David Ben Gurion and His Era

Dr. Rimalt, Knesset member and member of the General Zionists party, did not know Ben Gurion intimately. He met him sporadically in meetings of the Executive Committee (Va'ad Hapoel) of the Zionist Organisation, and before that at sessions of the Settlement Security Committee which BG attended. He was always under stress and aware of the immense responsibility he was burdened with. He never expressed satisfaction when security matters went well, and always warned of future dangers and difficulties. Dr. Rimalt remembers BG's appearance after the dissolution of the Palmach. After the Altalena affair, BG sent Yisrael Galili to the Committee. In the discussion (when the Israeli army was established) whether there should be in the camps a common dining room for soldiers and officers, Dr. Rimalt was, surprisingly for BG, in favour. In the debate about German reparations, Dr. Rimalt was against accepting them. As member of the committee for foreign affairs and security, Dr. Rimalt met regularly with BG who was then also Defence Minister. At the time of the Lavon affair, Dr. Rimalt was one of those to whom BG exposed his version. He also heard Lavon. He came to the conclusion that none of the parties told the whole truth. BG refused to go into details. There was great tension, in the Knesset too and in the Committee of Seven, especially at the time when Laskov and Isser Harel left and the establishment of a military administration was being discussed. ; Before the Sinai Campaign in 1956, BG called a meeting of some factions, hung up a huge map showing all the Arab countries of the Middle East and small Israel. He was very worried and concluded that Israel had to be strong, careful and wise. Usually his face showed his mood or what he thought of other speakers. Everybody was afraid of how he would summarise a debate in his closing speech. BG was very sensitive and careful about the style and correctness of Hebrew. Dr. Rimalt last met BG at the convention of the Organisation of American Zionists and felt that BG was then already living in a different reality. Even before the Six Day War he had developed a strange theory that Israel should not attack Egypt but only Sharm el Sheikh, not to start at Erez or in Sinai, but only to break the siege and not to attack. ; Dr. Rimalt always saw in BG an outstanding personality with abilities much above those of other leaders. But his faults, too, were outstanding. In spite of all the differences of opinions and political disagreements with Rimalt's faction, he was the right man to lead in those historic times. Rimalt criticized BG's handling of the Altalena affair, the change of military commanders, the Lavon affair. As regards BG's relations with the General Zionists (later Liberals), there were sharp debates but he never spoke rudely. There always was an atmosphere of honour and respect on both sides. The General Zionists were with BG in his fight for education (to the grief of some of his party colleagues). After the Sinai Campaign, BG asked Dr.Rimalt to take part in a delegation to the UN. He invited him to a reception for UN Secretary Hamersjold. He sometimes asked him to explain to his guests the principles of the General Zionists' party. Dr. Rimalt describes the discussion regarding a change in the election practice which BG advocated and some of the Mapai members rejected. While the General Zionists were part of the coalition government, BG's relations with them were civil. ; Asked what position BG held in his political life, Dr. Rimalt said that he learned a lot from BG about the way he saw and handled problems of security and foreign affairs. He always put the national principle above the political. The participation of the General Zionists in the coalition government was a good way for its Knesset members to learn about state administration, but BG did not influence the ideological or the administrative development of the party. Dr. Rimalt was greatly impressed by BG's sharp brain and his ability to analyse past events, and also by his instinct and intuition to foresee future possibilities. He was one of the outstanding personalities of the Jewish people in his generation, who led his people in good and bad times steadfastly and with belief in its future. BG tried to convince opponents by logical arguments to accept his decisions. He always thought his fellow party members stood behind him, even when this was not so. Dr. Rimalt never heard him saying that he had been mistaken, but he did once say that he had not assessed a problem properly.