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Ten letters and copies of letters (printed) dealing with the burial of soldiers who fell in Israel's War of Independence. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, 1948-50. Hebrew.
1. Text of parliamentary question submitted to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion by Knesset Member Avraham-Haim Shag regarding soldiers of the Alexandroni Brigade who had fallen in battles over the enclave known as the "Faluja Pocket" and had not yet been brought to burial (copy; May 1, 1949).
2. Letter with David Ben-Gurion's response to the above, printed on official stationery and bearing his personal signature: " The Chief Rabbi of the IDF is dealing with the issue of the 'agunot' [wives of men who refuse to grant a divorce, or, as in the present cases, men whose death has yet to be formally ascertained] and is in the process of preparing the material so that a rabbinical court can release the wives of the fallen from the restraints of 'igun'… For reasons of health, it is still impossible to transfer the bodies of the soldiers who fell in Faluja. By order of the medical officers, the transfer will take place only in a few months, and will not be delayed for even a single day beyond what is necessary" (June 5, 1949).
3-4. Copies of two letters sent by the bereaved father Nehemiah Israelit to the Hevra Kadisha (burial society) of Jerusalem: A complaint regarding the condition, in the Kiryat Anavim cemetery, of graves of soldiers (including his own son) who fell in the battle for the Kastel, along with a request for the list that gives the order of burial of the fallen, in a mass grave (1948-49).
5. Copy of letter containing the response of the Hevra Kadisha burial society "We have no information on burials in Kiryat Anavim" (February 24, 1948).
6. Copy of a letter from the bereaved father Shlomo Wilner to Avraham-Haim Shag, containing detailed testimony concerning the search for his son's grave: "My wife and I visited Kiryat Anavim and we investigated… We also visited Ma'ale HaHamisha… We went to Abu Ghosh and met with the Palmach commander and he didn't know either… I stress, with great sorrow, that to this day, the Ministry of Defense has not seen fit to inform me of the falling of my dear son" (May 3,1950).
7. Copy of a letter from an employee of a Hevra Kadisha, detailing an argument between military personnel and religious figures at the funeral of fallen soldiers: "Just as the funeral service began, we tried to arrange for prayers and [the reciting of] the [Mourner's] Kaddish, but they would not allow it… even the burial ceremony itself was not conducted properly. There was one large grave where all were meant to be buried… We regarded this not just simply as disrespectful of the laws and customs of burial, but also as an inhumane attitude toward the bodies of brothers who gave their lives for the sake of the motherland" (May 5, 1950).
8. Copy of a letter from Avraham-Haim Shag to members of Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim, detailing the testimonies he had received regarding inappropriate burial practices witnessed at the kibbutz's cemetery (May 3, 1950).
9-10. Letter of protest from Avraham-Haim Shag to the Chairman of the Knesset Committee following the reading of a letter written in reference to him by a parents' committee (July 27, 1950; two copies with his personal signature).
All letters and copies are printed.
Size and condition vary. Overall good to good-fair condition. Punch holes. Few creases. Stains and tears, including open tears (small), to edges.
Enclosed: bond certificate (printed, not filled out) for the Jewish National Fund's "'Project of the Five' to Memorialize the Martyrs of Kiryat Anavim."