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>>Ankerberg: Jimmy and I traveled to Tel Aviv to Independence Hall – where it all started
when David Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948 and the modern
State of Israel was born. >
>DeYoung: We’re in the heart of downtown Tel Aviv, which is one of the newer cities
here in the state of Israel. In fact the monument there, John, to those who built this city.
They say that Jerusalem is where you worship; Haifa is where you study; Tel Aviv is where
you play here in Israel.
>>DeYoung: John, right here in the center of Tel Aviv, Independence Hall. If there’s
ever a monument to the fulfillment of prophecy, this is the place where they announced to
the world the new state, the modern day state of Israel.
>>Ankerberg: Jimmy, this is a very important building for Israel.
>>DeYoung: It certainly is. We step off of modern day streets of Tel Aviv back 60 years
ago to Independence Hall where it all began. The monument to the fulfillment of prophecy.
Notice the prophetic passage there, Isaiah 35:1: “The desert shall bloom and blossom
like the rose.” This was the view from David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel’s
home. He was able to look at the desert. And then this mural represents the peoples that
have been coming from the all over the world, four corners of the earth. Notice Jeremiah
31:8: “I shall gather them in from all over the world,” and then chapter 31 continues
to say, “they will come into a land I am going to give them.” verse 23 of Jeremiah
31 He says, I’ll restore their language, a language dead for 2000 years. The Hebrew
language restored to the people of Israel.
>>DeYoung: 108 nations of the world. The people have come here. Down here in is Independence
Hall, where actually the announcement was made.
>>Ankerberg: Going into Independence Hall we were met by lecturer Itzik Dror who told
us, "This building was a historic building because Israel was born here. It was one of
the greatest moments in the history of the Jewish people as our leaders announced to
the world the new state, the modern-day State of Israel."
>>Dror: This is the Hall of Independence. This is where Israel was born 60 years ago.
Let me show you the stage where it all happened. You see, this is where Ben-Gurion and his
government were sitting. This is his chair. And you can see the microphones and even the
gavel that he used to declare independence. At 4:00 pm exactly Israel was born. Now, it
was a Friday and it was very important to start on time because the Shabbat was coming
in, and you do not want to desecrate a Shabbat. The Egyptians are about to blitz the city
and this is why everything must start and be finished before the Shabbat. So at 4:00
pm exactly the ceremony begins. Ben-Gurion picked up this gavel and rapped three times
on the table, three raps, and it will change, to my opinion, the history of the world….
>>DeYoung: Exactly.
>>Dror: and the fate of millions of people. What happened here, to my understanding, is
as if the Jews opened the Bible and added another chapter to it. This is how I see it
anyhow, and how Jewish people who sat here saw it.
>>Ankerberg: Itzik showed us some of the historic pictures of the event that were taken on the
day of the announcement.
>>Dror: These are the pictures of the leaders of Israel when they signed the Document of
Independence. You can see Golda Meir shaking hands with Moshe Sharett. This is Ben-Gurion
here, and more pictures of the leaders of Israel shaking hands right after the…
>>Ankerberg: The declaration
>>Dror: the declaration. Ben-Gurion signing.
>>Ankerberg: The document.
>>Dror: People were so moved when he signed the Document of Independence. It was really,
It was a very important moment in the lives of all the people who shared this moment.
You see Ben-Gurion here, the ministers of the temporary Jewish counsel. Minutes before
the actual declaration here, the ministers of the tiny cabinet, and more of Ben-Gurion
actually reading. This is what was
>>Ankerberg: Around the world.
>>Dror: Yes, reading the document. And here we can see the outside of the building. It
was supposed to be a secret. But it was not a secret. When Ben-Gurion came to the hall
half of Tel Aviv was standing outside. And you can see that it was something that brought
everybody here to the streets. It was very dangerous, because the Egyptians were about
to blitz the city from the air.
>>Ankerberg: Yeah, in fact just a few days later they bombed it, didn’t they?
>>Dror: Exactly, a few hours. You know, the Egyptians blitzed the city a few hours. One
of the reasons why they declared the independence in the heart of Tel Aviv in this room was
because they were looking for safety. You know this room is really in a safe place.
>>Ankerberg: And you were attacked by what, six different fronts?
>>Dror: Well, seven Arab armies participated in different numbers.
>>Ankerberg: Just a few hours after you did this?
>>Dror: A few hours after Ben-Gurion actually signed
the Document of Independence. Even in the darkest hours of Israel - And now let me tell
you, it was the happiest hour of our nation, it was the darkest hour of our nation. Seven
Arab armies invaded Israel that joined a war that was already waged.
>>Ankerberg: How soon after the declaration?
>>Dror: A few hours, a few hours. The morning of the Shabbat morning, we already saw seven
Arab armies marching.
>>Ankerberg: Right here in Tel Aviv, you had bombs.
>>Dror: Well, some, the Egyptians blitzed the city and you have like seven Arab armies
in the range of 40 miles from this point.
>>DeYoung: 40 miles from here.
>>Dror: 40 miles from here. It is all over in a way. British officers wrote home, “that’s
it; it’s a matter of hours and the Jews will be thrown into the sea.” General George
Marshall commented, well, the secretary of state, he commented, “the old man (talking
about Ben-Gurion) the old man lost it. He is leading his people into a complete annihilation.”
It is simply impossible. We are talking about a tiny army.
>>DeYoung: Now, as I understand it, Ben-Gurion had been encouraged not to make the announcement.
>>Dror: Well, especially by the Americans.
>>DeYoung: Yes.
>>Dror: They could not even start to imagine how it is possible that the so few with sticks
in their hands can win this. You have to understand, the Jewish army was, well…
>>Ankerberg: It didn’t exist.
>>Dror: a joke! We had two Piper Cubs as an Air Force, you know. And like 40,000 people
sharing 10,000 rifles. The top generals of the Israeli army were people like Yitzhak
Rabin. You remember Yitzhak Rabin, the guy that was assassinated, our Prime Minister
>>DeYoung: The former Prime Minister.
>>Dror: in 1990. Very good. And the guy was 23 when he became a top general. So if your
top generals are 23, what are the age of your troops? And this was the Jewish army, and
we faced seven modern Arab armies. And you know what, you can Google it from here to
Japan, read all the books in the world, and I know you guys, you know so much, but I cannot
provide a clear explanation to how exactly we survived this war.
>>DeYoung: Except the Almighty God watching over His people.
>>Dror: Well, you know Ben-Gurion said once, if you know the history, the modern story
of Israel, if you know the story of Israel and what happened here, and you do not believe
in miracles, you are not realistic. Something is wrong with you. And he was not a man of
miracles, Ben-Gurion, although he knew the Bible heart. There are some things that you
cannot use the logic to explain, like the war of independence in Israel. The ceremony
started at 4:00. By 4:32 it was all over; 32 minutes that changed the world.
>>Ankerberg: We left Independence Hall thinking about the three-promises God made to the Jewish
people through the prophet Ezekiel when he said, Thus says the Lord God, “Behold I
will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone and I will gather
them from every side and bring them into their own land and I will make them one nation in
that land.” No one can doubt that these prophecies have been fulfilled in our lifetime
exactly as God said.