Official invitation to the Declaration of Independence Ceremony – Tel Aviv, 4 Iyar 5708 (1948)

Official invitation to the Declaration of Independence Ceremony – Tel Aviv, 4 Iyar 5708 (1948)

“We have the honor of sending you herewith an invitation to the Declaration of Independence Ceremony…” Official invitation to the Declaration of Independence Ceremony. Tel Aviv, 4 Iyar 5708 (May 13, 1948) – sent one day before the declaration itself, on May 14.

The original invitation to the Declaration of Independence Ceremony, which was sent on behalf of the “People’s Administration” to prominent individuals who were present at the event. The “People’s Administration” was the temporary body established in preparation for the Declaration of Independence, tasked with managing the affairs of the Jewish Yishuv prior to the establishment of the Government of Israel. The invitation was sent exclusively to senior officials, close associates, and journalists:

״We have the honor of sending you herewith an invitation to the Declaration of Independence Ceremony, which will take place on Friday, 5 Iyar 5708 (May 14, 1948) at 4:00 PM at the Museum Hall (16 Rothschild Boulevard). We ask that the contents of the invitation and the time of the assembly be kept confidential. Invitees are requested to arrive at the hall at 3:30 PM. Respectfully, The Secretariat.״ At the bottom it states: "This invitation is personal – Attire: dark holiday clothing."

The Declaration of Independence Ceremony of the State of Israel took place on Friday, May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar 5708) at 4:00 PM, in the hall of the old Tel Aviv Museum, just hours before the end of the British Mandate, in an atmosphere of historic urgency under the threat of imminent war. The declaration was read by David Ben-Gurion on behalf of the People’s Council, and the ceremony was deliberately simple: flags, a portrait of Herzl, without a large audience and without prior publicity, for security reasons. (Years later, Golda Meir wrote about that event: I was certain that before Ben-Gurion would even have time to finish reading the Declaration of Independence, the war would interrupt him halfway through.) Among the invitees were members of the People’s Council and the Provisional Administration, leaders of the Yishuv, heads of national institutions, and key public figures. The official invitations to this session reflect a one-time event in which fateful decisions were made at the last moment, and they serve as a rare testimony to the birth of the State of Israel.

[1] Leaf, 20.5x14 cm. Good – very good condition.