'If disaster occurs': Ben-Gurion's revealing speech on the safety of Israel's Negev communities

Were calamity to strike, it would be more difficult to send aid to the communities of the western Negev than anywhere else, Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, said in December of 1946, in a speech revealed by the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute on Sunday.

"To this desert, we sent a few hundred of our most precious young men and women, Ben-Gurion noted, adding, "If God forbid, a disaster occurs, it will be harder than anywhere else in the country to provide them with assistance."

Ben-Gurion's comments, made during the 22nd Zionist Congress in Basel, came as he was taking upon himself the defense portfolio and some two months after the establishment of 11 communities in the Negev, also known as the "11 points."

The villages, among which were Be'eri and Nirim, were created as an initiative of the Jewish Agency and were set up in an overnight operation between October 5 and 6.

The following morning, On October 7, 1946, The Palestine Post reported on the "sweeping dawn-to-dusk action in the desert" to establish the 11 new communities. It cited a "statement by Jewish national bodies" as saying that such communities would "revive the desert."

Hebrew media reported on the event, stating, "The communities in the Negev have been redeemed from their isolation."

In his speech, Ben-Gurion emphasized the accountability which followed such a step. "Our hearts have been filled with deep anxiety – because we have taken responsibility for the lives of the young men and women who have inhabited this desert."

"Those who went to the Negev know the dangers and are not afraid, but we must be afraid. We cannot rest; we bear responsibility for their safety," he added.

"Above all, we must establish a Jewish center, a center of Jewish strength in the Negev. It is not beyond reach... We must provide these communities with the means for security... so that, when help cannot come from Tel Aviv, they will have the strength to defend our communities," Ben-Gurion further affirmed.

'Resonate more than ever'

Eitan Dunitz, CEO of the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, addressed the relevance of Ben-Gurion's speech in Israel's current reality, "Ben-Gurion's words resonate more than ever. This rare document, written nearly 80 years ago, sounds as though it was written today."

"Ben-Gurion, who was acutely aware of the security challenges, presented a fundamental approach to understanding the Zionist movement's responsibility for the safety of the inhabitants," Dunitz added.

As prime minister of Israel, Ben-Gurion would continue to emphasize what he deemed to be the importance of the Negev for the future of the Jewish State.

In a 1955 speech, he stated, "In the Negev, the people of Israel and its state will be tested," asserting that "This effort will determine the fate of the State of Israel and the place of our people in the history of humanity."