle does not find its appropriate echo in actual deeds, a lofty vision dissipates and ‎is ‎squandered, whereupon Divine Justice indicts the ungrateful recipient of the miracle... then comes distress, the hour of ‎misery. ‎Suffering is the final warning given by Providence to the man, who is devoid of gratitude ‎for the ‎good God has done for him. To the final proclamation that issues forth from suffering, one ‎must ‎react quickly and answer the call of the Almighty, who cries out to him, “Where are you?” ‎‎(Genesis ‎‎3:9). Judaism has been very careful about not missing the appointed hour. It has a very ‎sensitive ‎time awareness; any delay is considered sinful. Man may sometimes lose his entire world ‎for but ‎one sin — that of tarrying. “But he lingered” (Genesis 19:16)... What is the essence of the story of the Song of Songs, if not the description of a paradoxical ‎and ‎tragic hesitation on the part of the love-intoxicated, anxiety stricken Lover, when the ‎opportunity, ‎couched in majestic awe, presented itself? What is it, if not the deferral of a great and ‎sublime ‎opportunity pregnant with a possibility of which she dreamed, for which she fought, which ‎she ‎sought, and for which she had searched with all the fervor of her soul?..In ‎that mysterious and strange night, the Beloved for whom she had so hoped and kept ‎watch, ‎suddenly appeared out of the darkness and beckoned at the entrance of her tent. He ‎knocked and ‎pleaded that she open the door for Him. “Listen! My Beloved Is Knocking, saying, ‎‎‘Open to me, my ‎sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: Deceitful is the heart (Jeremiah 17:9), however, and who ‎can explain it? ‎That very night, sloth, the result of a strange inertia, took hold of the Lover. The Lover refused to leave her bed. ‎after a ‎brief delay the Lover awoke from her slumber and jumped in haste from her bed to greet ‎the ‎Beloved. “I rose up to open to my Beloved” (Song of Songs 5:5), but the leap came too late. ‎The ‎Beloved had stopped beckoning and had disappeared into the darkness of the night, “My ‎Beloved ‎had turned away, and was gone” (Song of Songs 5:6). Eight years ago, in the midst of a night of the terrors of Majdanek, Treblinka, and Buchenwald; in ‎a ‎night of gas chambers and crematoria; in a night of total divine selfconcealment; in a night ruled ‎by ‎the devil of doubt and destruction who sought to sweep the Lover from her own tent into ‎the ‎Catholic Church; in a night of continuous searching for the Beloved — on that very night ‎the ‎Beloved appeared. The Almighty, who was hiding in His splendid sanctum, suddenly appeared ‎and ‎began to beckon at the tent of the Lover, who tossed and turned on her bed beset by ‎convulsions ‎and the agonies of hell. Because of the beating and knocking at the door of the ‎mournful Lover, ‎the State of Israel was born.‎ Kol Dodi Dofek, Joseph B. Soloveitchik

realization

1. The Declaration of Independence – Israel as the State of the Jewish People 2. The Law of Return and Democracy: There are those who argue that the Law of Return is racist, one of the clearest proofs that Arab Israelis are the victims of state-sponsored discrimination. This claim is baseless. The law does not discriminate among citizens. It determines who may become one. The principle of repatriation in a nation state is grounded in both political morality and international law. The United Nations’ 1947 resolution approving the establishment of a Jewish state was meant to enable Jews to control immigration to their country. Similar immigration policies based on a preference for people whose nationality is that of the state have been practiced in European countries, including many of the new nation states established after the fall of the Soviet Union. The need to preserve a national majority, especially in cases where the minority belongs to a nation that has its own, adjacent state, is not unique to Israel. Ruth Gavison “The Jews’ Right to Statehood: A Defense” (Azure, Shalem Center, Summer 2003) 3. Israel as a Shelter from Antisemitism: The fact is that the Law of Return is not merely a domestic Israeli issue, but rather the common property of the entire Jewish people, in Israel and in the Diaspora. The Law of Return is not a secular, Ashkenazi or Sephardi invention. It was, even before the establishment of the state, the insurance voucher of every Jew in the world in the event of persecution on account of his or her Jewishness - according to the definition of the persecutors, not by Jewish law - guaranteeing that person asylum in the State of Israel. Eliyahu Salpeter “The Danger of Tinkering with the Law of Return” (Haaretz, December 9 1999) 4. The Demographic Balance: Numbers are not a game with us, my friend, they are a matter of life or death! It isn’t only that we are a pitifully Law of Return Background Take some time to study this background material on the religious and legal issues surrounding marriage in Israel. Having familiarized yourself with the information in the pack, choose the most pertinent facts you have encountered and formulate pressing questions raised by your reading. the small island of Jews in a hostile Arab sea. It isn’t only that in a young country like ours, surrounded by besieged borders, numbers are crucial for an army to be strong enough, for an economy to sustain itself, for towns and villages not to wither on the vine, for institutions to be able to function as they should. It’s also that within our own official borders … we are engaged in a population race with an Arab minority whose outcome can prove as fateful to us as that of any military or political development…. The plain truth is that Israel can only continue to behave in a reasonably democratic manner toward its Arab minority … only if the latter does not grow proportionately so large as to call into question the distinctively Jewish character of the state and ultimately its very existence…. Without numbers – and such of them as are needed can come only from the Diaspora, for we cannot start producing them like rabbits – we stand as little chance here in the long run as we would without airplanes or tanks. Hillel Halkin Letters to an American Jewish Friend (Jewish Publication Society, 1977) Source: Constitution for Israel: a joint project of the Knesset and the Jewish Agency for Israel presented by the Israeli American Jewish Forum

Placing our trust in the , we affix our signatures to this proclamation at this session of the provisional Council of State, on the soil of the Homeland, in the city of Tel-Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the 5th day of Iyar, 5708 (14th May, ).

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Closing paragraph

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Almighty

Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel, by Rabbi Yitsḥak haLevi Hertzog (1948) תפילה לשלום מדינת ישראל | Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel, by Rabbi Yitsḥak haLevi Hertzog (1948) * the Open Siddur ProjectSource (Hebrew) Translation (English) Our father in Shamayim (Heaven), Rock-fortress and redeemer of Yisra'el - bless the State of Israel, the...the Open Siddur Project

1948

The Israeli Democracy Index 2018: The Democracy Index project, now in its 16th year, is conducted by the research team of the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at IDI, headed by Prof. Tamar Hermann. The study is based on a representative sample of 1,041 respondents, Jews and Arabs, and provides data on the situation of the Israeli democracy as measured by various international indices.

In most slides, you will find the resource of the text at the end of it. Other texts were edited and translated from Megilat Ha'Atzmaut - The Declaration of Independence With an Israeli Talmudic Commentary; Sources, Researches, Literature, and Midrash. Envisioned and Edited by Israel Dov Elbaum.

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bibliography

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Israel's 72 Independence day, April 2020

Photographer: Pinn Hans, Government Press Office

Thank You

!תודה רבה וחג עצמאות שמח

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