Knesset Speaker Menachem Savidor:

Mr. President, my fellow Members of the Knesset, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, honorable judges, honorable chief Rabbis, the leaders of the settlement in all of its streams. I am honored to head this day of celebration marking 100 years of settlement, 85 years since the First Zionist Congress, 80 years to the Jewish National Fund and 25 years since the historical letter of James de Rothschild, in which he transferred all property of the “Palestine Jewish Colonization Association” to the State, and to which he added his financial obligation to build this building. In that letter there was a blessing: “May it be willed that the building of the Knesset symbolize the eternity of the State of Israel to the world”. His noble widow, Madam Dorothy de Rothschild, was right to remark at the inauguration of the Knesset Building that “This building seals the work that was done by James’ father” – the ‘well-known benefactor’ – “eight years ago.”

The century-old structure’s foundation began with the first pioneers, and it was added with layers of the Second Aliyah and those that followed it. Each Aliyah with its characteristics and contributions, and each layer was completed with blood, sweat and the sacrifices of heroes, warriors and fighters, members of Nili, HaShomer, Haganah, Plamach, Etzel and Lehi, up until the liberation from the foreign burden and the climax of Israeli sovereignty, which is portrayed by this house.

Looking back, one might say that we were doubled with luck: The first miracle being that the founders of the Zionist movement did not imagine the severity of the hatred of the local population, and did not evaluate the difficulties of establishing Jewish settlements. It is possible that if they had known, they would have turned down a different path, as we have seen before. And the second miracle – that we were blessed with a realist in the image of Benjamin Edmund de Rothschild, who evaluated all the factors, including the Ottoman rule. He knowingly hid his intentions, investing his fortune and vision in creating facts and guiding the first of those who worked the land. He pleaded that they embrace the morals and lifestyle of agriculturists: “Economize, labor, and succeed with the brave decisions made by a land-owner.” He was the one to lay the foundations. David Ben Gurion was precise in stating: “It is one of the wonders of our miraculous history, that this Jewish man was persistent in his visionary legacy of saving our people, and devoted his enormous fortune and personality for its realization.”

It is true, there were attempts to settle the land for dozens of years before 1882: There was Beck, the printer from Safed, grandfather of Shimon Rokach, who had already established a village on Mt. Meron in 1837; Gai Oni and Bnei Yehuda, that were established by inhabitants of Safed, but they went under, whether due to lack of funding, hostility by the authorities, or the difficult climate. This was how malaria brought the first members of Petah Tikva to flee, and drought subdued the first settlers of the Galilee. It was in 1839 when the first Jewish peasant, Mordechai Solomon, tried to bring Sir Moses Montefiore to establish a village bearing his name. In that same year, Muhammad Ali agreed to Montefiore’s request and enabled the establishment of 200 settlements, but the Egyptians were defeated by the Turks and the plan was doomed.

He who reads on the attempts made by the first settlers ponders on the changes in the course of history. If the founder of Rishon LeZion, Levontin, would have realized his plan near Gaza, or whether Yoel Solomon would have lay down his roots near Jericho as he intended – how much blood, victims and arguments on the borders of Israel would have been saved from future generations.

He who has read about the travels of the founders of Zikhron Ya’akov – descendants of the ancient people and their preserved eternity – who traveled through the sea, back and forth, between Beirut, Jaffa and the shores of Egypt, while some of them were disguised as crusaders, he can appreciate their courage, persistence and spiritual strength of the founders of Rishon LeZion. It was on them that Shneur wrote: “Through fever-swarming swamps, rocky ground and sand, we shall generate cheerful paupers from the people, the Asian sun hits during daytime, desert coldness at night.”

They were the ones to persuade the “known benefactor” to execute his vision and fulfill their hidden dreams. And so he proclaimed before them: “I did not come to assist you because of your poorness and suffering. I have done so because I see you as fulfilling the revival of the Israeli people, of that precious longing that is dear to us all, the sacred goal of the return of the people of Israel to the land of their forefathers”. At a later time he declared: “The Zionists and I were similar to tunnel-diggers from both ends: We have started, and we are destined to meet.”

The material assets left by the “known benefactor” were tremendous: 45 settlements on 440,000 dunams, scattered strategically, cities, industrial plants and agricultural farms – and this is all in spite of the rough climate, plagues and starvation that struck the first settlers.

Furthermore: Unlike many Zionist leaders of his time, Edmund was fortunate to see his son James faithfully take over his great work and fight bravely for Zionism and the fulfillment of the Mandate. He was the one to declare the following to the British Parliament after the publication of the Partition Plan: “The committee” - the Peel Commission – “had torn the papers of authority, torn the mandate, torn the Balfour Declaration, and it surpassed – tearing the land of Israel.”

We shall return to the first settlers: They did not have anyone to turn to or to complain to. They were driven by inner urges. They believed in the cruel land that lay before them. And while we thank and value those first settlers, we must praise the first convoy of Yemenite immigrants. They, the Yemenites, were empowered by faith and the passion of longing, overcoming starvation and fever. They were the ones to pass their strength onto the Russians, Romanians and those who left the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. President Zalman Shazar described them in a poem he read at an agricultural convention in Zikhron Ya’akov.

With the establishment of the World Zionist Organization and its subsidiaries, the weight of their involvement in the construction of the country grew, particularly following the Balfour Declaration. Today, as we praise the bravery of the first settlers and salute their followers, I pleasantly greet Yitzhak Ziv-Av, the chairman of the public committee for the centennial celebrations. He did not allow history to overlook the silent heroes of the revival, and brought them back from oblivion in his articles and in his petition to Ben Gurion, who adopted his idea for celebrating the “holiday of the pioneers.” He has done justice with them all, as well as with the Zionist movement, in his fascinating book.

Today, we salute not only the first settlements, but all those who work the land and build the country, all streams of the settlement movement. They have turned this desolate country into a flowering paradise, as Israel sets an international example and spreads progress amongst its neighbors.

Members of the Knesset, may it be of will that the bravery of the first settlers, the vision and actions of the “known benefactor,” the foresight of Herzl, and the contribution of the Jewish National Fund to our national work, intertwine successfully with the 33rd birthday of the Knesset. May it radiate over the people and serve as a source of encouragement for a renewed momentum in the realization of the Zionist vision.

I shall end with a quote from a poem of our national poet, which was dedicated to the First Zionist Congress: “And in the chronicles of our sigh-filled days, your sacred tear shall be placed in safekeeping as a pearl. The builders of doors and rafters will know who undermined the foundation – but even in the darkness, in the sun, do not allow the memories of your remote people to fade.”

Members of the Knesset, before I allow the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture to speak, I am honored to read to you a telegram I received today from Mrs. Dorothy de Rothschild. I will read it in Hebrew: “Speaker of the Knesset, a century of settlement in Israel is connected with a century of our efforts in the country. As chairperson of the Rothschild foundation, I hereby express before you, Mr. Speaker – and through you, to all of Israel – our blessing and good greetings for the continuation of the development of the country, in which we hope to continue and contribute our share.” Signed – Dorothy de Rothschild.