Israel President Itzhak Ben Zvi and Dr. Nahum Goldmann, speaking in the name of the people of Israel and for Zionists all over the world, have hailed Premier David Ben Gurion on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
In keeping with the Premier’s request, there have been no celebrations of his birthday. However, taking the advantage of the occasion of the opening of the twelfth National Archaeological Convention here, which was attended by leaders of government, education, science and religion in Israel, the President greeted Mr. Ben Gurion as a “liberator and statesman.” In the name of the people of the country, he wished the Premier “long life and many productive years.”
Dr. Goldmann, who spoke immediately after the President, called Mr. Ben Gurion an unusual personality who “fused the past with the present” and had “added a brilliant new chapter to Jewish history.” In behalf of the World Zionist Organization, he expressed the hope that Mr. Ben Gurion would continue for a long time to contribute to his people’s “eternal history.”
Israel’s leading newspapers marked the Premier’s 70th birthday with articles and editorials which stressed the leading role he has played in Zionism and the labor movement for the last four decades. They paid special tribute to what they termed his vision and leadership in the years since Israel achieved independent statehood.
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