This source is the cover of the Davar Leyeladim issue from the first Independence Day of the State of Israel. On the title page there is a picture of the flag and a poem called “Komemiyot!” meaning sovereignty. The poem was written by someone called Yoseph, but there is no information about his identity.
The poem describes how for many years the flag, which the author uses as an analogy for the hidden hopes and dreams of the Jewish people, remained “hidden and folded” out of sight. At the same time, “we all knew that the day would come – it would fly high.” The poet describes how even though his generation had refrained from dreaming of this day when Israel would be theirs again, they had the privilege of seeing the land returned into their hands. Yoseph writes that throughout the wanderings of our people in the diaspora, “we all knew /The day would come – and she would be freed.” The author also mentions how the children of his generation were the soldiers who triumphed. The poem finishes with words of happiness at being blessed to have been those who created the State of Israel. The poet concludes with the idea that the Jewish people were incomplete without their homeland, an important Zionist motif that was very important to the leaders of the newly established State of Israel.
The poem was published on the first Independence Day. Independence Day had been declared a holiday in a law enacted by the Knesset on April 13, 1949. The date set for the holiday is the Hebrew date of the declaration of the state, 5 Iyar 5708 (1948).
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Davar LeYeladim - Davar LeYeladim, the magazine that printed this cartoon, can be seen to reflect the lives of children at the time. It printed nature stories, poetry, articles on science, nature, and geography by many well-known authors as well as jokes, crossword puzzles, and articles written by children.
