Jewish
Frontier

The most significant contribution of David Ben Gurion in his long and worthy service to his people, was his insistence that the independence of the State of Israel be proclaimed in May, 1948. By this single act he changed the course of Jewish history, the face of the Middle East and the destiny of the Jewish people.

For Ben Gurion, who urged independence despite the advice of many veteran Zionist leaders to proceed with caution in dealing with heads of state who had given endless, but repeatedly broken promises of Statehood, there was to be no more appeasement in the quest for Jewish self-determination.

Ben Gurion was convinced that the historic moment for such a move had come and if the opportunity was not acted upon immediately, it may not present itself again for a long time. This was especially so since many leading world powers were obviously being influenced by Arab rhetoric and threats of war which a Proclamation of Independence by the Jews would generate.

Within the Zionist movement in America only a few leading officials, especially those of the Jewish National Worker's Alliance (Farband), the Labor Zionist fraternal organization with whom Ben Gurion had a long and close affiliation, were made privy to his daring secret intentions. The stunning, but long hoped for news was revealed at an Executive Board meeting by Louis Segal, the then General Secretary of the Farband, who had received word directly from Ben Gurion. All who heard it unanimously lent their support and encouragement to the exciting venture of which they were an integral part.

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Well aware of the adversities that would beset the new nation, Ben Gurion had long since begun to prepare the Yishuv for eventual war against the Arabs by recruiting Jews and Gentiles into a world-wide network who were instrumental in secretly shipping arms, planes and supplies by circuitous routes to the beleaguered Jews before and after Statehood was declared.

As Ben Gurion had foreseen, the Arabs were quick to wage war, but his brilliant leadership as the first Prime Minister of Israel saw his people through that dark period and the myriad problems of forging a new nation.

Of the many tasks before him after the State was declared, and in his added role as Minister of Defense, Ben Gurion announced the creation of the Israel Defense Force, (IDF), incorporating the combined forces of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines under one Chief of Staff.

This unique structure under one commander eliminated the much duplication, is less costly and quicker to mobilize in the event of war, due to the absence of decision making through an infra-structure where decisions have to go through a series of commands.

By doing so, he brought into effect a military organization which was eventually to be counted as the best fighting force in the world: one that has gained the respect of all, including military leaders.

Simultaneously, Ben Gurion also had military groups then existing, such as the lrgun, the Stern gang, the Palmach and others, brought into the IDF under one banner, free of any political leanings.

Today, the IDF is run democratically, free of influence by any political group in Israel.

Due to the way it was structured the IDF also became a leveling force for the various ethnic groups who had immigrated to Israel and quickly helped to establish an homogeneity amongst its troops as no other efforts could have done in so short a time, a spirit which still prevails today.

While engaged in a battle of survival for the Jews already living in Israel against the invading Arabs, he was also compelled to turn his concerns to absorb the stream of 800,000 Jewish refugees who were forced to flee from Moslem lands where they had been living for centuries.

Concurrently, the newly re-created land of Israel was absorbing the remnants of European Jewry who were seeking their way 'home' from the ashes of the Holocaust. Likewise Israel offered refuge to the countless Jews elsewhere in the world dreaming of the biblical promise of return as the Jewish legacy.

Applying himself to the ambitious task of providing quick emergency housing, jobs, schools, food and clothing for the large influx, most of whom were either indigent, sick or broken in mind and spirit; many with large families to support, Ben Gurion's job was draining.

Dauntless, he employed the same energies towards the additional problems as he always had when working toward a specific goal. Through herculean efforts, and despite insurmountable obstacles, he succeeded to forge a new nation.

Out of the birthpangs of nationhood, nurtured by a wise and dedicated leader, a new Jew was born, a Jew no longer forced to grovel as he had been forced to do for over two millennia, but one who had valiantly defended his homeland, his family and his people; a Jew who, though the cost was incalculable, was to walk with dignity, and who was to build a country that would re-emerge as a light unto the nations.

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In order to better comprehend the factors that motivated Ben Gurion into being such a fierce advocate for the rights of the Jewish people to be repatriated to their ancient homeland, the scenario of his youth should be examined.

Born into a Zionist-oriented family on October 16th, 1886 in the Polish city of Flonsk, the sixth child of Avigdor and Shaidel Gruen, it was a scant four years after government-sponsored devastating programs directed against Jews had rocked the foundations of the Jewish community.

For Jews, especially within the Pale of Settlement of the Russian empire, where restrictive measures and government inspired antiSemitism made life intolerable, it awakened the dormant yearnings for redemption to their ancestral soil. The dream found its voice in an emerging modern literature with visages of ancient glories that stirred Jewish hearts.

The tapestry of societal ferment and need to reform existing conditions created an environment where the young David had the opportunity to learn early of the woes and historic aspirations of his people.

His father, a lawyer turned merchant, provided a comfortable life for his family and there were no economic worries. David could have followed the traditional Jewish bent for learning and attended any one of the best Yeshivas where his facile mind would have absorbed all facets of Torah study.

However, such was not the case for the boy whose passions matched his fiery red hair. Fired with the spirit of Labor Zionism, a specifically Jewish expression of Socialism with its promise of alleviating the ills of the masses, he rejected the status quo, and the resolute youngster destined to be the future architect of the Jewish State committed himself towards working selflessly and steadfastly for the repatriation of his people to their own land.

At the age of twenty, imbued with the dream of fashioning a new Jewish society by working the land and creating industries to benefit man and nation, David left the country of his birth to settle in the ancient land of his people, there to begin a life-long adventure despite the harshest conditions that prevailed in what was then malaria-infested swamps and deserts.

In Palestine, the young David Gruen dropped his last name because it was associated with the Exile and took the name Ben Gurion, 'Son of the Lion.' In his new surroundings he tenaciously spoke in the ancient, but newly revived Hebrew tongue. Encountering back-breaking work, he was, nevertheless, satisfied for he was there with one purpose, to rebuild the land of his forefathers in order to fulfill a 2,000 year old dream.

Continuing his Labor Zionist work, he was immediately elected to the Central committee of the organization during the first year of his arrival. After a stint as a Kibbutz laborer and watchman, which at the time was a job requiring much daring to guard against marauding Arabs ready to kill on a whim, Ben Gurion left the settlements for Jerusalem where he was instrumental in organizing a Labor Zionist group and helped to establish the party's weekly newspaper, Ha-Achdut.

Active in every facet of pioneering work, by 1912 he went to Constantinople to study law, returning to Palestine in 1914. By 1915 his Zionist activities infuriated the ruling Turkish authorities and he was banished from the country.

Arriving in the United States, he became active in the American Labor Zionist movement and, together with Samuel Bonchek, one of the founding members of the then newly established Farband, they traversed the length and breadth of America, recruiting volunteers for the Jewish Legion. The Legion, under the English flag, was to be the first time in modern history that Jews were to fight as a group, possibly in the hope of eventually regaining their own land.

While in New York City Ben Gurion met his future wife, Paula Munweis, a nurse, in the home of his friend, Samuel Bonchek. In 1917 David and Paula were married at New York City's Municipal Building before returning to Palestine where the new groom enlisted as a soldier in the new Jewish Legion.

After World War I, Ben Gurion was among the founders of the Achdut Haavoda in 1919 and of the Mapai in 1930. In the interim his various offices on behalf of the Labor Zionist movement in Palestine included being General Secretary of the Histadrut from 1921-35; chairman of the Zionist Executive and of the Jewish Agency from 1935 to 1948, the year of independence.

While accomplishing all these tasks, the dynamic Ben Gurion still found time to devote to various studies ranging from languages, botany, agriculture, animal husbandry, and Zen Buddhism in addition to other disciplines.

A lifelong lover of books, he was often seen browsing through one of the many book stores whenever he visited New York City. His greatest satisfaction was to exit after a purchase of at least ten books or more.

A student of the Bible, which he revered and considered as the history of the Jewish people, he particularly loved the Prophets, whose ethics he employed in his daily life. Guided by the wisdom of the Holy Book, he conducted a weekly Bible class until his final days.

While never considered a religious man, to work the land, to be close to nature and revere the forces of the universe, to be kind to your fellow-man and to the stranger amongst you, to reach out to the sick, to help the unfortunate to help themselves, were the manifestations of his religion.

For him, a righteous man who lived according to the laws of decency, rather than according to dogma, stood above others. Though he rejected and discarded the rituals of his faith in his youth, he respected and loved its essence, thereby making him what could truly be termed a religious man.

By setting examples through his own participation instead of telling others to do was his customary way of doing things. Even when he was older and could have rested on his laurels, Ben Gurion thought it necessary to show an example to his people by going to the desert and help make it bloom.

Forsaking family, an established way of life, traditions and customs; he and his wife went to the desert to continue to shape the Labor Zionist dreams of forging an Old-New land. Settling at Sde Boker in the Negev he and Paula lived their final years where they now lie buried on a bluff in the soil of the Jewish people that is enriched with Ben Gurion's endeavors.

The contributions of David Ben Gurion to Jewish history are manifold, both to his people in their struggle for National redemption and to other people of the world who have learned and benefited from his example.

Indeed, many small nations seeking selfdetermination in the era following the close of the second World War and in the wake of Israeli independence sought the advice of Ben Gurion and the Israelis.

While much that can be seen in Israel and in other countries today can be attributed to David Ben Gurion, the final scope of his influence on history, and specifically to Jewish history, is yet to be fully assessed.