Drafts of Ben-Gurion’s ‘Revolution of the Spirit’ speech unveiled in honor of first PM’s death
“This document is an invitation to rethink ‘the day after’ and what is required of us in our own day,” Director General of the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, Eitan Donitz, said.
Israel observed the National Day of Remembrance in honor of the 52nd anniversary of the death of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, on Wednesday.
To mark the occasion, theBen-Gurion Archives and the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute released four original drafts of Ben-Gurion’s “Revolution of the Spirit” speech.
The drafts include Ben-Gurion’s handwritten notes and corrections to the speech text, delivered before the end of the War of Independence on January 15, 1949.
“This document is an invitation to rethink ‘the day after’ and what is required of us in our own day,” Director General of the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, Eitan Donitz, said, “Ben-Gurion reminds us that the true strength of the state rests on the human spirit, on mutual responsibility, and on our ability to see beyond our differences.”
Echoing the words from the past
Ben-Gurion’s original speech begins with the assertion that “Our supreme test has been and will be the test of the spirit,” continuing that “ as long as it beats within us, we are capable of a life of creation and climbing and heroism, a life destined for us in this generation of ours, and a song we must pass on to future generations.”
Original, hand-annotated drafts of David Ben-Gurion’s ”Revolution of the Spirit” speech, delivered on January 15, 1949. (credit: Ben-Gurion Archives)
Director of the Ben-Gurion Archives, Flora Pazarker, stated that Ben-Gurion’s historic words “touch on the reality of our contemporary lives, for the meaning and power of the human spirit and society were and still are the bedrock of our existence,” positing that “if we echo the words from the past, the path to the future will become clearer.
The Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute’s statement explained Ben Gurion’s concept of the ‘day after’ as “physical construction alongside spiritual revolution, institutional renewal alongside social responsibility and the unity of the people.”
An official state ceremony to unveil the documents will be held at the Ben-Gurion Tomb National Park in Midreshet Ben-Gurion, according to the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute. President Yitzhak Herzog, the Ben-Gurion family, and government representatives will be in attendance.
