When David Ben-Gurion,
Israel's first prime minister, passed away in 1973, an archive was established
in a small underground space on the Sde Boker campus of Ben-Gurion University
of the Negev. The archive was primarily for research purposes, and all of
Ben-Gurion's papers were transferred to the IDF and State Archives.
Now, recognizing the importance of preserving those documents in Sde Boker and
creating the first American style presidential library in Israel, Ben-Gurion
University has constructed a new archives building (pictured below).
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The new presidential library, jointly run by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
and the Ben-Gurion Heritage Center, centralizes the materials written by and
about David Ben-Gurion. It is the new home for Ben-Gurion's handwritten
diaries, his correspondence, articles about him, taped interviews, meeting
protocols, and more. As part of the presidential library process, the IDF and
State Archives have transferred the original documents to the new archives
building in Sde Boker, which will become a focus for learning about the
legendary David Ben-Gurion and through his life, learning about Zionism and the
establishment of the State. The Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of
Israel and Zionism has also moved into the new building, putting the highest
concentration of Israel Studies scholars in the world in close proximity to the
treasure trove of Ben-Gurion's archive.
The new building includes a 280-square meter visitor center (pictured above). The Ben-Gurion
Heritage Center, which will run the visitor center, will offer guides to lead
visitors in an encounter with the writings of Ben-Gurion, a central way to
understand this larger-than-life persona. Visitors will get the thrill of
discovery: uncovering hidden gems in drawers and closets. They will have the
opportunity to experience and discover Ben-Gurion through his own words in his
diaries, his correspondence (both official and personal), his speeches, news
articles, and protocols from the central organizations of which he was a member.
The archival materials represent an exceptionally lengthy period in
Ben-Gurion's life and his Zionist activities, from the beginning of the 20th
century until his death in 1973. The earliest items in the archive were written
at the beginning of the 20th century – for example, a letter that David
Ben-Gurion's father, Avigdor Green, sent to Theodor Herzl in 1901 recommending
his son for the Zionist enterprise. The latest documents were written mere
months before the death of the "Old Man" – for example, a letter sent
to Ben-Gurion wishing him good health and the last letter Ben-Gurion signed in
September 1973 wherein he effusively thanked a family who sent him two books
chronicling the origins of the Jewish community of Korelitz.
Among the interesting documents the visitors will find: Ben-Gurion's lists of
what needs to be done if the state is declared after the UN vote on the
partition plan on November 26, 1947; the diary page on the day he formally
declared the state, and his fears for its future and its fighters; his correspondence
at the apex of momentous times – during the War of Independence, the great
aliya and reparations; his letters about yoga and artificial intelligence (!);
his articles regarding Jewish Arab relations and the relationship between the
Jewish world and the State of Israel and more.
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Above: Dr. Adi Portughies (right), head of the David Ben-Gurion Archive, examines some of the archival material.
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Above: Mrs. Flora Pazerker, archivist, in the David Ben-Gurion archive.
