Menachem Begin "The State of Israel has arisen, but we must remember that our country is not yet liberated. The battle continues, and you see now that the words of your Irgun fighters were not vain words: it is Hebrew arms which decide the boundaries of the Hebrew S so it is now in this battle; so it will be in the future. our God-given country is a unity. The attempt to dissect it is not only a crime but a blasphemy and and abortion. Whoever does not recognise our natural right to our entire homeland, does not recognise our right to any part of it. And we­ shall never forego this natural right. We shall continue to foster the aspiration of full independence. "Citizens of the Hebrew State, soldiers of Israel, we are in the midst of battles. Difficult days lie ahead of us. We cannot by peace from our enemies with appeasement. There is only one kind of 'peace' that can be bought the peace of the grave-yard, the peace of Treblinki. Be brave of spirit and ready for more trials. We shall withstand them. The Lord of Hosts will help us, he will sustain the bravely of the Hebrew youth, the bravery of the Hebrew mothers who, like Hannah, offer their sons on the altar of God. "And you, brothers of our fighting family, do you remember how we started? With what we started? You were alone and persecuted, rejected, despised and numbered with the transgressors. But you fought on with deep faith and did not retreat; you were tortured but you did not surrender; you were cast into prison but you did not yield; you were exiled from your country but your spirit was not crushed; you were driven to the gallows but went forth with a song. You have written a glorious page in history... you will not recall past grievances; you will ask for no reward. "But for the time being let us think of the battle, for only the outcome of the battle will decide our fate and future. We shall go on our way into battle soldiers of the Lord of Hosts. Inspired by the spirit of our ancient heroes, from the conquerors of Canaan to the Rebels of Judah. We shall be accompanied by the spirit of those who revived our nation, Zeev Benjamin Herzl, Max Nordau, Joseph Trumpeldor and the father of resurrected Hebrew Heroism, Zeev jabotinsky. We shall be accompanied by the spirit of David Raziel, greatest of the Hebrew com­manders of our day; and by Dov Gruner, one of the greatest of Hebrew soldiers. We shall be accompanied into battle by the spirit of the heroes of the gallows, the conquerors of death. And we shall be accompanied by the spirit of millions of our martyrs, our ancestors tortured and burned for their faith, our murdered fathers and butchered mothers, our murdered brothers and strangled children. And in this battle we shall break the enemy and bring salvation to our people, tried in the furnace of perse­cution, thirsting only for freedom, for righteousness and for justice. * * * Darkness was all about us. Black‑out. Not a glimmer of light. The darkness would continue. Blood would still be shed. But beyond the sorrow and the darkness the rosy dawn was breaking through. We had come forth from slavery to freedom. On the morrow the sun would shine. And Jewish children once more would laugh.