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Boston Gives Ben Gurion Tumultuous Welcome; Premier Addresses Massachusetts Legislature

May 16, 1951
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The people of Boston today gave Israel Premier David Ben Gurion a tumultuous receptionist he passed through the streets of the city to City Hall where he received an official welcome from Mayor John B. Hynes and Governor Paul A. Dover of Massachusetts.

The Premier, who presented the Israeli flag to the State of Massachusetts, was invited to address the State Legislature which was in session at the time. Ben Gurion greeted the legislators in the name of the State of Israel and said he was very happy to be in Boston, the birthplace of American independence. Wherever the flag-bedecked motorcade travelled it was greeted by cheering crowds. Workers in the garment industry were released from work in order to greet the Israeli Premier. At Zionist House, on Commonwealth Avenue, the party halted and Ben Gurion stood at attention while a band played “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Hatikvah.” Members of Zionist youth organizations danced the hora on the avenue. The maximum capacity of 15,000 persons is expected at the Boston Garden tomorrow night when Ben Gurion speaks.

In Baltimore yesterday, where he stopped off before proceeding to Washington, Ben Gurion begged off from a city reception. Six hundred Jewish leaders, headed by Jacob Blaustein and Joseph Meyerhoff, attended a luncheon in honor of the Premier.

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