Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., May 09, 2008 Iyyar 4, 5768 | | Israel Time: 04:19 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

As pre-1948 press proves, Israeliness was born before State of Israel By Tom Segev Tags: Tom Segev, independence day  On Friday, May 14, 1948, Haaretz declared in its front page headline: "The State of Israel will be declared today." The archaeologist who finds a copy of this paper, in 1,000 or 10,000 years, will be able to learn from it at least as much as we learn from the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Bar Kochba Letters, and probably more. Before anything else, the future archaeologist will have to comment on the fact that the lead headline only stretched over five columns, not the entire page width. A shoulder headline, as it was called then, covering two of the remaining columns, spoke of the invasion promised by Egypt at one minute past midnight. It would appear that the editors of the newspaper were trying to explain to their readers why they did not give even more prominence to this article, and for that reason the words "Last-Minute" appeared above it. A single column was reserved for an advertisement: The Gav Yam company offered apartments for sale in Kiryat Yam. It appears that from a journalistic point of view it was the right decision: The declaration of the State of Israel had been expected. Nonetheless, there is something odd about the self-restraint demonstrated by the editors of Haaretz. Perhaps it was it because they knew that following the declaration of independence ceremony an even bigger headline would be necessary. Indeed, on Sunday the headline there was a banner headline, spanning the entire width of the front page. It did not offer any information the readers did not know and appears to have been written for posterity: "The vision of generations is being manifested: The State of Israel was established." Advertisement At the top of the page, above the headline, is a sentence from the Book of Jeremiah were printed: "And they shall fight against thee but they shall not prevail against thee." The debated between those supporting the declaration of independence and those preferring to delay it was once again irrelevant, but as David Ben-Gurion who noted in his diary that he is "grieving among the joyous," Haaretz did not hide from its readers that the declaration of independence was leading to a military escalation and to war. The British reporter John Kimche wrote in an analysis that appeared in the front page that an invasion of the Arab armies is "near certain"; the headline was "5 minutes to 12." The front page also carried death notices for those who had fallen in the first battles. One of the main front-page headlines reported the surrender of Jaffa. The story offers few details on the fate of the city's Arab residents except for a rather ambiguous statement that a representative of the Haganah "will attempt to restore the city to normalcy." An article under the headline, "Three Arab villages have been evacuated" reported that the villages, located between Tabor and Tzemah were "left" by their inhabitants. A report on the capture of the village of Brir, in the Negev, said that the residents "fled." But if the future archaeologist finds it difficult to learn from the edition about the tragic blow to the lives of Palestinians, he will learn that Israel was not born with the declaration of independence. Haaretz had already transmitted a whole generation's worth of Israeli continuity and a fairly well formed identity. From this point of view there is something distorted about the 60th Independence Day. On May 14, 1948 Haaretz readers received the weekly dose of culture that the newspaper had been offering them for nearly 30 years. They could read, among others, an article by Natan Rotenstreich that commenced with the following words: "All agree that the wave of irrationalism in thought and literature is the ground on which grew public ideologies, or that a portion of the ideas of irrationalism fueled public tendencies, first and foremost, Nazism." There was also an article on Tolstoy and some poetry, with full vocalization. If their cultural appetite was not fully slaked by Saturday afternoon, newspaper readers could travel to Magdiel for a friendly chat with Mrs. Zimmerman from the Women's International Zionist Organization. After Shabbat they could attend the opera in Tel Aviv, conducted by Mordechai Golinkin and starring Adis de Filip. If there were no tickets to be had, they could go to the opening of the new rooftop garden, Hermon Ice Cream, at Beit Moghrabi in Tel Aviv. On Sunday there was an escalation in the war, but the routine in Tel Aviv continued with dozens of notices offering services or apartments for rent. The Shalva Gymnasium high school announced enrollment for new students, and anyone who thought big could purchase a factory that was up for sale "due to conscription." An examination of the newspaper suggests something that the 60th anniversary celebrations tend to blur and that many Israelis tend to drown in the outpouring of nostalgia swirling around them: that 1948 was not Zero Hour. Israeli identity was born many years before Israel. Among other things, this explains the ability to deal with the early challenges, including the victory in the war. Contrary to the thesis that the "few were victorious against many," "miraculously" prevailing - it seemed that only those who purchased the "regenerator," advertised on that day by Tabachnick the pharmacist, were in need of miracles: It was a chemical remedy for baldness. Haaretz's 60th Independence Day supplement, "Days of Our Lives," is published in Wednesday's newspaper. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Stronger than its ills The 60th anniversary celebrations are accompanied by a bad taste. Rise in racism Israeli Arabs say institutionalized racism has increased.   1.   LMFAO @ This propaganda 06:20  |  POP 07/05/08   2.   front page,:spoke of the invasion promised by Egypt 06:26  |  Akiva P 07/05/08   3.   pop historical revisionist MF! 06:33  |  Akiva P 07/05/08   4.   Laugh all you want POP 06:46  |  Gilles 07/05/08   5.   Israel Was Always A Land Grab 07:15  |  Ask Ben Gorion 07/05/08   6.   SCR181 08:26  |  dbar1954 07/05/08   7.   Israel 3000+60 08:36  |  David G 07/05/08   8.   The hater`s venom proves our success 09:37  |  x-ray 07/05/08   9.   The brightness of Israel blinds the losers 09:39  |  x-ray 07/05/08   10.   Yes, ask Ben Gorion? 09:39  |  Robbins 07/05/08   11.   A giant leap and distortion of history 09:47  |  Joe 07/05/08   12.   and.....? 09:48  |  lars 07/05/08   13.   #7 Joe, Your point is...BTW NY Times is not a JEWISH paper 10:33  |  Max Zamir 07/05/08   14.   BEFORE 1948 WE WERE 10:38  |  Robert 07/05/08   15.   POP stops by day after day to hear this "propoganda" 11:17  |  spade 07/05/08   16.   HERE TODAY, GONE TOMMORROW 11:47  |  VIPER 07/05/08   17.   #11 Joe 12:46  |  Scott G 07/05/08   18.   #13 Max Zamir 12:47  |  Joe 07/05/08   19.   Viper your postings highlight our success. Thank you 13:18  |  x-ray 07/05/08   20.   The palestinian papers were of course Jewish too Joe my lad 13:19  |  x-ray 07/05/08   21.   Joe, proving himself wrong, as does Scott 13:27  |  Ehud 07/05/08   22.   zionism was the engine that created the state of israel & it was 13:34  |  lakshmi 07/05/08   23.   The Motherland Era 13:44  |  Cyclops 07/05/08   24.   Laugh all you want 13:50  |  Gobbledygooik 07/05/08   25.   How does someone laughing @ propaganda 14:57  |  Jack 07/05/08   26.   Happy Official Birthday 14:58  |  Buzaglow 07/05/08   27.   It came two days before 15:03  |  Manolo 07/05/08   28.   Life Goes On 15:27  |  David B. 07/05/08   29.   D. ben Gurion and Rabin didn`t aprove 1947 Partition 15:30  |  Manolo 07/05/08   30.   1948: when richiest people expelled poorest 15:50  |  Manolo 07/05/08   31.   Marcus, Stalin and KGB hepled jews to prevail 16:01  |  Manolo 07/05/08   32.   I see our resident haters are at it again 16:30  |  Gee 07/05/08   33.   Many tapes, documents, from britain on Prove Palestinians 17:11  |  MAN 07/05/08   34.   David G. What are you talking about? 3000? 17:16  |  The Buddha 07/05/08   35.   Envy? 17:25  |  dun 07/05/08   36.   Is Israeliness like truthiness? 18:57  |  Aphemia 07/05/08   37.   #13 Joe; You may get a Palestine state if you act peacefully 19:06  |  Max Zamir 07/05/08   38.   Manolo from Spain, look who`s talking! 19:33  |  Ehud 07/05/08   39.   Manolo`s historic memory 19:37  |  Ehud 07/05/08   40.   Joe#11 - You acn change your mind, but not history 19:42  |  William 07/05/08   41.   Joe#18 - reponse to Zamir 19:55  |  William 07/05/08   42.   You forget much in your assertions, Manolo #29 20:02  |  William 07/05/08   43.   Manolo#30 - most of Fatah and Hamas leadership from Egypt Jordam 20:03  |  William 07/05/08   44.   The Buddha - #34 - Jews as a people are 3000+ 20:12  |  William 07/05/08   45.   Israel 60 years 20:26  |  Dan & Lena Johansson 07/05/08   46.   #19, X-RAY, it will be a short lived one 02:50  |  VIPER 08/05/08   47.   #40, WILLIAMS DISTORTED TRUTH 03:26  |  VIPER 08/05/08   48.   outsider 04:44  |  Di 08/05/08   49.   #22 lakshmi`s STUPIDTY exposed by arafat, hamas and abbas 07:01  |  CK Tan 08/05/08   50.   #21 Ehud 07:04  |  Scott G 08/05/08   51.   Agree with Dun 07:18  |  Scott G 08/05/08   52.   Scott 09:16  |  Ehud 08/05/08   53.   Stealing? 11:15  |  Dan Johansson 08/05/08   54.   to CK Tan 44 02:07  |  Omar 09/05/08

Read & React Bradley Burston: Sixty years of Nakba, sixty years of nothing Responses: 322 PA official: No Israeli partner in light of latest Olmert probe Responses: 197 Haaretz Editorial: Israel stronger than its ills; Mideast peace is still possible Responses: 138 Rosner's Domain: Obama and the Jews: is 61% enough? Responses: 98 Peres: I didn't imagine Qassams would be fired from Gaza after pullout Responses: 230 More Headlines 01:50 Olmert suspected of accepting illicit funds from U.S. businessman 23:55 ANALYSIS / The PM seems crushed in face of allegations 02:50 BACKGROUND / Olmert's financier, a fundraiser who prefers to avoid the limelight 02:46 Following PM probe revelations, MKs call for his resignation 03:21 IDF to probe paratrooper's accident during Independence Day air show 03:16 Tensions rise in Beirut in clash over Hezbollah's telecom network 22:14 FM Livni: Israel ready to make sacrifices for peace 17:34 British PM: Israel`s creation one of the 20th century`s `greatest achievements` 23:09 Hamas: Gaza-Egypt border to open for three days 18:31 Thousands take to streets and parks as Israel celebrates 60 years of statehood 18:06 Olmert said ready to bring about peace agreement with Syria 22:49 Five police officers and two Arab MKs hurt as clashes erupt at Naqba Day protest 01:06 Two Israeli tourists thought missing in Burma cyclone found unharmed Previous Editions Select Day 08 may 07 may 06 may 05 may 04 may 02 may 01 may 30 apr 29 apr 28 apr 27 apr 25 apr

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