The Jews of Israel prepared today for nation-wide celebrations of the 80th birthday of David Ben-Gurion throughout the coming weekend. The birthday of the man who had played a key role in the struggles leading to Jewish statehood, and who led Israel as Prime Minister for most of its 18 years, is October 1.
President Zalman Shazar and many other of Israel’s leading personalities will go to Mr. Ben-Gurion’s Negev retreat, Sde Boker, to present congratulations to Mr. Ben-Gurion. Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin and senior military officers also will go to the Negev kibbutz to present the good wishes of the Defense Department to the man who served as Israel’s first Defense Minister.
Plans have been made to assemble all members of the first General Staff, as it existed in 1948, to congratulate Mr. Ben-Gurion. Thousands of well-wishers are expected to go to Sde Boker for a public meeting Sunday. Other meetings will be held in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv.
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