Yitzchak Ben-Zvi - the Appointment to Presidency

This collection of photographs focuses on the election, in the Knesset, of Yitzchak Ben-Zvi as the second President and the Inauguration Day. After the demise of Dr. Chaim Weizman, the first President of Israel, the candidacy of Yitzchak Ben-Zvi for President was put forth by the Israeli Worker's Party. On December 8th elections took place in the main hall of the old Knesset building in Beit Frumin (on King George Street in Jerusalem.) Yitzchak Ben-Zvi was elected only on the third round of voting as in the first two rounds he did not get a majority of the votes. On the third round he was elected by a 62 vote majority. Two days later he was inaugurated as President of the State of Israel. The inauguration ceremony took place in the main hall of the Knesset building. Government Ministers, Members of the Knesset, representatives of the Courts, the Diplomatic Corps and honored guests attended the ceremony. When the President entered the hall, the guests rose to the sound of the blowing of the shofar. He swore: "I, Yitzchak the son of David and Devorah Ben Zvi, undertake to maintain loyalty to the State of Israel and it's laws." After the swearing in, a 21 gun salute was fired while the guests stood and the President's flag was flown on the Knesset building. The Police orchestra played the "Hatikvah" and Yitzchak Ben-Zvi inspected the guard of honor of IDF soldiers and police officers. In his inauguration speech Ben-Zvi surveyed the situation in Israel 4 years after its independence; this included the difficulties of the security threats, the political isolation and the difficult economic situation caused by the massive immigration that brought about the need for a policy of austerity, the social gap that was deepening as opposed to the pride and excitement which did not subside, that accompanied the establishment of the new State. In his speech he stressed the topics which he and his wife felt were of top priority: the gathering of Jews from throughout the Diaspora and forging the different ethnic groups together into one nation living in peace among themselves .You can read his speech from the inauguration ceremony at the Knesset in the book edited by, Chagai Tzoref and Yemima Rosental, Yitzchak Ben-Zvi- The Second President- Selected Documents From His Life (1884-1963), State of Israel Archives ( Series of Commeration of the Presidents and Prime Ministers), Jerusalem 1998, Pgs. 426-428. At the end of the inauguration ceremony Ben-Zvi was awarded the honorary citizenship award of the Jerusalem Municipality where he was previously a member of the Council. The Presidential procession was accompanied by a guard of honor of the Cavalry Unit of the Israeli Police. The presidential entourage passed from house to house in the Rehavia neighborhood passing through Ben Yehuda Street, Zion Square and from there to the Municipality. Crowds of people flocked to the streets to watch the procession. The Chairman of the Knesset, Yosef Shprinzak, the Chief Rabbi's representatives of the Jewish Agency, other honored guests and past members of the Municipal Council, took part in the ceremony at the municipality. In his office, after the ceremony, he received delegations of the various ethnic groups. At the end of the busy day he visited the grave of Chaim Weizman, the first President and afterwards went to the grave of his son Ali in Beit Keshet. In the days following the inauguration about 1,000 visitors, from Israel and abroad, visited the President's residence. There were well known Jewish personalities from throughout the world and delegations from Jewish communities. Ben Zvi was elected to the presidency when the characteristics of the office were still not fully formulated and were primarily ceremonial in nature, apart from designating the Knesset member who will form the Government after it's resignation and the right to pardon accused criminals and to shorten their sentences. He was given the challenge of determining the character of the Presidency and providing it with meaningful content. Ben-Zvi and his wife attempted to turn the President's House into a National symbol that would express the joint values and would stand above those that separate the people. They preferred to live in their apartment on Ibn Gabirol Street in Jerusalem and rejected the Government's intention to house them in a luxury apartment. They requested housing the President's House in a modest wooden hut that would be built in place of the wooden hut that had stood there before and had been moved to Beit Keshet as a memorial to their fallen son, Ali. Yitzchak Ben-Zvi was the only President elected for three terms and in addition was the sole candidate for the second and third term elections. At the beginning of his third term, he passed away on April 23, 1963. Read more