A letter handwritten by Lord Arthur James Balfour, on official stationery of the House of Commons. England, 1885.
Administrative matters. Dated and signed.
19X24 cm, good condition, folding marks.

A handwritten letter, by Moshe Leib Lilienblum addressed to Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin (the Netziv of Volozhin). Odessa, 5.8.1887. Hebrew.
A letter from Moshe Leib Lilienblum, one of the leaders of the movement of "Hovevei Zion", regarding funds received by the movement and its operations, addressed to the Netziv of Volozhin, one of the "Financial advisors" of "Hovevei Zion". Signed by hand by Lilienblum and ink stamped "M.L. Lilienblum Odessa" (Russian).
Lilieblum opens the letter with a "monthly account to the financial advisors" – report about funds received in the name of "H. Erlinger" of Vilnius, Rostov-on-Don, and two other cities. Further he adds: "Dr. Pinsker is not yet back from his stay overseas and your letter is handed to him these days. When I have time I shall advise his honor regarding the main activities of the movement so far since matters have to be verified in the accounting books".
Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv of Volozhin), head of Volozhin Yeshivah and a foremost scholar, was an active member in "Hovevei Zion" and supported settlement in Eretz Israel. In the second convention of "Hovevei Zion" (Druskenick convention, June 1887) he was appointed one of the three "Gaba'im Yo'atzim" (financial advisors) and later in the same year they sent a circular letter to all congregation rabbis concerning fund raising for settlements in Eretz Israel. The Netziv also acted, within the framework of his role, to deepen religious values in the movement.
[1] leaf, 21 cm. Good-fair condition. Folding marks and creases. Tears around the edges. Tear at the central folding mark, pasted with adhesive tape (with minor text omissions).

A handwritten letter, on official stationary, written by Ahad Ha'Am (Asher Ginzberg), to his friends Mendele Mocher Seforim (Shalom Ya'akov Abramovich) and Mordechai Ben-Ami. Odessa, Elul, 1906. Hebrew.
Ahad Ha'Am mentions his recent birthday and thanks his friends for their letter: "several days ago I returned from a four months journey and on 'that day' I was not at home…I am not used to celebrate my birthday and I did not tell anybody and it is not my fault that other people know my age and announced it. Since it was done already I thank you for the pleasure I found in reading your lines…”
Further in the letter Ahad Ha’Am writes about the city of Odessa and its intellectuals: “oy, beloved friends, our city is orphaned and our parcel dismantled…There is no joy in our streets but only desertion…and I pray that we will sit together again…”
[1] leaf, 22 cm. Good condition. Minor spotting. Folding marks. Several minor tears around the edges.

A letter, handwritten by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, and a letter handwritten by his wife, Hemda Ben-Yehuda, addressed to Zalman David Levontin, Director of the Anglo-Palestine Bank. [Jerusalem], 1910.
1. Letter from Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. [Jerusalem], June 20, 1910.
"I did not mean to address you again about the well-known matter since I burdened you already enough. But I waited for you to let me know your decision…I advise you, as a friend…to return Barzilai to his post…" It is possible that Ben-Yehuda refers to the author and Zionist activist (secretary of "Hovevei Zion" in Jaffa) Yehushua Barzilai (Eisentadt) who worked for the Anglo-Palestine Bank and was fired since he gave credit to customers not in accordance with the terms of caution maintained by the bank and preferred Zionist considerations to commercial ones. Leaf, 17.5 cm. Good condition. Minor spotting and a folding mark.
2. Letter from Hemda Ben-Yehuda. Jerusalem, August 11, 1910.
"Sir, we heard today about a new 'plot'…based on several lines which we published in "Or"…what are these plots? Are we persecuted Jews and you are gentile enemies? Are we close to Pesach or do you plan a blood libel for Rosh HaShana? You are shedding our blood with your words… I say all of this so you come and apologize…Our paper develops and will be the voice of the Jewish people…". [3] pp, 22.5 cm. Good condition. Spotting and creases. Blurred ink stamp.

A typewritten letter, signed by hand by Chaim Weizmann and addressed to Dr. Alfred Klee, representative of the "Jewish Colonization Association" in Paris. Oakwood, London, May 15, 1933. English.
A typewritten letter on official stationery. Written in response to Dr. Klee's address to Chaim Weizmann, concerning the possibility of the Zondek brothers (the doctors Herman, Bernhard and Georg Zondek) immigrating to Eretz Israel.
Weizmann writes that there is only one good hospital – "Hadassah" in Jerusalem and that he is convinced that upon arrival, the Zondek brothers will create the possibility of a modern first-class hospital. Weizmann also states that the presence of the Zondek brothers in itself will be a powerful incentive towards the creation of a Medical Faculty in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Towards the end of the letter Weizmann adds:
"But the Zondeks would have to come to Palestine, like the rest of us, in the spirit of the pioneers; I have no doubt at all that they will be welcomed with opened arms. It is the one country in the world where they will not be refugees. I cannot guarantee them anything more than this promise, which is, in itself, a great deal".
The three brothers – Hermann, Bernhard, and Georg (Shmuel) Zondek – studied medicine in Humboldt University in Berlin and became well known physicians, each one in his area of expertise. In 1934, they immigrated to Eretz Israel. Bernhard Zondek accepted the offer to serve as a Professor of Gynecology and Surgery in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and as head of the Gynecology department of "Hadassah" hospital; was involved in research and won the Israel Prize for Medicine in 1958. Herman Zondek served as Head of the Internal Medicine department in "Bikur Holim" hospital and Georg (Shumel) Zondek was head of Internal Medicine department in "Hadassah" hospital in Tel-Aviv. The addressee – Dr. Alfred Klee, a Zionist leader of German origin; one of the the founders of the Jüdische Volkspartei in 1919 and representative of the Berlin Jewish congregation at the executive board of the Jewish Colonization Association.
Leaf, 25 cm. Good condition. Folding marks.