For Asher Goren, Israel’s sixtieth anniversary will be much like any other day. The 89-year-old spends most of his time sitting in a wooden armchair in his simple house on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Sometimes he listens to the radio. His eyesight, which was always weak, has almost gone.

Yet Mr Goren’s life is intimately entwined with the story of Israel. He is among the fast-dwindling band of people who were present when the world gave birth to the country in November 1947, paving the way for Israeli independence 60 years ago this month.