No one believed it could happen, and even today it is difficult to comprehend how easy it was. In 1957, a man walked into the Knesset, then located in downtown Jerusalem, with a grenade in his pocket. He proceeded to throw it into the assembly hall. David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir were among those injured. The explosion can be heard in a recording found in the National Library of Israel’s Sound Archive…
The Suicide of the Man Who Loved David Ben-Gurion
“My life’s work has been to serve you”: The tragic death of Nehemiah Argov, David Ben-Gurion’s trusted aide…
The Bizarre True Story of Israel’s First Government
It met in a movie theater, had a really weird assassination attempt, was led by a shockingly diverse coalition, and ended in resignation…
David Ben-Gurion, the Iconoclast
The story behind Ben-Gurion’s refusal to wear a head covering at the funeral of S.Y. Agnon…
Ben-Gurion: Prayer is Self-Deception
Israel’s first Prime Minister reveals: I do not envy soldiers who pray. A unique glimpse into David Ben-Gurion’s inner philosophy
When Golda Beat Ben-Gurion and Formed a 102 MK Coalition Without Him
Israel’s founding father won only four seats in his last Knesset run
The Initial Proposals That Fell Short: How the Israeli National Emblem Was Chosen
It was a close competition between artists to see who would receive the honor of designing the National Emblem
David Ben Gurion Meets Conrad Adenauer in New York, 1960
At the beginning of 1960, Israeli and West German leaders decided that it was time for a certain détente. This took the form of an official meeting between the two head statesmen: David Ben Gurion and Konrad Adenauer
The Reparations Agreement of 1952 and the response in Israel
Not only did many German citizens have reservations about the agreement-in-process. Considerable portions of the Israeli public were also unprepared to accept neither the very concept of negotiations with Germany nor the funds from the “land of the murderers,” which was defined by opponents as “blood money.”
Governments and Crises: Memories of Israel’s and Germany’s Ambassadors
Due to the complexity of the relations between the countries, the role of the German ambassador in Israel and that of his Israeli counterpart in Germany were most certainly among the most challenging faced by members of the diplomatic corps in the two countries
