This week in Haaretz 1966 / The Knesset is inaugurated in Jerusalem

The Knesset building in Jerusalem was inaugurated on August 30, 1966, five years and 22 million liras after construction began.

"With a torch-lighting ceremony and the sounding of shofars, the Knesset building overlooking Givat Ram in the government complex in Jerusalem will be inaugurated today in an official ceremony," wrote Haaretz's Jerusalem correspondent.

Thousands of guests arrived at the Knesset plaza, including lawmakers,leaders of Jewish communities and institutions from around the world, and representatives of several cities and towns in Israel. Thousands of others, mostly Jerusalem residents, watched the event from the nearby Rose Garden.

A few problems surfaced after the dress rehearsal but before the ceremony started. "One of the problems the organizers are hoping to overcome is the handling of some 1,000 invitees who were added to the original number of invitees," Haaretz reported. "The plaza was set up to handle just 5,000 invitees, but the closer the date of the ceremony gets, the more pressure there was from various parties to receive invitations to the Knesset's inauguration, and as of yesterday the number of invitations sent out reached over 5,500."

According to the Haaretz report, 44 heads of parliament were among the many overseas guests, including the speaker of Iceland's parliament, the world's oldest parliamentary body; the speaker and secretary of the British parliament; the president of the Council of Europe; the president of the Australian senate; and the president of the National Assembly of Togo. Other public figures included the German president, U.S. senators and Congress members, a Brazilian senator, representatives of the Chilean and Japanese parliaments, and the chief rabbi of Mexico. Other guests representatives of Jewish communities and organizations from around the world also attended, as did representatives of Israeli communities and institutions.

The most unusual congratulatory message that arrived in Israel may have been the 28-stanza poem in a letter sent by Zvi Tiraspolski, a Jewish resident of the Soviet city of Novosibirsk. in the Soviet Union. Above the poem, Tiraspolski wrote: "This is a final blessing for Jerusalem-Zion, on the occasion of the inauguration of the venerable house, the Knesset hall for the nation's elected officials, for the glory of the great assembly of Israel, veteran residents and immigrants join and offer a heartfelt blessing, in honor of this unique Knesset day." In the poem he wrote: "From the distant plains of Siberia, I offer my congratulations in rhyme and poetry / The desire, the ambition are stirring in my body / To offer my congratulations on the inauguration of the Knesset."

The day after the inauguration, Haaretz's parliamentary correspondent reported on the first session in the plenum hall. "It is a great honor for me to open the first session of the Knesset in its new premises," said Kadish Luz (Luzinski ), the Knesset speaker at the time. Then-prime minister Levi Eshkol preceded his speech on the Basic Law on the Government, a bill he submitted, with some congratulatory remarks. "At the opening of my remarks, allow me to congratulate the Knesset on entering its new premises," he said. "I wish the Knesset that the new premises will provide contentment and between its walls Israeli democracy will take shape, parliamentary endeavor will expand and national unity will increase."

Almost all the speakers prefaced their remarks with "good wishes, contemplation, and some kind of soul searching," as Haaretz wrote at the time, each according to his outlook or party. They also expressed "a spirit of unity and a desire for joint action for the sake of the state and all its citizens and the advancement of the values of culture and peace," wrote the parliamentary reporter.

The only disagreement that surfaced among the well-wishers the day after the building's inauguration related to the question of the name given to the building. Haaretz reported that Menachem Begin and Rabbi Shlomo Lorentz vehemently opposed the term "mishkan haknesset," saying "mishkan" refers specifically to the Temple on Mount Moriah and no other building, but their position was rejected by Israel Yeshayahu and Shulamit Aloni. "Perhaps it is necessary to give up completely on the use of the Hebrew language for every word in the Bible that is unique, or at least has a unique association," Haaretz wrote, adding that such a solution "would certainly not be demanded" by the opponents of using a sacred name for a contemporary parliament.

The plenum was filled to capacity at the opening of the session, but emptied out almost completely after the departure of the state president, and only a few remained there to discuss Eshkol's bill. On the day of the ceremony, Haaretz reported that in order to save on spending, MK Y. Hazani agreed not to travel to Tehran for an inter-parliamentary meeting. (Yael Gruenpeter )