THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY FIRST KNESSET 1949-1951
Prime Minister's Statement Concerning Jerusalem and the Holy Places Sitting 96 -- 5 December 1949
Introduction
The Jewish Agency for Palestine had accepted the U.N. Partition
Plan of November 1947, even though it called for the establishment of a corpus
separatum in Jerusalem and its immediate environs, realizing that the only
realistic alternative at the time would have been the failure to decide on the
establishment of a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. The failure of the
U.N. in the implementation of its own resolution, the Arab invasion of all parts
of Palestine, including Jerusalem, Count Bernadotte's proposal of June 1947 to
incorporate the whole of Jerusalem in an Arab state--the latter when Israel was
compelled to fight for its creation and survival--all these effected a
fundamental change in the situation and Israel's position. When the U.N. General
Assembly debated the issue of the internationalization of Jerusalem once more,
the Knesset debated the subject in rare unanimity.
Sitting 96 of the First Knesset
5 December 1949--14 Kislev 5710
Tel Aviv, Knesset Building
The Prime Minister, D. Ben-Gurion: As you know, the U.N.
is currently discussing the issue of Jerusalem and the holy places. The State of
Israel is a member of the U.N., not because of political convenience but because
of its traditional, deep-seated commitment to the vision of world peace and the
brotherhood of nations, as preached by our prophets and accepted by the U.N.
This membership obliges us, from the podium of Israel's First
Knesset, to tell all the nations assembled at the U.N. and all those who love
peace and justice in the world what has been in Israel's heart since it became a
united nation under King David three thousand years ago as regards Jerusalem its
holy city and as regards its attitude to the places which are holy to the other
religions.
When we proclaimed the establishment of the renewed State of
Israel, on 14 May 1948, we declared that, "The State of Israel will guarantee
freedom of religion and conscience, of language, education and culture. It will
safeguard the Holy Places of all religions. It will be loyal to the principles
of the United Nations Charter." Accordingly, our delegation to the U.N.
announced that Israel would honor all the existing rights regarding the holy
places and sacred buildings in Jerusalem, assure freedom of worship and free
access...to all the holy sites under its control, recognizing the rights of
pilgrims of all religions and nations to visit their holy places and assuring
freedom of movement for clergymen. We agreed to allow effective U.N. supervision
of the holy places and the existing rights.
At the same time we see fit to state that Jewish Jerusalem is
an organic, inseparable part of the State of Israel, just as it is an integral
part of Jewish history and belief....Jerusalem is the heart of the State of
Israel. We are proud of the fact that Jerusalem is also sacred to other
religions, and will gladly provide access to their holy places and enable them
to worship as and where they please, cooperating with the U.N. to guarantee
this.
We cannot imagine, however, that the U.N. would attempt to
sever Jerusalem from the State of Israel or harm Israel's sovereignty in its
eternal capital.
Twice in the history of our nation were we driven out of
Jerusalem, only after being defeated in bitter wars by the larger, stronger
forces of Babylon and Rome. Our links with Jerusalem today are no less deep than
in the days of Nebuchadnezzar and Titus Flavius, and when Jerusalem was attacked
after the fourteenth of May 1948, our valiant youngsters risked their lives for
our sacred capital no less than our forefathers did in the time of the First and
Second Temples.
...A nation which, for two thousand and five hundred years, has
faithfully adhered to the vow made by the first exiles by the waters of Babylon
not to forget Jerusalem, will never agree to be separated from Jerusalem. Jewish
Jerusalem will never accept alien rule after thousands of its youngsters
liberated their historic homeland for the third time, redeeming Jerusalem from
destruction and vandalism.
We do not judge the U.N., which did nothing when nations which
were members of the U.N. declared war on its resolution of 29 November 1947,
trying to prevent the establishment of Israel by force, to annihilate the Jewish
population in the Holy Land and destroy Jerusalem, the holy city of the Jewish
people.
Had we not been able to withstand the aggressors who rebelled
against the U.N., Jewish Jerusalem would have been wiped off the face of the
earth, the Jewish population would have been eradicated and the State of Israel
would not have arisen. Thus, we are no longer morally bound by the U.N.
resolution of November 29, since the U.N. was unable to implement it....
The attempt to sever Jewish Jerusalem from the State of Israel
will not advance the cause of peace in the Middle East or in Jerusalem itself.
Israelis will give their lives to hold on to Jerusalem, just as the British
would for London, the Russians for Moscow and the Americans for Washington.
This is the first time in this country's history that the state
controlling Jerusalem willingly accepts the principle of the international
supervision of the holy places. It is no coincidence that it is being done by
the nation which made Jerusalem an internationally sacred center and by the
first government elected by the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
We hope that the religions which honor Jerusalem's sanctity and
the nations which share our belief in the principles of peace and justice will
honor Israel's rights in Jerusalem, just as Israel honors those of all the
religions in its sacred capital and sovereign state.
Debate on the Prime Minister's Statement
...M. Begin (Herut): Distinguished Speaker, knowing that
our proposal to restore the status of the City of David as our capital will be
discussed at a joint meeting of the Constitution Committee and the Foreign
Affairs Committee next Wednesday and will then be brought before the plenum of
the Knesset, on behalf of the Herut party group founded by the IZL, I have the
honor of announcing that any attempt to impose alien rule on Jerusalem will be
smashed on the rock of the resistance of the entire nation.
The youth of Jerusalem, and of all Israel, which has drawn its
renewed strength from the eternal sources of the liberators of the homeland and
the rebels of Judea, which raised the banner of freedom aainst the British
oppressors, penetrating their strongholds and wreaking havoc among them, which
did not recoil from attacking forces far vaster than its own when more than one
hundred thousand well-armed soldiers and policemen sought to maintain alien rule
over our homeland, and which succeeded in overcoming the oppressors and driving
them out of part of the homeland and from Jewish Jerusalem, will thwart any
attempt, no matter by whom, to make Jerusalem subservient to foreigners once
again.
The Political Subcommittee, which is parallel to the U.N.
Assembly, passed a resolution reiterating the U.N. decision of 27 November 1947
to sever Jerusalem from the body of Israel. The official prestate institutions,
regrettably, accepted this, and we are happy to hear from the Prime Minister
today that that resolution is no longer valid. We believe that this statement
also applies to the Partition Plan. Foreign powers will not determine the
borders of our state. The nation that dwells in Zion will decide what the extent
of Israel's sovereignty shall be.
...Whatever the outcome of the debate in the U.N., we must
decide to put an end to the artificial situation in which we await the decision
of other nations regarding the fate of Jerusalem. On the contrary, the
representatives of other countries must be told quite clearly that the Jewish
nation has made its decision concerning Jerusalem. Our own hesitancy has allowed
the present situation to arise. The acknowledgement of the existence of "Jewish
Jerusalem," implying that some other Jeru-salem exists, has enabled other
nations to conclude that some parts of the nation are prepared to relinquish
certain sections of the city....
This must be stopped....The world must be told that Jerusalem
is ours, all of it--the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, Jerusalem inside and
outside the walls--and that it is our capital, both in practice and in theory.
This is a decision which the Knesset must make.
We no longer have pre-state institutions which must meet at
times of danger and pass resolutions protesting the decisions made by foreign
nations. We are a state, a sovereign state, and Jerusalem is ours. Justice,
history, emotions and faith favor undivided Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
We no longer meet in order to protest. We will decide and implement our
decision....We must make it clear to the world that all of Jerusalem is our
capital.
...N. Yellin-Mor (Fighters): In making this statement I am
the representative of a public which is small in numbers but has considerable
specific weight. I speak in the name of soldiers who are alive today and of many
who did not survive, and on behalf of soldiers who raised the banner to free the
homeland several years ago. For them Jerusalem was not merely a holy symbol, but
a sacred objective in the endeavor to substitute Jewish for alien rule.
For them Jerusalem was a principal objective of the war and
also a testing point. Dozens of my colleagues spent many years in prisons in
Jerusalem, in the Russian Compound. There they appeared before the courts of the
foreign ruler, asking them: "Who are you to judge us here, in Jerusalem, the
capital of the Jewish homeland?" For their independence they were sentenced to
many years in prison. But they went to jail joyfully, knowing that even by doing
so they were undermining the oppressor's rule.
In the solitary confinement cells in Jerusalem my colleagues
wore the red garb of those who had been condemned to death, and Moshe Barazani,
together with Feinstein, a member of the IZL, tore their hearts out on the eve
of their execution, not wanting to fall at the hands of foreigners.
My colleagues fought on the walls of Jerusalem in the summer
months of 1948; there they shed their blood, and they were buried in Jerusalem's
soil.
...Consequently, there is no power in the world which can
deprive the Jewish nation of Jerusalem, which was conquered by fire and blood.
It will not be abandoned at the arbitrariness of those who raise their alien
hands to vote, no matter who they be. The shame of foreign oppression will not
return to Jerusalem! Foreigners will not order those who dwell in Jerusalem to
deny the blood that was shed for the city's freedom!
If the sanctity of graves is a political reason there are
thousands of fresh graves which are more sacred to us than anything else, and
they command us to fight for our capital. Every soldier will defend Jeru-salem,
and if additional sacrifices are required Jewish youngsters will willingly shed
their blood.
Let the foreigners who are discussing the fate of Jerusalem
take note of our call: Remove your hands from our capital! Jerusalem will be
Jewish forever, and its government will be only Jewish!
The Speaker, J. Sprinzak: Knesset Members, we have heard
the Prime Minister's statement and those of all the parties, all of whom spoke
clearly on the question of Jerusalem.
Despite the differing views, I declare that the entire Knesset
is united in stating that Jerusalem is an inseparable part of the State of
Israel and cannot be placed under foreign rule of any kind. This is the view of
the First Knesset of the State of Israel.
(The members rise and sing the national anthem.)
