The World Zionist Organization, in cooperation with the Municipality of Netanya and the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, recently unveiled a monument commemorating the 75th anniversary of the historic UN decision on November 29, 1947, that led to the establishment of the State of Israel. As part of the event, the gavel and the original meeting minutes from the historic event were also revealed.
The event was attended by over 200 guests, public figures, representatives of the Foreign Affair Ministry and ambassadors from Australia, Uruguay, Ecuador, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Guatemala, Denmark, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Czech Republic, France, Canada, Costa Rica and Russia.
The monument, designed by the international sculptor Sam Philipe, was placed on a central hill in Netanya and is visible from a distance to travelers on the Haifa-Tel Aviv coastal road from the north and south.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of ending the British mandate and establishing a Jewish State in the Land of Israel. Thirty-three countries voted in favor of this binding resolution. The decision recognized the Jewish people’s right to a Jewish State in the Land of Israel and led to the declaration of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. The strategic Zionist decisions of that period were made in the building of the National Institutions in Jerusalem
Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Ya’akov Hagoel: “We are marking the 75th anniversary of the historic and significant event on the way to the realization of the Zionist vision. The United Nations, on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel, went through many changes and upheavals. Today, it is far from its neutral position of 1947. On November 29, seventy-five years later, and despite the validity and historic importance of the decision, the following line that David Ben-Gurion read in the Declaration of Independence resonates: “This is the natural right of the Jewish people to live as a nation, standing on its own authority in its sovereign state.”
Netanya Mayor Miriam Fierberg-Ikar: “Today, in this ceremony in front of the magnificent Shofar monument, we open again the historical book of memories whose pages are scattered throughout the city of Netanya in monuments, squares, statues, and landmarks. All of them tell the history of the journeys and tribulations of the Jewish people along the way to the establishment of the State of Israel. This is how we recorded in the book of memories, in a beautiful square in our city, the San Remo Conference, the conference that adopted the “Balfour Declaration” and made the historic decision to establish a State for the Jewish People in the Land of Israel. This is how we wrote into history the winged monument in memory of the “Red Army” liberators of the extermination camps, and so we recorded the history of immigration near the beach in the city as well as other historic events.
“Today, we mark the 75th anniversary of the UN’s decision that an end must be made to exile and the return of the Jewish people to their homeland. The shofar standing here in front of us, which is the largest shofar ever made, the creation of the talented international artist Sam Philipe, accurately expresses the meaning of the decision according to the prayer: ‘Sound a great shofar for our freedom to collect our exiles and let there be a miracle to collect our dispersed.’”
Jerry Klinger, President and Founder of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation: “As the 75th anniversary of the UN vote neared, legitimate historical memory fades, frequently replaced by shadowy confusion and politically motivated misrepresentation, the need for a memorial became very apparent.”
Sculptor Sam Philipe: In the ‘Shemoneh Esrei prayer’ (Eighteen Benedictions), there is a verse, ‘Sound a great shofar for our freedom and let there be a miracle to collect our dispersed.’ This is my inspiration for making the sculpture.”