Copy of Ben-Gurion’s 1948 diary revealed: ‘The state was founded. Its fate is in the hands of the security forces’

A an image of the handwritten diary of David Ben-Gurion from the evening of May 14, 1948, is released ahead of Israel’s Independence Day.

The original of the diary has not yet been located, the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute and the Ben-Gurion Archive say, as they reveal the image of the journal.

“At four o’clock in the afternoon, Jewish independence was declared and the state was founded. Its fate is in the hands of the security forces,” he wrote.

He describes the difficult situation on the ground: “Harsh news about armored columns of the Legion… they bombed Tel Aviv last night.”

The copy of the diary was found in the Ben-Gurion Archives, as part of a collaboration between the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute and the Ben-Gurion Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Israel’s Independence Day is set to begin Wednesday evening.

David Ben-Gurion, flanked by the members of his provisional government, reads the Declaration of Independence in the Tel Aviv Museum Hall on May 14, 1948. (GPO)