Chaim Weizmann, letter on the subject of the "Tehran Children". Addressed to Rabbi Yehuda Leib Seltzer, President of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis in the United States and Canada. Typewritten on official stationery, with Weizmann's signature in green ink. New York, 1943. Hebrew.
Written in response to Rabbi Yehuda Leib Seltzer's letter to Weizmann regarding the "Tehran Children" and their education: "…And of course I am also irritated and agitated and anxious regarding the stormy arguments on the issue of the children from Tehran. Yet from afar it is difficult to learn all of the details, and therefore I must not throw myself into the center of this argument… in the meantime I would ask his honor to restore calm. As for myself, I have great confidence in the integrity of Rabbi Y. L. Fishman, who has been put in charge of the children's education, and I also feel that Ms. Szold [Henrietta Szold], herself a pious and honest woman in the full sense of the word, shall reverently uphold the responsibility placed upon her with regard to the children…"
The "Tehran Children" were a group of Polish children who had survived the Holocaust and arrived in Palestine in 1943. After their arrival an intense argument broke out regarding their absorption, expressed in the present letter. The argument raged mostly between religious representatives who asked that the children who had no parents in the country receive a religious education, and secular representatives, who asked that they be sent to secular educational facilities, particularly to kibbutzim.
[1] leaf, 26.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks and some creases.

Twenty-three handwritten letters and three postcards from Yosef Baratz to Rega (Regina) Klapholtz. Most letters were sent from Palestine to Vienna, ca.1931-1936. Hebrew (two letters in German).
Baratz tells about his life, his work, his trips abroad, and the political events in Palestine. Many times he mentions K'vutzat Degania [Baratz was one of the founders of Degania]. In many of the letters Baratz writes about his will and attempts to assist Klapholtz in obtaining a certificate for immigration to Palestine. In several letters he mentions David Ben-Gurion, sometimes in relation to the Histadrut and his political activities, and sometimes in a more personal tone (like, for example, when he mentions the travelling plans of Ben-Gurion). During those years Klapholtz had an affair with David Ben-Gurion, and it was Baratz who introduced them to each other [see "Kedem" catalogue" 48, item 99].
Yosef Baratz (1890-1968), pioneer and Israeli public figure, one of the founders of Degania and the initiator of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers. Member of the first Knesset, representing Mapai. His wife, Miriam Baratz, started the dairy barn in Degania Aleph (won the Zimermann prize for her contribution to "nurturing cattle and educating a generation of cowboys and cowgirls in the country").
Rega (Regina) Klapholtz (1907-2007), was born in Poland and at a young age immigrated with her family to Vienna. Was a member of "Blau-weiss" Jewish Youth Movement; later studied medicine in Vienna. During her studies she continued with her Zionist activities and travelled to the Zionist Congresses in Europe. When she graduated, in 1935, she immigrated to Palestine and worked as a physician in various places in the country. A few years later she married Avraham Diamant and the couple lived in Haifa.
Total of 26 items (23 letters and 3 postcards). Size and condition vary.
Enclosed:
* Two letters, handwritten by Miriam Baratz to Rega Klapholtz.
* Portrait photograph of Yosef Baratz, with a dedication handwritten by him on the reverse.
* Two letters handwritten by Yosef Baratz, to other addressees.