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government.”
There is no mention that 
Israel’s operation targeted 
terrorist cells because the 
Palestinian Authority had 
abdicated its policing of 
Jenin. No mention of the 
numerous Israeli victims 
of Palestinian terror. 
Characterizing this mission 
as genocide and the Israeli 
government as apartheid 
makes clear where my 
student government stands.
Ironically, earlier in the 
statement they claim that 
“Student Senate is focused 
on the student experience 
first, ensuring inclusivity 
and equity for our peers.” 
I certainly do not feel 
included, nor do other 
Jewish students.
A couple of years ago, my 
brother was among a group 
of Jewish students who met 
with then President Wilson 
and Provost Kornbluh 
after a similar incident 
with Student Senate. While 
President Wilson was 
understanding, the students 
felt that Provost Kornbluh 
was not.
Now that there is a new 
Wayne State University 
president, I hope the 
administration will press 
the Student Senate to focus 
their efforts on campus 
issues rather than complex 
international matters 
that warrant much more 
nuance. 
It is sad that this is what 
Jewish students have to 
deal with at Wayne State. 
Fortunately, we have Hillel 
of Metro Detroit to help 
us, along with the greater 
Detroit Jewish community. 

Maya Siegmann is a sophomore at 

Wayne State University.

W

hen talking about the 
Israeli Declaration of 
Independence, one 
usually focuses on its resounding 
opening sentences:
 “The Land 
of Israel was the 
birthplace of the 
Jewish people. 
Here their spiri-
tual, religious and 
political identity 
was shaped. Here 
they first attained 
to statehood, created cultural val-
ues of national and universal sig-
nificance, and gave to the world 
the eternal Book of Books.
”
Or, on one of the following 
paragraphs, which talk about the 
natural and historical right to 
the land, the call for peace with 
all the inhabitants of the land 
and the partnership in the fight 
against Nazi evil.
All this is good and important. 
The Declaration of Independence 
is truly a work of thought — of 
precise wording — every word 
of which was examined and 
weighed by the heads of the 
Jewish population on the eve of 
the establishment of the State. 
But no less critical is the last part 
of the scroll, dedicated to signa-
tories.
Thirty-seven people were 
privileged to sign the founding 
document of the State, headed 
by David Ben-Gurion, of course, 
as well as Golda Meir, Moshe 
Sharret, Rabbi Yehuda Leib 
HaCohen Fishman Maimon and 
many others. Every time I look 
at the signature section, I come 
across David Remez’s signature.
Why specifically Remez’s sig-
nature? Because it is the most 

prominent of them all. Most 
of the signatories used a pen 
brought especially for the event 
by the People’s Administration 
that intended uniformity for the 
signatures. Remez brought his 
own pen with him, a special and 
thick pen, and to this day his 
signature stands out as the most 
prominent name among the sig-
natories.
For me, the story of David 
Ramez’s signature — he has 
many accomplishments to his 
credit since the early days of the 
Yishuv, as a Knesset member and 
cabinet minister — is not just a 
historical anecdote. There is an 
important message, especially 
during these days. 
Recently, the Declaration of 
Independence has become a 
symbol of the national contro-
versy that is burning. Some say 
it is all mine, and others say it is 
all mine. There are those who 
maintain that the values that they 
support are the correct balance 
between the different levels of 
government and the other side, 
which says that these values are 
actually the opposite.
But the truth is neither here 
nor there. 
The Declaration of 
Independence belongs to the 
entire Israeli public, and besides 
the 37 actual signatures on it, 
there are millions more transpar-
ent signatures of every citizen. 
Everyone signed the scroll — 
each of us with his own special 
pen, values, stories and hopes. 
Over the years we learned 
to unite around the scroll, to 
add more and more signatures 
at the bottom, and, today, the 
Declaration of Independence is 

the place where all these signa-
tures are gathered, and on the 
basis of which the Israeli partner-
ship grows.
The Declaration of 
Independence must not be read 
as if it supports only one side 
of the political map. Such an 
appropriation will erase from it 
many signatures of Israelis and 
partners. What we must do is the 
opposite: Take out — each and 
every one of us — his special pen, 
re-sign the scroll, find our unique 
place within this founding text 
and then take all these pens and 
continue to write, together, the 
great Israeli story. 

Yaakov Hagoel is the chairman of the 

World Zionist Organization.

Yaakov 
Hagoel

guest column

We Are All Signatories 
to the Declaration of 
Independence

