Israel's first Prime Minister

David Ben-Gurion:

The Path of a Great Leader

by M.S.

In the Beginning

On October 16, 1886, according to Memoirs, an autobiography, in a market town in northern Poland named Plonsk, then under Russian Czarist rule, Sheindal Friedman Gryn bore a little baby boy. The father of the boy was a local lawyer Avigdor Gryn who lived with his wife and newborn son, in the little Jewish community in Plonsk of about five thousand members. At three already learning Hebrew, which was a secondary language not used by many and not very easily learned, David Gryn was showing not only his eagerness to learn but his determination to treasure his religion and the language of his people. He loved Hebrew because it was the language of his ancestors as he stated in Memoirs, "Within a few months, I became quite fluent, actually learning to speak and to love the Jews' ancient tongue before I could read in any language"(Memoirs 34). His grandfather used to read him stories in Hebrew and at the early age of three, Gryn thought to himself, " 'Plonsk isn't my real home. Here we live among strangers. I must go the Land of Israel'" (Memoirs 34).

The idea, at such an early age, that his real home was in "the Land of Israel" brought an amazing desire for "the Land of Israel" to be home to all Jews. He fought for this desire until May 14, 1948, when he was able to read the "Proclamation of Independence" of the State of Israel nearly 60 years later. Memoirs says that around 1900, at only 14 or 15 years of age, young Gryn decided to organize the Ezra Society to support Zionism which was growing in popularity among the youth of Poland. The purpose of the Ezra Society was to teach Hebrew to the entire Plonsk community.

Going to the "Home Land" for the First Time

Gryn was not content with only reforming the language of Plonsk so he decided in 1906 to go to Palestine to see his "real home" for the first time. From 1906-1908 in Palestine he worked as a farm laborer until malaria almost killed him. In 1908 he joined a group of pioneers in the Galilee and, in 1910, Gryn abandoned pioneering for the world of politics. During this time he became a journalist in Jerusalem and changed his name to the more Hebrew sounding to Ben-Gurion. In 1914 and 1915, Ben-Gurion worked to organize Hashomer, a Jewish militia for the defense of Palestine; he succeeded until the Turks in 1915 discovered a Hashomer unit and thought they were working for the British so they exiled Ben-Gurion. He then went to New York were he established the Hechalutz ('Pioneer') movement in the US. Then in 1917 the biggest break for Ben-Gurion and his followers came in a document titled the Balfour Declaration. This Declaration announced that the British government was ready to support the Jewish people in establishing a national homeland in Palestine. Ben-Gurion liked the Declaration but felt,

Britain has made a magnificent gesture; she has recognized our existence as a nation and has acknowledged our right to the country. But only the Hebrew people can transform this right into tangible fact; only they, with body and soul, with their strength and capital, can build their National Home and bring about their national redemption. (Memoirs 188)

From then on he worked to get jobs in Palestine for Jews until 1936 when he urged Jews to help the British fight the Germans and end the suffering that was being imposed on upon the Jews during that time.

Proof That The Jews Need A "Home Land"

The Holocaust in Ben-Gurion's eyes meant something more to him than it did to every one else. In the "Proclamation of Independence" he stated:

The recent holocaust, which engulfed millions of Jews in Europe, proved anew the need to solve the problem of the homelessness and lack of independence of the Jewish people by means of the re-establishment of the Jewish State, which would open the gates to all Jews and endow the Jewish people with equality of status among the family of nations.

Amos Oz, a brilliant and talented Israeli writer and poet, shows many great things Ben-Gurion did to take an indirect route to help as many people as he could to escape Europe and to win over British and UN support (which shows up as the UN resolution). Oz notes:

Ben-Gurion was the great architect and builder of both. Throughout the tragic years from 1936 to 1947, while millions of Jews were rounded up and murdered by the Germans, denied asylum by almost all nations and barred by the British from finding a home in Palestine, he subtly orchestrated a complex strategy: he inspired tens of thousands of young Jews from Palestine to join the British army in fighting the Nazis, but at the same time authorized an underground agency to ship Jewish refugees into the country. As the British were intercepting, deporting and locking away these survivors of the Nazi inferno in barbed-wired detention camps, world opinion grew more and more sympathetic to the Zionist prescription for the plight of the Jews. This strategy helped bring about the favorable atmosphere that led to the 1947 UN resolution, partitioning Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.

A Dream Come True: But Not Without Opposition

In 1948 the UN decided that a small area of Palestine was to go to the Jews as an independent state. Also according to Oz:

Furious Arab leaders launched a rebellion against the British and a holy war on the Jews. He saw the creation of an independent homeland for the homeless Jewish people as, first and foremost, a crucial provision for the survival of persecuted Jews.

According to the Department for Jewish Zionist Education, right after the Declaration was announced, Israeli war broke out. Arab armies invaded the newly declared state of Israel. This war was fought in many places with many Arab states and finally was brought to a halt in March 1949 with the Israeli conquest of the Negev and Eilat. Agreements were signed with Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, that said that what ever the Arabs states and Israel had won in battle was officially their land. Then on December 19, 1949, Ben-Gurion and the Knesset established Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The years of the early fifties are those of immigration to the new home of the Jews.

After War, Helping to Establish a Country

On January 7, 1952, Ben-Gurion accepted $800 million in reparations from West Germany for damage done to Jews during the Holocaust. He was strongly criticized by his own people for taking money from the Jews' former persecutors. This seemed to be more of a strategically based move by Ben-Gurion because Israel desperately needed the funds for its development. Israel wasn't fully developed as a country yet so it really needed all the money that it could get.

Stepping Down Then Stepping Up

On December 13, 1953, Ben-Gurion resigned and decided to join a pioneer kibbutz at Sde Boker in the Negev but was called back to take over the Defense portfolio again in 1955. Lavon who took over the Defense portfolio resigned due to Ben-Gurion's objection to Lavon's scandals. Now Ben-Gurion started to search for alliances for Israel. He attempted to interest the Americans but was unsuccessful. In 1956 he found his allies in the form of France and Britain. Together they invaded Egypt when Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal and denied Israeli ships passage. Egypt lost the Gaza Strip and Sinai, but they were returned under the armistice. By 1957 Ben-Gurion had regained his duties as prime minister and was again elected to be Prime Minister in 1961. In 1960 the French had become Israel's closest ally and together they built a nuclear reactor in the Negev. On June 16, 1963, Ben- Gurion resigned and returned to Sde Boker where he lived the rest of his life.

The Man Ben-Gurion Was

Amos Oz summed up what kind of man Ben-Gurion was to so many people when he said, "[he is] a modern-day King David. In the early years of the state, many Israelis saw him as a combination of Moses, George Washington, Garibaldi and God Almighty." One of the most interesting things about Ben-Gurion is that he didn't want to kick anyone out of Palestine, he just wanted a piece of it for Jews. In "David Ben-Gurion Quotes," Ben-Gurion commented in 1918 that, "Palestine is not an empty country . . . on no account must we injure the rights of the inhabitants." In 1925 he stated that, "I am unwilling to forego even one percent of Zionism for 'peace'--yet I do not want Zionism to infringe upon even one percent of legitimate Arab rights." Yet he soon found out that if a Jewish state was to be formed, compromises would have to be made. The way Ben-Gurion thought was very different from everyone else. Another difference between the thinking of many Jews and himself was his belief in the right of return, that all Jews should be allowed to immigrate to Israel: "The difference between me and you is that you are ready to sacrifice immigration for peace, while I am not, though peace is dear to me" ("Quotes").

Ben Gurion was one of the greatest leaders of all the 21st century because of the care he had for his people. The goal all along was to have a homeland for Jews in Palestine and he accomplished that against all odds, the Holocaust, and anti-Semitism in general; but not only did he want peace, he wouldn't settle for it unless all Jews had peace. Therefore, he would never give in to negotiations when the opposition put a restriction on immigration into Israel because the point of establishing a homeland was to let all Jews come there. From the age of three he knew where his home was: "Plonsk isn't my real home. Here we live among strangers. I must go the Land of Israel" (Memoirs 34), and now, in the world of today, he would be able to finally say, "I'm in my home, the land I built for my people, to sharea Jewish life with other Jews, the Land of Israel." Ben-Gurion cared about the growth of Israel and would have done anything to help Israel grow so, though he was seen as a traitor when he took money from West Germany, he was only obtaining funds that were vital to the growth of Israel.

Affecting The World

Ben-Gurion not only affected the Jewish people, though. His thoughts and dreams affected the entire Middle East and the world. Ben-Gurion played a significant role in many political affairs after he became Prime Minister that affected the world (mostly in a positive way) all because he wanted a little piece of land for his people. He saw the creation of an independent homeland for the homeless Jewish people as, first and foremost, a crucial provision for the survival of persecuted Jews. A piece of land started this man's whole story. A piece of land is all it takes to affect the whole world.

The Life of David Ben-Gurion in a Snapshot

October 16, 1886 - David Gryn born in Plonsk

1900 - Gryn Organizes Ezra Society

1906 - Gryn travels to Palestine for the first time

1910 - Gryn joins politics and changes his name to Ben-Gurion

1914 - Ben-Gurion organizes Hashomer

1917 - Balfour Declaration

1925 - Ben-Gurion represented Jewish workers in Palestine

1936-1947 - Ben-Gurion inspired thousands of Jews to help fight with the British against the Germans

May 14, 1948 - Reading of the Proclamation of the Independence of the State of Isreal

Works Cited

Ben-Gurion, David. "David Ben-Gurion Quotes." Diary of David Ben-Gurion. January 23, 2003. January 25, 2003. (This site consists of journal entries from Ben-Gurion that helps to better understand what he thought about everything.)
Ben-Gurion, David. Memoirs. Cleveland: World, 1970. (This book is a story of his life in his own words.)
Ben-Gurion, David. "Statement to the Elected Assembly of Palestine Jewry (Oct. 2, 1947)." Jerusalem-Archives. January 23, 2003. January 25, 2003. (A speech on the problems and duties of the assembly.)
Ben-Gurion, David. "The Proclamation of Israel's Independence(May 14, 1948)." Palestine-Home of History,. N.D. February 18, 2003 (This document tells of the independence of the state of Israel and why Israel had become independent.)
Kahan, Jay. "A concise History of the "Father of Modern Israel" (issue 43). Jerusalem Magazine, May 2001. March 15, 2003 http://www.jewishmag.com/43mag/43mag.htm. (Tells the history of Ben-Gurion and what role he played in the politics of early Israel.)
Oz, Amos. "David Ben-Gurion." Time Magazine, January 23, 2003. January 25, 2003 http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/bengurion.html . (This site shows his journey to become one of the 100 greatest leaders of the 21st century.)

This webpage created by M.S. for History and Thought of Western Man, Rich East High School. Last update, 28 May 2003.

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