Mayor Edward Koch of New York, who is known to do almost everything his own way, Wednesday unveiled the street sign designating "David Ben-Gurion Place" here while standing in a truck-crane.
Koch had torn the covering of the sign at East 43rd Street between Vanderbilt and Madison Avenues, necessitating the crane. His elevation was met by applause from the hundreds of spectators there to honor the centennial of the birth of Israel’s founding Prime Minister.
The square is at the site of the old Biltmore Hotel, where 45 years ago Ben-Gurion and other Zionist leaders formally established the goal of the Jewish State of Israel during the Biltmore Conference.
City officials, Israeli diplomats, including Israel’s Consul General in New York, Moshe Yegar and Jewish leaders, as well as leaders of different faiths and ethnic communities, participated in the ceremony, under clear and chilly skies.
The street-naming was one of several civic, governmental and academic events and tributes to David Ben-Gurion, organized by the David Ben-Gurion Centennial Committee of the U.S. The Committee was formed last year by the Knesset to promote recognition of Ben-Gurion’s achievements and accomplishments.
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