The Ben Gurion Archive website has uploaded pages from the diaries of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, dating between 1948 and 1953. Parts of these pages were previously redacted and have now been released for public access. The newly unredacted segments were uploaded thanks to a request from Akevot Institute. Excerpts from the 1948 diary were published in the 1980s as part of a three-volume book, though they remained inaccessible to the public at the archive. These have now been released almost entirely in full.

To read about it in Haaretz.

David Ben Gurion wrote a detailed diary until he died, a practice he said he picked up at age 14. His diaries have been preserved and are now accessible to the public at the Ben Gurion Archive. Still, many decades after they were written, numerous segments remain redacted and classified. The redacted sections relate to matters such as arms deals with foreign countries, harsh statements about individuals, the treatment of Arabs, atrocities and violent incidents during the war, actions taken to bring Jews to Israel and more.

Akevot Institute will continue to fight for the release of archival materials that have been restricted for public access for no genuine reason, in keeping with the Archive Law and Access Regulations.

Dates of Ben Gurion diary entries uploaded to the Ben Gurion Archive that redactions were removed:

January 30, 1948

June 24, 1948

August 17, 1948

September 26, 1948

October 8, 1948

November 29, 1948

December 20, 1948

March 15, 1949

April 25, 1949

April 30, 1949 – partially removed

August 8, 1949

April 2, 1950 – partially removed

April 3, 1950 – partially removed

May 12, 1950

May 30, 1950

June 2, 1950

July 28, 1950 – partially removed

July 29, 1950 – partially removed

October 26, 1950

January 11, 1951

February 7, 1951 – partially removed

January 17, 1952

February 16, 1952

June 19, 1952 – partially removed

December 26, 1952

January 1, 1953 – partially removed

July 2, 1953