Declaration of the Independent State of Israel.

BEN-GURION, David.

$11,500.00

Item Number: 144562

Tel Aviv: Iton Rishmi, Official Gazette of Israel, 14 May 1948.

Rare first printing of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. This was the first publication rescinding the British White Paper. With the names of all of the signatories, headed by David Ben-Gurion, printed on page two, this document heralded the end of British involvement in Palestine, and the start of unrestricted immigration into the new Jewish state. It publishes for the very first time the full declaration as read out by Ben-Gurion at 4pm on Friday 14 May 1948 in the Tel-Aviv Museum (known today as Independence Hall). It announced that the National Council was to become the Provisional Government of Israel until a Constituent Assembly was formed on 1 October 1948. Iton Rishmi records all the decrees, ordinances and notices of the Israeli government, as well as the appointments of all government officials. Rare first edition, first issue, printed on the first day of the birth of Israel. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.

May 14, 1948 was the final day of the British Mandate over Palestine, and as that day approached, various nations angled to determine the future, or lack thereof, of the proposed Jewish state. In an effort to finally bring their dream of a Jewish homeland to fruition, Jewish leaders seized the initiative and began preparations to create a government for a Zionist state. Spearheaded by David Ben-Gurion, leaders "established a 13-member National Administration and a National Council of 37 members, which would, upon the departure of the British Mandatory forces, become the provisional government and legislature of the Jewish State… A committee of five—David Remez, [Felix] Rosenblueth, Moshe Shapira, [Moshe] Shertok, and Aharon Zisling—was appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence. The draft submitted by the committee on May 13 consisted of 22 articles… It was criticized as too long and flowery, and the final wording was entrusted to Ben-Gurion, Rabbi Y. L. Fishman (Maimon), A. Zisling, and M. Shertok. During the same evening Ben-Gurion prepared a final draft, which was approved by his colleagues on the committee." Debate on the final wording the next day, May 14, was fierce, with concerns about whether or not a state language should be named, the extent to which religion should enter into the document, and whether the borders of the nation should be delineated. Ultimately, it was decided that the document contain a brief history of the historical precedents for the foundation of the new nation, a description of the various authorities supporting the land's establishment, the reasons for its establishment, and a clear explanation of the temporary government that would lead it until a permanent structure was formed. "The Declaration of Independence concluded with a call to Jews throughout the world 'to stand by us in the great struggle for the fulfillment of the dream of generations—the Redemption of Israel.' The excitement of the moment was articulated throughout the document…. It is rare to register with such precision the moment when historical change is inaugurated" (Troen and Luccas, eds, Israel: The First Decade of Independence, 1). When the majority approved the document, Ben-Gurion then "requested that the Declaration be adopted unanimously in a second vote, whatever objections members might have to a particular item or aspect, and this was done" (Encyclopedia Judaica).