Tribute was paid today to the Jews of all countries for the role they played in the establishment of the State of Israel in an Independence Day message issued by Premier David Ben Gurion in connection with the forthcoming celebration of Israel’s Tenth Anniversary. The message was sent to the American Committee for Israel’s Tenth Anniversary Celebration and will be read at many of the celebrations scheduled by more than 200 Jewish communities throughout the United States.
Pointing out that “the United Nations did not lift a finger” when the Arab states attacked Israel during the early days after its establishment ten years ago hoping “to annihilate her, the Israel Premier said:
“One loyal ally arose–the Jewish people in the Diaspora. Volunteers from more than 60 countries came to Israel to participate in the War of Independence, and the help given by the Jewish people to Israel in its defensive war continued to grow, as young, conquering Israel began its great and difficult task of gathering in the exiles and making the desert bloom.
“More than one million Jews were added to the country since the establishment of the State. Whole exiled communities were brought over to Israel, and from 79 countries in all parts of the world. Jews streamed and are continuing to stream to their ancient homeland.
“Tribes of various tongues, separated by time and space, distant by hundreds of years and thousands of miles, are mixed to Israel into one nation that once again speaks its Hebrew tongue, that is becoming rooted anew in the soil of its homeland, and is creating by its physical labor, and through its spiritual, moral and intellectual ability, an economy and a culture and a society and a science which will be a glory to Jewry wherever it may be.
The Prime Minister in his message painted a picture of continued progress for Israel’s second decade in the face of grim opposition, expressing confidence that with the continued support of the peoples of the democratic nations and world Jewry, his country would develop into a “Rock of Israel.”
“We know that our work is not finished” he said, “and will not be finished easily or quickly, and it is possible that there await us difficulties and dangers no less great than those we overcame in our first decade, but we look to the future with confidence in the Rock of Israel, depending on our strength, and on the justice and purity of our case, believing in the brotherhood of world Jewry, and hoping for the good will of all nations who seek peace and justice and freedom.”
Embracing the aid and contribution of Jews from all over the world, Mr. Ben Gurion emphasized that the State of Israel was not established by the 650,000 Jews who lived in the country, in May 14, 1948, when it was proclaimed a State. “Pioneering activities of three generations preceded the declaration of independence,” he said.
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