A rare handwritten excerpt from David Ben-Gurion’s diary, penned on May 14, 1948 – the day of Israel’s Declaration of Independence – was revealed to the public on Monday, offering a deeply personal glimpse into the founding prime minister’s emotions and concerns at the birth of the state.
The Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute and the Ben-Gurion Archives announced the discovery ahead of Israel’s 77th Independence Day celebrations. Although the original diary notebook remained missing, an original handwritten copy was located as part of a joint archival project between the two institutions.
The newly uncovered document portrayed Israel’s founding prime minister not as a man celebrating victory but as one deeply burdened by the immediate threats facing the newborn state.
“In the afternoon, at four o’clock, Jewish independence was declared and the state was established. Its fate is in the hands of the security forces,” Ben-Gurion wrote. He described grim reports of armored legion columns, the bombing of Tel Aviv, and internal disputes among military leadership regarding the strategy to secure the road to Jerusalem.
The diary fragment, never before published in its original handwriting, revealed Ben-Gurion’s deep anxiety: “Almost all the General Staff opposed my opinion to attack more forcefully and aggressively to capture the areas around the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem road. I feel they missed and are missing the decisive conquest that would determine the fate of Jerusalem – and possibly the outcome of the entire campaign.”
An earlier volume of his diary had closed with Ben-Gurion’s somber reflection after the approval of the Declaration of Independence: “The land rejoices and there is profound joy – but again I am mourning among the celebrants, as on November 29,” referencing the 1947 United Nations vote approving the partition plan for a Jewish state.
In a statement, Eitan Donitz, CEO of the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, said the diary entry captured “history in its purest form.” While the country celebrated, Donitz said, Ben-Gurion grappled with the young state’s very survival. “Reading his words from that moment is not just encountering a historical document – it is a living human experience,” the statement said.
Hopes to discover the original diary by 2026 Independence Day
The institute expressed hope that by next Independence Day, the original diary would also be located and made public, just as previous treasures such as Ben-Gurion’s 1947 pocket diary and historic “shopping list” from the UN vote had been recovered.
The document painted a picture of Ben-Gurion as a leader who saw Israel’s Declaration not as the conclusion of a struggle, but as the beginning of a new and dangerous fight for survival. On a day remembered worldwide as one of triumph for the Jewish people, Ben-Gurion sat recording, in meticulous handwriting, the immediate threats and his strategic concerns.
The Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, founded by law in 1976, preserves and promotes the legacy of Israel’s first prime minister. Located at Sde Boker in the Negev Desert, the institute houses the Ben-Gurion Hut, archives, exhibitions, and the national memorial site of David and Paula Ben-Gurion.