On the way to the Scroll of Independence – original draft of the version of Moshe Sharet, the version that was ...

On the way to the Scroll of Independence – original draft of the version of Moshe Sharet, the version that was corrected by him and his assistance and typewritten by his secretary a day before the Declaration – Most rare!!!
The scroll of independence is one of the most important documents in the history of the Jewish nation. The document had gone through many changes from the beginning of its writing until the declaration itself. Elected people worked on the version of the declaration for three weeks – from the middle of Passover until the meeting of the State Council on 14.5.1948.
The various versions were written simultaneously by several important people. The initial version was written by a group of lawyers headed by Mordechai Baham. Then the version was corrected and changed by other lawyers and statesmen. The changes were legal, moral and symbolic. At the same time, the future president, Zalman Shazar, wrote a version of himself.
From all the drafts he received, Zvi Bernzon wrote the version that was brought to the State Council on 12.5.1948 for confirmation. However, The members of the Council were not satisfied with the final version and after a debate, decided that a committee of four will write the final version. the members of the committee were David Ben Gurion, Moshe Sharet, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Fishman (Maimon) and Aharon Tzizling.
Moshe Sharet took it upon himself to coordinate the assignment.
The following day, on the morning of 13.5, one day before the declaration, Sharet presented the version he had prepared. He combined Bernzons version, which was mostly legal, with that of Shazar, which was mostly historical. The State Council approved Sharet's version, except for slight changes. It was decided to present the final version again that same day to the Council.
In order to refine the final version, Moshe Sharet asked Moshe Gur Arye, a senior official of the Jewish Agency, to join him. They went over the final version and gave it to Sharet's secretary to typewrite (not before Sharet confirmed she was trustworthy).
40 years ago, Gur Arye published an article on the matter in which he recalled the sequence of events:
"… My first comment was regarding the word 'Heyot' (since) in which each paragraph of the introduction opened. I suggested replacing it with 'Ho'il' (whereas). At first, he did not want even to hear my suggestion and only after I supported it with quotes from Bialik did he agree to telephone Ben Gurion and ask him whether 'Heyot' or Ho'il'. Ben Gurion answered with a single word 'Ho'il' and no more.
Sharet looked shocked and looked forwards solemnly. To my question if he was feeling well he answered: 'What do they want from me? I am tired and exhausted. I do not know what more can be added or deleted!' My attempts to encourage him were in vain. After a while, he seemed to recover' yet remained indifferent to the matter of the corrections.
'Do as you like, correct whatever comes to your mind, when you dictate it to the secretary, I will make comments – if I have any'. And indeed my corrections were accepted…
With this, actually, my part in the Scroll of Independence ended and we separated with a warm handshake and with the greeting 'see you tomorrow at the Declaration'".
This version of Sharet is in the State Archives and was published in several articles.
Amazingly, the document before us is almost completely identical to the familiar version written by Sharet. However, in this version, there are about ten linguistic changes. An examination of these changes reveals that the familiar version is more linguistically correct than the version before us. Thus, this is Sharet's final version before his final proofreading.
In other words, in the few hours left, Gur Arye corrected the final version. The secretary typewrote it; yet, an additional proofreading was made and Gur Arye corrected ten slight linguistic mistakes. The document before us is the version that the secretary typewrote before the final proofreading.
Thus, the document before us is the document from which the final version which was brought before the new government on 13.5 was created.
In his article, Gur Arye recalls the end of the story:
".. I also went to the Declaration with the scroll, which I saw myself as part of its creators, in my hands. But, alas! When Ben Gurion started to read the declaration, I discovered to my horror that he was reading things that were not written at all in 'our!' scroll. Some gray prose: "Be'Eretz Yisrael Kam Ha'Am Ha'Yehudi…" With restrained pathos, without the drama befitting the occasion, Ben Gurion reads the Declaration and omits any precious stone Sharet had inserted so lovingly.
At the end of the ceremony … I asked Sharet: 'What is this text that Ben Gurion had just read?'
Sharet whispered in my ear, emphasizing each of his words: 'He-has-murdered-us!' 'Us' meaning him and me, the partner to the creation…
… [Ben Gurion's] version is based on that of Sharet and almost in the same order, yet he removed from it the fancy clothing and gave it, with the talent of an experienced statesman, powerful simplicity."
To conclude, before us is a rare and unique document: the draft of the Scroll of Independence as it was phrased by Moshe Sharet, the original and authentic version before the final proofreading, which constituted the basis for the final version of the Scroll of Independence that was read by Ben Gurion.
Condition: Very Good.