On Friday May 14 1948, at 4pm, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art was filled with the members of the People’s Council and Executive, with specially invited community leaders, to listen as David Ben Gurion read the Declaration of Independence. This emotionally charged moment of history represented the creation of the first independent Jewish state in over two millennia. The declaration was made 8 hours before the British Mandate was officially over, and after Ben Gurion finished reading, the members of the People’s Council signed their names on the scroll and sang Hatikvah, which became the national anthem.
This was a fitting spot for the declaration, as its history tells the story of the first Jewish city, Tel Aviv, to be built since biblical times. Tel Aviv’s attitude of freedom and progress would be representative of the state as a whole, in sharp contrast to the European Jewish communities of the preceding centuries. In 1909, 66 families stood on the sand dunes north of Jaffa and picked lots to build the first buildings of the new city, and this particular lot was won by Meir Dizengoff, who served as head of the neighbourhood committee and became the first mayor of Tel Aviv. The house was donated by Dizengoff to be turned into a museum. While it started life as the Tel Aviv Art Museum, it became the museum for the creation of the State of Israel in 1978.
Today, you can sit in the hall and imagine the moment Israel was born in this modest room. The chairs are labelled with the people who sat in them at the time, and the portrait of Herzl is still hanging center stage. The room looks just as it did on May 14 1948, and even the artworks that were being displayed at the time are still there. Various items used for the declaration are displayed, including recording equipment, documents and invitations. Visitors can listen to the original recording, and watch a 16-minute film which tells the story of the day and history of the building.
The hall is located on Rothschild Boulevard, the trendiest streets in Tel Aviv. One of the original streets build in 1909, the area is full of restaurants and bars, and there is often something going on in the middle of the boulevard.