bOn 5 Iyar, in the year 5708—May 14, 1948—David Ben-
bGurion stood in Tel Aviv and read a historic document to a
bpacked hall. It was the Declaration of the Establishment of the
bState of Israel, its Declaration of Independence. In it the State of
bIsrael pledged that: “It will ensure complete equality of social
band political rights to all its inhabitants, irrespective of religion,
brace or sex.” It also stated: “We appeal . . . to the Arab inhabi-
btants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in
bthe upbuilding of the state on the basis of full and equal
bcitizenship. . . .”
bIt would be pleasant to think that the Arab and Jew can
bshare full and equal citizenship in a Jewish State of Israel. But
bit is infinitely more important just to think, clearly and honestly;
bfor the Jewish state that was established by the Declaration of
bIndependence makes that document a model of schizophrenia,
bcorrectly mirroring the ideologically confused people who wrote
bit. Consider the other parts of the declaration, its opening, ma-
bjor, and moving paragraphs.
b“Eretz Yisrael was the birthplace of the Jewish people. . . .
bAfter being forcibly exiled from their land the people kept faith
bwith it throughout their dispersion and never ceased to pray and
bhope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their
bpolitical freedom. . . .
b“In the year 5657 [1897] . . . the First Zionist Congress
bconvened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national
brebirth in its own country. . . .