In this official communique from the government of Israel, Ben-Gurion describes Herzl as a creator and revolutionary and compares him to the biblical character Joseph, who died in the Diaspora but whose bones were also reburied in the Land of Israel.
Ben-Gurion talks of Herzl, who died at an early age in the Diaspora, and his vision for a Jewish State that was realised with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. While Herzl, Ben-Gurion states, was mortal, his vision will be “immortal in Jewish history,” and the Jewish People are privileged to be able to bring Herzl to rest in “our eternal capital.” He sees the new, flourishing State of Israel as a monument to Herzl’s memory.
Ben-Gurion finishes his moving statement with the words: “The funeral of Herzl’s bones in Jerusalem will be not a mourning procession but a victory procession, the victory of a vision that has become a reality.”
This official proclamation contains lengthy quotations from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion’s speech at a special Knesset session on 21 Av, 5709. This session was dedicated to the topic of bringing Herzl’s remains from Vienna for reburial at Har Herzl in Jerusalem. Herzl’s interment was attended by thousands, and the plane carrying his body was greeted off the coast of Israel by an honour guard of fighter planes and ships.
