May 14 1948 – 5 Iyar 5708
The day before the British Mandate officially came to an end, on Friday May 14, David Ben Gurion read out the declaration of Israeli independence at a relatively small ceremony in the Tel Aviv Museum. Publicity was kept to an absolute minimum, as all were aware that as soon as the state was declared, Israel’s Arab neighbors would immediately declare war; there was also fear of British intervention to prevent the declaration. The ceremony began at 4 pm, leaving time for participants to get home in time for the beginning of the Sabbath.Twelve of the thirty-seven politicians due to sign on the declaration were unable to do so, as they were stuck in Jerusalem, already under siege by three Arab armies.
The declaration was recorded and broadcast by Kol Israel in its inaugural broadcast – a whole day later after the end of Sabbath.
As the state of Israel was being signed into existence, the three remaining settlements of the Etzion block were torched by the Arab Legion, after its defenders were taken into captivity or evacuated in a surrender negotiated by the Red Cross. The defenders of Kfar Etzion had been defeated and massacred a day earlier.
Israel’s independence day must be the only one to have no fixed date – it varies according to which day in the week turns out to be 5 Iyar. It’s only celebrated on the day if that’s the middle of the week – anything earlier than Tuesday, and the celebrations are put off by a day so that Remembrance Day ceremonies for the casualties of Israel’s wars and the Arab-Israeli conflict don’t involve preparations that might desecrate the Sabbath – true to the very first Independence Day in the history of the State.