Ben-Gurion's New Israel Wisdom: Science instead of flourishing letters

A new book, "King-Engineer - David Ben-Gurion Science and Nation-Building" by Ari Barel, published by Mossad Bialik describes Ben-Gurion's attitude to science and technology throughout his long career. Among other things, a speech of his from 1935 at the 19th Zionist Congress is quoted there according to which we must develop science and technology and not the barren 'Wisdom of Israel' that arose in exile and took care of flourishing letters of medieval literature

Many of the first Zionists were scientists and academics, the most memorable being the chemist Prof. Chaim Weizman (later the first president of the State of Israel). Against this background, it is clear that science and technology were important factors in building the country. We also knew about Ben-Gurion that he admired science, but we didn't really know to what extent. Despite the extensive research on him, his connection to science and technology was only mentioned in passing

But what we didn't know is that science and technology played an important role in the activities of the chairman of the Histadrut, the chairman of the agency and the first prime minister of Israel - David Ben-Gurion. Some quotes from him - including "The next war will be fought by pressing buttons"We brought in the article in 2005, but only now, over forty years after Ben-Gurion's death, a book appears that reviews his contribution to science and his commitment to science as a means of objectively describing the world. Despite the extensive research on him, his connection to science and technology was only mentioned in passing and according to Barel, this is the first comprehensive study done in this field.

Barel describes in detail the points in Ben-Gurion's life. It turns out that Ben-Gurion went to Warsaw in his youth to study engineering, but was not accepted into any engineering school. Nevertheless, he did not abandon the engineering method. Throughout all the years of his life he kept his famous diary and quite a few pages in it are data sheets. He was very fond of data and statistics, and when he was elected secretary of the Histadrut, one of the first actions he performed was to conduct a census of the Jewish workers in the Land of Israel. The data was used by him many years later in fundraising for the Histadrut and collecting combined membership fees for the Histadrut and the health insurance fund.

In 1915, David Ben-Gurion writes in his diary: "The Land of Israel will be built solely by the hands of a hard-working people, rich in material and spirit, who will come to it from the outside as a result of a vital historical need to create a homeland for themselves, equipped with the modern tools of science and technology, and ready at any cost to turn the wasteland and desolation into a flourishing, prosperous, prosperous Rich culture and large population." In the future, there may be those who will not like it, he sees as an example the revolution brought about by the English immigrants in North America and the Dutch in South Africa. (p. 51)

In the years that followed, Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, later the second president of the State of Israel, were engaged in writing the book Eb Kers, mainly during their time in the New York Public Library and in the archives of the Jewish communities (Ben-Gurion was exiled from the country by the Ottoman government), - "The Land of Israel In the past and in the present". The book describes the country's economy under the Ottoman rule and mainly analyzes its carrying capacity, i.e. how many inhabitants it would be able to carry, if the scores reaching it from all over the world would harness science and technology.

If we skip ahead, at the end of 1935, Ben-Gurion was appointed chairman of the board of the Jewish Agency. In his speech at the 19th Zionist Congress, after a visit to the Negev, he writes "And the Zionist movement is called to create a new 'Wisdom of Israel', not the barren 'Wisdom of Israel' that arose in exile and took care of the flourishing letters of medieval literature, but the wisdom of sages that will know how to treasure every drop of rain, every A flood of mountains, all the flow of the rivers and rivulets and springs for the sake of satisfying the thirsty earth and the blossoming of the wilderness and for sophisticated agriculture, which will support a large and numerous settlement."

Ari Barel describes three approaches to science and technology that describe Ben-Gurion's thoughts over the years. The first is the pragmatic utilitarian approach. According to this approach, the practical benefit that can be derived from science is an important and even central means for shaping the physical space and the cultural-human space. In the Zionist context, this view attaches great importance to science and technology in promoting Jewish settlement efforts in the Land of Israel. The second approach is related to a national ideology that sees the diverse scientific, technological and engineering creation of the Jews in the Land of Israel as part of the national revival process and the return to the history of the Jewish people. This is Ben-Gurion's concept of national science. The third approach is the philosophical epistemological approach. According to this approach, science is one of the most reliable methods (if not the most reliable) for ascertaining the truth regarding the state of affairs in the world (p. 50).

Ben-Gurion's perception of science also changed over time, when from the time he immigrated to Israel in 1906 until the mid-XNUMXs, the attitude was settler-colonial. Since then, the second phase began that culminated in the establishment of the state - the planning of the state, including a detailed plan to raise a million immigrants that was planned in detail during World War II. For the purpose of the million plan, Ben-Gurion was assisted by a team of experts, professionals and scientists on a large scale. With the end of World War II, Ben-Gurion prepared for the possibility that the Jewish community in the Land of Israel would be forced to fight with regular armies, which led to the establishment of the Haganah. He preferred military experts from the British army and other armies who fought in World War II over the Palmach men. A massive increase in the procurement efforts and the self-production of weapons led, among other things, to the establishment of the Science Corps (SDF) which was a research and development system of the Israeli Defense Forces (which later became Rafael - see a previous review on the Hidan website).
And finally, after the establishment of the state, scientists and experts played a central role in the establishment of the new techno-scientific order and the state order. And as in the Histadrut, also in the country, one of the first things Ben-Gurion did was to establish the Central Bureau of Statistics in July 48, and already in November of that year the bureau carried out the first census of citizens.
And also the first scientific fiasco, the establishment of a scientific council that would centralize government R&D instead of each ministry investing in research on its own, failed. An entire chapter (5) is dedicated to this. The following chapter deals with an institution that was successful and still exists today - the Council for Higher Education, but its birth was also difficult. The opposition of that time, headed by MK Shoshana Persits from the General Zionists, opposed the Prime Minister heading this council and argued that it should be given independent status. At that time there were three universities in Israel - the Technion, the Hebrew University and the Ziv Institute - later the Weizmann Institute.

The adaptation of universities to activity within a country

The trend to nationalize the higher education system led to the resignation of Prof. Zelig Brodtsky, the first president of the Hebrew University during the state period. On the other hand, Barel claims later in the chapter that the dynamics of the relationship between the State of Israel and the Hebrew University in the early years of the state is not within the scope of nationalization, nor was it in the possession of the state's attempt to control and supervise the institutions of higher education while infringing on their academic freedom. The picture that emerges from this chapter is a picture of negotiations between the academic system and the political center, the results of which were the establishment of a kind of symbiosis and the integration of the academic system in the establishment of a new order: the 'state order'.

Chapter 7 deals with the Science Corps which later gave birth to the Research and High School Division in the Ministry of Defense and Rafael. In 1951, Hamad's activity was comparable to that of the old universities, and it employed 560 workers in five independent institutes. The very decision to establish a research and development system for weapons, and not just production (like the IAS that preceded the HMD) also shows the importance that Ben-Gurion attached to science-based technological innovation, this time for defense needs.

The book also describes the other heroes who helped and advised Ben Gurion: Aharon Katzir, Yohanan Ratner, Roberto Beko, Aharon Gertz, Shmuel Samborski, Ben Zion Dinor and Benjamin Mazar. One name that I am missing and is not in the index - Yuval Neman. Ephraim Katzir, one of the founders of Hamad, is also only briefly mentioned as a member on behalf of the Weizmann Institute in the Scientific Council.

The State of Israel will not fulfill its mission if it does not control science over all branches of life

And we'll end with an excerpt from a speech he gave in December 1948 in the midst of the War of Independence titled 'How will we welcome the future'. (Quoted in the introduction to the book): "We are living in a generation of scientific revolutions - in the generation of the discovery of the atom, its marvelous composition and its enormous capacity hidden in its discharge and emancipation, enormous and almost infinite energy reserves were made available to man. We are living in the era of a miraculous leap […] The State of Israel will not fulfill its mission - carrying out development projects and absorbing large numbers of immigrants, if science does not dominate all branches of life; If the conquests of the highest science and the conquests of the most sophisticated technique are not laid at the foundation of agriculture, industry, crafts, sailing, aviation and housing, and if the maximum encouragement is not given to the workers of pure and useful science, to expand their conquests."

Where is the vision and where is the reality
A few personal words from me (AB) Where is this vision and where is the state today. And I say this as someone who operates the only science channel currently in Hebrew. The people decided to put on a tallit, and abandon the intellect and the universities also turned from a place with free thinking to a place managed by bureaucrats who are sometimes driven by petty considerations. The fact that researchers manage to develop world-class research despite this is nothing short of a miracle.
But apparently it starts with a hostile attitude towards science from above. There is not a single minister today who was a scientist in the past, and maybe not even an MK. The media also prefers celebrity gossip and soundbites over serious science, thereby preventing the youth from setting a good example. Today, too many have returned to engage in flourishing letters when those who memorize them are exempt from the burden of making a living thanks to our taxes.

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Prof. Ephraim Katzir, who passed away this evening: "I regretted two things - the closing of the Corps of Science and the closing of the newspaper Mada"
• Ben-Gurion's New Israel Wisdom: Science instead of flourishing letters
• In memory of Yuval Naaman (1925-2006)