Taking Leave of the 'Founding Father': Ben-Gurion's Resignation as Prime Minister in 1963

Abstract

On Sunday, 16 June 1963, David Ben-Gurion, Israel's Prime Minister and Defense Minister, tendered his resignation to Zalman Shazar, the President of the state. On the face of it, Ben-Gurion's action was a surprise. Unlike his previous resignation, exactly ten years earlier,' the announcement was not preceded by weeks and months of agonizing and consultations, and there was no gap of more than two months between his declaration of intent to resign and the act itself. This time the first clue to what he had in mind appeared in a lengthy and crucially important entry in his diary on the day of the resignation itself, which began: 'I have made a final decision to resign from the government and to inform the cabinet this morning.'2 Events unfolded rapidly that day. First to hear the stunning news were his colleagues the representatives of Mapai3 in the cabinet whom BenGurion convened a quarter of an hour before the cabinet meeting. They took the news badly and in some cases rather angrily. Finance Minister Levi Eshkol, Agriculture Minister Moshe Dayan, 'and others said that it was inconceivable. I told them that this was a heavy responsibility and that I could no longer bear the load'. Eshkol asked Ben-Gurion whether this was the proper way to make such a critical announcement -just before a cabinet meeting and with no prior consultation. The cabinet session itself proceeded normally, following the agenda; the Prime Minister waited until the end of the business at hand before announcing that 'due to personal needs, which have nothing to do with any state problem or with any [particular] event, I am today submitting my resignation to the President'. He then asked the cabinet to ensure that a new government, based on the same coalition parties as the outgoing one, be formed as quickly as possible, and in any event 'no later than next week'. The ministers tried to dissuade him. Labor Minister Yigal Allon urged him to consider retaining only the defence portfolio. But Ben-Gurion was adamant. He asked the cabinet to approve his request to take vacation leave