Jerusalem is in turmoil. The country is in an uproar. The attacks and bloodbaths are unending. A vehicle belonging to the nearby American consulate was permitted to enter the courtyard of the National Institutions; the driver, an employee of the American consulate who was well known to the guards, and therefore didn’t arouse suspicion, parked the car and quickly left. One of the security guards decided to move the car, which was blocking the main entrance; the booby[1]trapped vehicle blew up in an earsplitting explosion, causing part of the Keren Hayesod wing to collapse. The results of the attack were horrific: 12 people were killed on the spot, including the director of Keren Hayesod, Aryeh Leib Yaffe. Dozens of others were injured. Months later, from one of the balconies of the building, the People’s Council announced Israel’s independence to the residents of Jerusalem.
Photo: Attack at the National Institutions Building, 1948