Original sketch in memory of President Weizmann by artist Ben-Yammi.
Following the November 29, 1947, United Nations resolution ending the reign of the British Mandate in Eretz Yisrael, Israel commenced the establishment of national institutions to govern the new state. These institutions were not elected bodies in a purely democratic sense, as their members originated from the ranks of Jewish Agency management and from the Vaad Leumi (the Jewish National Committee). On April 4, 1948, the National Committee and the Jewish Agency established the Moetzet Ha’Am, a People’s Council consisting of 37 members representative of the various Jewish groups in Eretz Yisrael – socialists and revisionists, Sephardic and Ashkenazi, religious nationalists and secularists, liberals and communists – and a People’s Administration of 13 as the executive arm of the Council.
Photo illustration of the 37 members of the People’s Council.
On Friday, the fifth day of Iyar 5708 (May 14, 1948) in Tel Aviv, the members of the People’s Council met for the last time and voted to transform itself into the Provisional Council of the State of Israel, the highest governmental institution of the new Jewish State, to function as a government until a constituent assembly could be elected. In a pointed and symbolic act of defiance, the Provisional Council chose to convene in Jerusalem, whose political future even then provoked enormous international controversy. Thus, the first sitting of the new Council took place at the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem, where it famously declared the establishment of the State of Israel and signed Israel’s Declaration of Independence.
Weizmann had not been a member of either the People’s Counsel or the Provisional Council – nor was he a signer of Israel’s Declaration of Independence – because he was not a member of any of its constituent bodies. He spent the time primarily in New York in a most crucial, and ultimately successful, effort to get the United States and President Truman to recognize the new Jewish State. Prime Minister Ben Gurion, who was at the apex of political power in the nascent pseudo-government, was determined to keep as much power as possible, but it soon became clear to him that there was a groundswell of support for bringing the beloved Weizmann into the governmental framework. Accordingly, on May 16, 1948, at the first official meeting of the Provisional Council after its founding, the first item on the agenda was a proposal to make Weizmann president of the State of Israel but also making it clear that this would largely be an honorary position and he would essentially serve as a figurehead. He was elected president of the Provisional Council by a 13-2 vote and authorized to hold office until Israel could hold its first elections.
Among other things, Israel’s Declaration of Independence mandated that a Constituent Assembly be elected no later than October 1, 1948, and directed that the Assembly write a constitution and determine the nation’s permanent governing institutions:
We declare that after the termination of the British Mandate, from the 15 May 1948 and until elected authorities of the state would be established in accordance with a constitution accepted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than October 1, 1948 – the Provisional State Council would act as the temporary State Council, and its executive institution, the Provisional government of Israel, would constitute the temporary Government of the Jewish state, which would be named Israel.
Original photo: Weizmann voting in Israel’s first election, January 25, 1949.
However, elections could not be held before October 1 because of complications raised by Israel’s War of Independence. On November 5, 1948, however, the Provisional Council determined that the Constituent Assembly would consist of 120 members and, after the Constituent Assembly election had to be canceled twice, it was finally held on January 25, 1949, with an impressive 87% of eligible voters going to the polls. (A few months earlier, on November 8, 1948, and with war still raging, Israel took its first census, which showed 506,507 eligible voters.) Even to date, Israel boasts one of the highest voter participation rates among the world’s democracies.
The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was scheduled for February 14, 1949. Shown here is a February 7, 1949, invitation issued by Joseph Sprinzak on Provisional Council letterhead to Mr. Menachem Bader (1895-1985):
Invitation from Sprinzak to attend the opening session of Israel’s Constituent Assembly (February 14, 1949).
Dear Sir: according to paragraph 2(A)…you are invited to the opening session of the Constituent Assembly on Monday, February 14, 1949, at 4:00 p.m., in the National Institutions building in Jerusalem.
Sprinzak (1885-1959) made aliyah from his native Russia to Eretz Yisrael (1910), where he helped to found the Histadrut labor federation (1920) and served as its secretary general (1945-1949). A socialist Zionist, he was a delegate to several Zionist Congresses and became the first labor representative elected to the Zionist Executive; was elected to the first three Knessets as a member of Ben-Gurion’s Mapai party, which he was instrumental in forming; and served as the first Knesset Speaker (see below) from 1949 until his death ten years later. He became acting President of Israel when Weizmann became ill in December 1951 and served as interim President after Weizmann’s death (November 9, 1952) until Yitzhak Ben-Zvi’s inauguration (December 1952).
The Assembly defined four duties/powers for Israel’s figurehead president:
to sign laws passed by the Knesset (but they must also be countersigned by the prime minister);
to sign treaties with foreign states ratified by the Knesset, appoint the diplomatic corps, and receive foreign diplomats;
to have the authority to pardon lawbreakers or reduce their sentences; and
after consultation with the leaders of various political parties in the Knesset, to designate a Knesset member to form a new government.
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Exhibited here are the first four pages of an important historical document, the proceedings of the Founding Assembly of the Provisional Council, beginning with Weizmann’s powerful speech to the assembly:
It is with a sense of honor and awe that I rise to open the Constituent Assembly of the State of Israel, the first Jewish assembly of our day, in Jerusalem, the eternal city. At this great moment in the history of our people, we give thanks and praise to the G-d of Israel, by whose grace we have been privileged to see redemption, after generations of suffering and misery…
The first [direction of the Zionist movement] was spiritual arousal, the return to the ancient sources of our Jewish heritage, and the revival of the Hebrew language and its literature, focusing the widely dispersed abilities of our nation on one aim… The second direction was that of concrete action, and was taken by those who had grown weary of waiting for the strength of the Jews in the diaspora to increase and for others to grant them recognition. They sought to hasten matters, and they came to Palestine, attempting to bring redemption to their people by the labor of their hands, the sweat of their brow, and their very lifeblood…
[After the War of Independence], we were unable to hold elections and establish the state on a permanent basis. A provisional ruling body was set up, comprising a legislature and an executive, deriving its authority from previous elections. The two former supreme institutions the Executive of the Jewish Agency and the National Council combined to form this provisional ruling body… Knesset Members, I congratulate you on your first meeting. Remember that the eyes of the whole Jewish world are upon you, and that the yearning and prayers of past generations accompany you. May we all be worthy of this great moment and this immense responsibility.
Weizmann discusses in detail the import of the ingathering of exiles, the free acceptance by Israeli Jews of the rule of law and just judgment, and the “warning of the prophet” not to be subject to the rule of a king or a dictatorial ruler, and he closed with an emotional tribute to the memory of Zionist leaders, including Herzl, Nordau, Achad Ha’am, Chaim Nachman Bialik, Eliezer Ben Yehuda, Menachem Ussishkin, Louis Brandeis, and Edmund de Rothschild.
Other addresses (not exhibited here) were delivered by Ben Gurion, as Prime Minister; Yosef Sprinzak, as Speaker of the Assembly; Pinchas Rosen, as Justice Minister; Menachem Begin, member of the Cherut party; and many others.
Photo of First Knesset, which replaced the Provisional State Council on February 14, 1949, and served until August 20, 1951.
Actual historic document: Appointment of Sprinzak as Chair of the Constituent Assembly.
After Weizmann’s address, the Constituent Assembly elected Sprinzak as its Chair. Shown here is the actual historical document dated Tu B’Shvat (February 14) 1949, formally appointing Sprinzak as Chair of the Constituent Assembly, in which Weizmann writes an emotional statement expressing his hopes that Sprinzak will fulfill to the magnitude of the hour and offers a prayer for the success of the new State:
LETTER OF APPOINTMENT CHOOSING A CHAIRMAN
In the context of my designation as President of the temporary Council of State, I hereby acknowledge through this document that Mr. Yosef Sprinzak has been chosen as Chair of the Constituent Assembly.
It is my hope that Mr. Sprinzak will meet the test of responsibility that we imposed on him, and my prayer is that my intention [in making this appointment] will not be stained and that he will raise the reputation of our State throughout the world.
When the first Knesset met in 1949, the Mapai Party nominated Weizmann to serve as president and, though it was plain that Cherut party Revisionists would never support him, there was broad disagreement and passionate debate regarding who the Cherut candidate would be. Some of the candidates considered included Rabbi Meir Berlin (who, at one point, almost became the Cherut candidate), Rabbi Aryeh Levin, Moshe Smoira, and Menashe Meyerowitz, and some generally suggested an unspecified “Sephardi candidate.” Finally, the Cherut Revisionists unified behind Professor Joseph Klausner, a strong right-wing nationalist, as its presidential candidate, even though he was not actually a Cherut party member (although he was a leading intellectual who significantly influenced the Cherut movement.)
At first, Klausner declined to serve as a presidential candidate; as he wrote in his autobiography, “Not the vote’s calculation is why I oppose the nomination. It truly never occurred to me, that I am talented to be the president of the State of Israel.” However, although he knew very well that his chances of victory were, at best, slim, he ultimately yielded to continued pressure from Cherut leaders, stating that “I would not want that the Jewish and the general world would think that the entire world of Israeli Judaism is aligned to Weizmann and Mapai’s politics.”
When, on February 16, 1949, the Knesset convened to elect the President of the State of Israel, Zalman Rubashov (who would later change his name to Zalman Shazar and became the third president of Israel), presented the two nominees.
Klausner’s candidacy was introduced by Aryeh Ben-Eliezer, who depicted Klausner as a man who “through his writings managed to revive the majesty of freedom-fighting from days of yore and whose books are consecrated by an entire generation of warriors and rebels…” Nonetheless, Mapai felt confident that Weizmann would prevail and, when his nomination was submitted by Mr. Parry, a Mapam member, he said:
Our faction has decided to support the candidacy of Dr. Chaim Weizmann. In so doing, we demonstrate our appreciation of his personality and his labors over the years on behalf of the Zionist enterprise, as well as his loyal cooperation with the pioneers in the Land of Israel. At the same time, we wish to make it clear that our support for Dr. Weizmann does not indicate at any point support for his past or future political programs. We particularly favor Dr. Weizmann over the candidate of Herut Movement Begin’s party, founded by the Irgun, whose character and ambitions are unfortunately well known.
The Revisionist/Cherut responded:
The Cherut Movement cannot support Chaim Weizmann because the President of Israel must be a wise and devoted man who reflects the tradition of those who pave the way for their people. We will cast our vote instead for Yosef Klausner, who has told the whole glorious story of our earlier wars of liberation and who has provided the basic text for a whole generation of fighters and rebels. As for what Parry said a moment ago, I have only one comment: we do not deem it necessary to argue with collaborators, and we do not intend to begin now.
That final remark touched off an uproar in the hall, which in short order came to characterize debates and discussions in the Knesset; even today, the Knesset has the well-earned reputation of being the most disorderly and raucous government body in the world, with members constantly interrupting and screaming at each other. Weizmann went on to win the presidency on a convincing 83-15 vote (there were fifteen empty ballots and one invalid vote).
At its first substantive meeting on February 16, the newly elected Constituent Assembly opened. The 120 members elected to the Assembly and various invited guests entered the specially-prepared hall, and, when President Weizmann and members of the Cabinet arrived at about 3:45, they were saluted by an honor guard composed of units of the Israeli Army and police force and Hatikvah was played by a combined army-police band. At precisely 4 o’clock, the Assembly’s secretary, Moshe Rosette, approached Weizmann’s table and struck it three times with a gavel, after which Weizmann rose to address the Assembly.
After concluding his address, President Weizmann called upon the Israeli Government’s secretary-general, Zeev Scharf, to read the oath of allegiance to the state of Israel, which was then translated into Arabic, and each member of the Assembly was called upon to rise and recite the oath. After Joseph Sprinzak was chosen as the Speaker of the Assembly, he briefly addressed the Assembly, after which it was adjourned until Tuesday.
The incredible postal cover shown here, which bears the official February 16, 1949, cancellation Ha’Assefa HaMechonenet – the “Constituent Assembly,” Israel’s first legislative body after its independence – is signed by five “firsts”:
Postal cover signed by Israel’s first political leaders: Ben Gurion, Weizmann, Rav Herzog, Sprinzak, and Dori.
Ben Gurion, as first Prime Minister.
Chaim Weizmann, as first President.
Rav Yitzchak Halevi Herzog, as first Chief Rabbi of Israel (after its independence).
Yosef Sprinzak, as first Speaker of the Knesset.
Yaakov Dori, as first Chief of Staff, Israel Defense Forces.
The first act of duly elected Constituent Assembly was to pass the “Transition Law” by which it reconstituted itself as the “Knesset,” thereby becoming the official legislature of the State of Israel. As a grand symbol of the continuity of Jewish sovereign history in Eretz Yisrael, it was named for the Anshei Knesset Hagedolah (the “Men of the Great Assembly”), the supreme authority of the sages of Israel that convened in Jerusalem after the return of the Jewish people from their exile in Babylon during the 5th century B.C. under the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah. Intentionally emulating the Great Assembly of old, the number of Knesset members was set at 120 (which remains the number today).
Original photo: Residents of Jerusalem line the streets near hastily-erected arch of triumph as Weizmann enters the city for the first time as Israel’s president.
Original photograph: On his way to his inauguration as president, Weizmann’s convoy stopped near the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem, where the Hatikvah was sung. President and Mrs. Weizmann can be seen standing at attention.
Original photograph: Weizmann cuts the tape at the entrance to Jerusalem during his inauguration ceremony. To Weizmann’s left is his wife, Vera, and to his right is Daniel Auster, Mayor of Jerusalem.
Weizmann’s Inauguration Ceremony, which was held on February 17, 1949, at the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, was boycotted by a few Cherut members in protest. While the masses waited eagerly and applauded the new president, an honor guard of soldiers and policemen were assembled, a shofar blast sounded on the president’s arrival at the assembly point, and the Israel Defense Forces fired 21-gun salutes at various locations across the country to mark the inauguration and swearing-in of the new president. After taking the oath of office, administered by Sprinzak, Weizmann delivered an inspiring speech:
I am deeply grateful for the great honor of being elected as the first President of the State of Israel. With all my heart and all my strength, I will strive to fulfill this lofty mission for the sake of our people, all the land’s inhabitants, and the honor of our state. The responsibility placed upon me is immense. But I am only human, and I may falter – let me not be judged as one who sins willfully.
At this defining moment in my life, in all our lives, I send my heartfelt blessings to every citizen of Israel and to the Jewish people across the world. I know that all we do – and all we fail to do – in this land will cast its light or its shadow upon our entire nation…
Exhibited here is a wondrous original document in which Weizmann expresses his hopes and prayers for his service as Israel’s first president:
State of Israel.
Office of the President.
18 Adar 5709.
March 19, 1949.
Dear Honorable Member of Knesset.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your best wishes. The Zionist Organization and the People of Israel have blessed me with a high and lofty position and a great honor.
This honor, though, is a weighty one at my age and in view of the state of my health. I pray in my heart that I may be worthy of the position, and that history will keep me from any quarrels and internal strife, which, most unfortunately, are frequent in postwar countries. With great appreciation,
Copy: Secretariat of the Knesset
Weizmann’s March 19, 1949, correspondence to Wahrhaftig on becoming Israel’s president.
Weizmann officially assumed office on February 17, 1949. This letter, written scarcely a month later, was printed so soon after Israel’s founding that the official stationery lacks what soon became the familiar official emblem of the State of Israel – a menorah and olive branches – that would later adorn all later stationery. Unfortunately, Weizmann’s expressed concerns about his health would prove to be well-founded, as he passed away in 1952, before the completion of his term of office.
Rabbi, religious scholar, lawyer, and politician, Dr. Wahrhaftig (1906 – 2002) was one of the Knesset’s most distinguished statesmen and intellectuals. He was one of the original signers of the Israeli Declaration of Independence, served in the Knesset from the founding of the State of Israel until 1981, served as Minister of Religions in the Prime Minister’s cabinet, led the National Religious Party, was a lecturer at Hebrew University, and helped to found Bar-Ilan University. He notably established a constitutional compromise between synagogue and state when, as chairman of the Knesset Law Committee, he steered through legislation to create rabbinical courts and religious councils, to enforce Shabbat, and to enact the Law of Return and define “who is a Jew” thereunder (1950).
On February 24, 1949, a week after his inauguration, Weizmann entrusted the formation of a government to Ben Gurion, who soon proved successful in forming a coalition with 46 Mapai members, 16 of United Religious Front, 5 from the Progressive Party, 4 of Sephardi List, and 2 from the Arab Democratic List of Nazareth.
The First Knesset ultimately voted no confidence in the government and disbanded itself over the highly partisan and emotional issue of the jurisdiction over the education of religious families. When the Second Knesset convened for the first time on November 19, 1951, Weizmann was re-elected president on an 85-11 vote (with three abstentions). However, on December 11, 1951, only a few weeks later, the Knesset Committee announced that Weizman was renouncing his position for health reasons. Sprinzak, as Speaker of the Knesset, served as the Acting President until Weizmann’s death on November 9, 1952.
Next week: How Einstein almost succeeded Weizmann as president.
