fbpx
 
Home / News, Videos & Publications / News / Leadership, Awards & Events /

Alon Ben-Gurion Shares His Grandfather’s Legacy

Alon Ben-Gurion Shares His Grandfather’s Legacy

May 4, 2017

Leadership, Awards & Events

Jewish Exponent — David Ben-Gurion was the first prime minister of the State of Israel and a leader of Zionism. But to Alon Ben-Gurion, he was just “Saba.”

“He was, for me, a grandfather,” Alon says. “To other people, he was the prime minister and the leader of Israel. I always knew his greatness, but as time passes, you see what a giant he was.”

Alon will give a presentation, “Reflections on My Grandfather” in Philadelphia on Thursday, May 11, 2017 in honor of Israel Independence Day, sponsored by Americans for Ben-Gurion University and the National Museum of American Jewish History.

He will share historical and personal stories about his famous grandfather.

Alon Ben-Gurion and his baby sister in grandpa's library

Alon Ben-Gurion and his baby sister in their grandpa’s library

“People always ask me, ‘If Ben-Gurion was alive today what would he say?’” Alon says. “Well, the word ‘if’ did not exist in his vocabulary. He had a very good saying: ‘All the experts are experts on the past. There are no experts about the future.’”

Alon recalls a time near the end of his grandfather’s life where he visited an elementary school south of Beer-Sheva. A student asked him, “Were you ever satisfied in your life?”

“He said, ‘Satisfied? No, never. If you’re satisfied in your life that brings complacency. No, I will never be satisfied because the job is never done.’”

Alon Ben-Gurion was 22 when his grandfather passed away. He was an officer in the IDF and was wounded during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

“I was in one hospital, and he was in another,” Alon recalls. “I knew about him, but he didn’t know about me.” Alon’s parents did not want Ben-Gurion to worry about his grandson.

Alon w Anastasia and Duchshund_0155_ret

Alon Ben-Gurion with his wife, Anastasia

Alon also remembers walking into his grandfather’s den one day, where he had three books laid out in front of him, taking extensive notes: the Torah in the center and the Quran and New Testament on either side.

“He was comparing different books of different religions. He always learned. He was a man of knowledge.”

In Ben-Gurion’s original residence in Tel Aviv, which is now a museum, there are about 15,000 books in several languages — and David Ben-Gurion read them all.

Alon shares his grandfather’s passion for learning, and says even today he is constantly learning more about his grandfather.

This post is excerpted from a story by Rachel Kurland, who recently participated in Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s 2017 Murray Fromson Media Fellowship.

Read more on the Jewish Exponent website >>