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Israel @ 60 #2.........posted Oct 17, 2007

I was pleased to learn at the end of August that our Religious School's special theme for this entire academic year is "Israel at Sixty." In connection with that theme, I'd like to share with everyone another true story that directly connects American Jewry with the State of Israel. (As you may recall, last month I described briefly Albert Einstein's Zionist connections between his work in the United States at Princeton University and his support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.)

The birth of the State of Israel in 1948 is a subject that our fifth graders will be studying in detail later in the school year. I hope that by sometime in October our Congregation's attractive frame-mounted standing copy of Israel's Declaration of Independence will be on display in the synagogue's lobby. At 4 PM on May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv's Municipal Museum (formerly Mayor Dizengoff's lovely home), David Ben-Gurion read its text to the secretly-invited audience (notified with hand-delivered invitations) of about 200 important Palestinian Jews. The text of the independence proclamation consisted on only 979 words; Ben-Gurion read it in just 17 minutes immediately following the Palestine [Israel] Philharmonic Orchestra's playing of the Zionist song "Hatikvah" (The Hope), which would soon be adopted as the Israeli national anthem. The text of the declaration traced, according to Robert St. John of the Life World Library, ..."the life of the Jews from the dawn of their history to that moment. Israel was to be a state based on liberty, justice and peace; it would cooperate with the United Nations and uphold the principles of its charter. The holy places of Christians and Moslems would be safeguarded. The nation would strive for peace with the Arabs." [I'll have more to share about "Hatikvah" in a subsequent article.]

The American Connection: Up to the date of the British departure from Palestine and the declaration of independence there was considerable doubt on what the new nation would call itself. Judea (as in Biblical times), Zion, and Eretz Yisroel (Land of Israel) were only some of the possibilities. [There actually were blanks in the original written version of the declaration to fill in the name of the new nation, once it had been decided at the last moment.] President Harry S. Truman of the United States was the first to recognize the independent State of Israel. His early decision was the result of some one-on-one diligent persuasion by his former Jewish business partner, Eddie Jacobson, from the President's home state of Missouri. Of course, United States recognition was of great importance to the leaders as well as the ordinary citizens of the new State of Israel, many of whom already were preparing to combat the expected attacks from the surrounding Arab states.

Our students will be taking a closer look at the wording of the independence proclamation plus the actual words that currently are sung to accompany the familiar melody of Hatikvah. I'd be pleased to share via e-mail an earlier (pre-1948) version in Hebrew, beautifully sung by the popular American entertainer Al Jolson. Kindly let me know if you'd like a copy. I also know that our President and Cantor will be placing special emphasis on Hatikvah during this year of Israel's 60th Anniversary. Please watch for more information regarding all aspects of Israel @ 60.

• See www.israel60dc.org for info from The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
• Also see www.60israel.org for info from the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI).

--Harvey T. Kaplan
TI Member of the Israel Educators Institute (IEI) of the Washington, DC Jewish Community