Auction 69 - Part I -Rare and Important Items
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Herzl wrote this letter in response to an enthusiastic letter he had received from a boy or a girl in which he was asked to write an article for a school newspaper (the name of the school and the addressee are not mentioned in the letter). Herzl writes that he is too busy to write the article and addresses the importance of his relationship with the younger generation: "To make young friends… is the best reward for a man who in his writing does not think about himself, nor about fame or profit, but rather is only interested in serving ideas which he sees as just and right. Young friends are the guarantee that such ambition will not be to no avail...".
At the end of the letter, Herzl adds several words about the period of his studies: "What can I tell you about my time at the gymnasium? It was like yours. At first you are happy that it has ended, and later you deeply miss it, like youth itself".
[1] leaf, 22.5 cm. Good condition. Stains on the margins. Fold lines. Some tears along the fold lines.
A short letter by Jacob Herzl, in response to a letter sent to his son while he was staying in Constantinople in order to meet with the Turkish Sultan: "My son is on a trip and is supposed to return in 14 days. The matters you raised in your letter from yesterday will, therefore, have to be sorted out only after his return". The letter is signed: "Jac. Herzl".
Theodor Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, believed that realizing Zionism depended on obtaining a charter for the settlement of Jews in Palestine. Therefore, he was involved in extensive political activity, negotiating at length with the Ottoman authorities in an attempt to meet the Turkish Sultan. On May 17, 1901 (five days after his father wrote this letter), Herzl succeeded in meeting Sultan Abdul Hamid II in Constantinople. In the course of the meeting, which lasted about two hours, Herzl suggested that in exchange for receiving assistance in covering the Empire's debts, the Sultan will promote Jewish settlement in Palestine. The meeting was the beginning of a long negotiation which ended without results.
Jacob Herzl (1832-1902), a Jewish-German merchant and banker, Theodor Herzl's father, was born to a Jewish orthodox family in Semlin [Zemun], Serbia (his father, Theodor's grandfather, was the attendant of the Sephardic synagogue of the town). At the age of 15, he left home and started working as an apprentice for a supply company. Several decades later, his fortune was worth several million marks, with business extending to various fields of commerce and banking.
In 1857, Jacob married Jeanette Diamant, and three years later their first and only son, Theodor (Binyamin Ze'ev), was born. Jacob approved of his son's revolutionary ideas and unique way and when he realized for the first time what his true plan was – the establishment of an independent Jewish state in Palestine – he told him he should write a book in order to appeal directly to the people (about a year later, Theodor Herzl wrote the book "Der Judenstaat").
Throughout his life, Jacob Herzl helped his son fund a considerable part of his Zionist activity (the Zionist weekly Theodor Herzl published, "Die Welt", was established with his father's help). When Theodor was travelling, his father's address served as his temporary mailing address. Theodor's close relationship with his father is reflected in many of his letters. After publishing "Der Judenstaat", he wrote in his diary: "At this time, my loyal father is my only solace. All those I consulted with on the matter so far conduct themselves with careful restraint, lurking, waiting. Beside me I feel only my dear old man…" (Inyan Hayehudim: Sifre Yoman, Translation of Theodor Herzl's Diaries, 1895–1904, Jerusalem: Mossad Bialik, 1997. p. 275 [Hebrew]).
The letter was presumably sent to the writer, publicist and Zionist activist Heinrich Elchanan York-Steiner (1859-1934), one of Theodor Herzl's first supporters and co-founder of the weekly "Die Welt".
[1] folded leaf (written on one side), 23 cm. Good condition. Fold lines. A few stains and creases. Small tears to edges and long tears along fold lines (with no loss of text).
The Bahá'í faith was founded in Persia as an offshoot of Bábism, by Mírzá Husayn-Alí Núrí – known as Bahá'u'lláh ("Glory of G-d", 1817-1892). Its adherents maintained that the redemption process described in the Koran had already began, and that the world was on the brink of a new era, in which traditional Islam and its laws would be annulled. The Persian authorities, who were wary of this new movement, exiled Bahá'u'lláh to the Ottoman Empire, where he was imprisoned in the citadel near Acre. When he arrived there with his family, they were presented to the townspeople as enemies of the state, of G-d and of His religion.
Despite the difficult conditions, the years spent in the Acre fortress were the most fruitful and intensive for Bahá'u'lláh, and in this time he completed the central book of the Bahá'í faith – Kitáb-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book), which defines the principles of this new faith: all religions derive from a common, G-dly source, striving for universal peace, destruction of weapons, scientific advance and ethical conduct.
This leaf, handwritten in square and semi-cursive script (Rashi script), mostly in Aramaic, offers a Bahá'í interpretation to the messianic calculations outlined in the Book of Daniel. The writer wishes to present the advent of the Bahá'í faith and its prophet – Bahá'u'lláh, as the fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy of Redemption. This interpretation is based on the verse: "And from the time the daily sacrifice was removed and the silent abomination placed, is one thousand, two hundred, and ninety" (Daniel 12:11), which designates the year 1290 as the onset of the Redemption. According to the solution suggested by the writer, this number refers to the Islamic year 1290, which corresponds with the year 1873 – year of the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in the Acre fortress. Accordingly, the writer interprets the second date mentioned in the prophecy, the year of the realization of the Redemption – "Fortunate is he who waits and reaches days of one thousand, three hundred, and thirty-five" (Daniel 12:12), as the year 1915.
The text opens and ends with the numerical value of the Tetragrammaton corresponding with that of Bahá'u'lláh, and acronyms alluding to him. The writer ends with: "A man who received tidings of peace from Yekutiel", with the word "Yekutiel" enlarged. This may allude to the name of the writer.
In view of the language employed in this leaf, the Rashi script, the verses quoted and the usage of Hebrew numerical values, one can conjecture that the writer was a Jew who presumably converted to the Bahá'í faith, and wished to draw other Jews to this faith through his calculations.
The number of Bahá'ís in Palestine until the early 20th century did not exceed a few hundred, with almost no contact with the Jewish settlement. In 1903, the Jewish Colonization Association acquired some of the land of the Bahá'í village Umm Junieh, which later became the first moshava of the Degania group. Close friendship ties developed between the Jewish and Bahá'í settlers, as documented in the memoirs of some of the members of the group.
The Bahá'í World Centre is located today in several locations in Haifa and Acre, and they are renowned for their unique landscapes and structures. In 2008, 26 of them were inscribed on the World Heritage List.
[1] leaf. Approx. 26.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, fold lines and minor damage.
With the outbreak of World War I, most of the Jewish citizens of Palestine, members of the first and second Aliyah who lived in Palestine without Turkish citizenship, became enemy aliens. The Governor of Greater Syria, Djemal Pasha, ordered the deportation of all enemy citizens, and on December 17, 1914, hundreds of the Jewish residents of Jaffa were separated from their families and sent penniless to Egypt on a crowded ship. Over the next few weeks, additional Jews were deported under similar conditions, whereas those who remained in Palestine were victims of looting, harassment and confiscation of property.
Fearing the fate of the Yishuv, the Zionist leaders appealed to the USA ambassador in Istanbul, Henry Morgenthau (whose country still had diplomatic relations with the Empire). Morgenthau was horrified to learn about the way the Jews had been deported and the state of those who remained in Palestine and willingly provided the Yishuv with one of the ships of the United States Navy – the USS Tennessee [ACR-10]. Between December 1914 and February 1915, the USS Tennessee sailed back and forth from Jaffa to Alexandria, leading exiles in one direction, letters and money in the other. The journalist Mordechai Ben Hillel wrote in his memoir about the ship: "For a year, the USS Tennessee was our guardian angel, bringing us from Alexandria money and letters and transferring to Egypt masses of exiles… its name whispered admiringly by everyone".
The deportation and the harassment of the Jews that remained in Palestine at the beginning of World War I led to approximately 10,000 people leaving the country – an eighth of the Jewish population of Palestine. In Egypt, the leaders of the Jewish community and the Zionist leaders established the "Aid Committee for Palestine and Syria"; the "Herzliyah" school was established in Alexandria and the exiles even printed their own journal – "BaNechar" (In Exile). Many of the exiles returned to their countries of origin; some chose to immigrate to the USA and a small percentage waited until the end of the war and returned to Palestine.
These three photographic postcards document the Jewish exiles sailing to Egypt on board of the USS Tennessee. One of the postcards depicts the passengers registering in a book on the deck of the ship (presumably, shortly after they boarded the ship at the Jaffa Port) and the two others depict the passengers disembarking at the Alexandria Port, their few possessions packed in bags and sacks, while the members of the crew are watching them from the deck. The postcards are captioned in the plate (English) and two of them are signed: "S+S" and dated: 14.2.1915, Alexandria.
The archive of the United States Navy holds several photographs documenting the sailing of USS Tennessee from Jaffa to Alexandria – some with captions similar to the ones on these three postcards, and with the same signature. The photographs on these postcards do not appear in the archive.
Three photographic postcards. Approx. 14X9 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes to edges and minor stains to verso.
An interesting letter, written during Trumpeldor's stay in London, where he came in order to help Ze'ev Jabotinsky in his efforts to establish a fighting Jewish battalion. At this time, the Zion Mule Corps had already been disbanded and many of its soldiers were transferred to the Jewish company of the 20th London Battalion (later, the soldiers of this battalion constituted the nucleus of the Jewish Legion). The letter, which was presumably sent to one of the Jewish soldiers of the 20th battalion, deals with the required change in the soldiers' behavior in order to improve their image in the eyes of the British (and thereby promote Trumpeldor's and Jabotinsky's vision of establishing a fighting Jewish battalion in Palestine and Egypt).
Trumpeldor writes: "I am very happy that things over there are gradually working out. In my opinion, if the boys finally understand that by a bad approach to their service, they first of all hurt themselves, they will straighten themselves out and everything will go smoothly… And what will happen later in the front? It's better not to think about it – first, you have no way to help now and you can only kill the mood; second, it is still unclear where they will send us. Maybe they will send [us] to Palestine… and then the entire unit will remain there – it is definitely possible – what is important now is that the boys behave well; then possibly, [the commanders] will be more attentive to their wishes. One way or the other, I am working on the matter and will continue to work on it. If all of you there can make the English respect you, at least a little, by your behavior, it will greatly help my efforts. Please explain this to all the boys. For example, it is time that they quit the habit of going to the doctor when it is not an emergency. This is what usually angers the those in command and aggravates the subordinates' condition". Towards the end of the letter, Trumpeldor asks about the Jewish soldiers' training: "Why didn't you write me the names of those who were expelled from the training company?… tell me how you are trained, which rifle methods do you know already? Who teaches you – officers or sergeants?".
Joseph Trumpledor (1880-1920), born in Pyatigorsk, was the first Jewish officer to serve in the Russian army, and even fought in the Russo-Japanese War, during which he sustained shrapnel wounds in his left arm and had it amputated. In January 1905, when the Russian army was defeated in the battle on Port Arthur marine fort, Trumpeldor was captured by the Japanese. During his time in prison Trumpeldor was engaged in founding Zionist and national institutions and organizations for Jewish prisoners. He immigrated to Palestine in 1912, working as a farmer. During World War I, he took part in the battle of Gallipoli as second-in-command and commander of the Zion Mule Corps.
In October 1916, he left for London to help Ze'ev Jabotinsky establish a fighting Jewish battalion, their efforts leading indeed to the establishment of the Jewish Legion in 1917. After the war, Trumpeldor returned to Russia and was one of the founders of "HaChalutz". In 1919, he re-immigrated to Palestine and was called to assist in the defense of the settlements of the Galilee panhandle. He was killed during the Battle of Tel Chai on the eleventh of Adar 1920. His character and heroism made him a national hero in the history of Zionism.
[1] leaf (two written pages), approx. 25.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines. Stains. Small open tear at the edge (not affecting text).
![An embroidered Torah ark curtain featuring the text of the Balfour declaration in the shape of a menorah. [The Levant?]. Dedi](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale69a-public/126.jpg "Embroidered Torah Ark Curtain – The Balfour Declaration in the Form of")
Velvet; goldwork; cardboard cutouts; metallic ribbons and fringe.
A Torah ark curtain made of green velvet. The text of the Balfour Declaration is embroidered in the center, on a dark green velvet rectangle framed with metallic ribbons.
The text of the declaration appears in its early Hebrew translation and is embroidered in the shape of a seven-branched menorah (a shape usually preserved for Psalms 67 or the Piyyut "Ana BeKhoach"): "His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people…"; topped by the verse "Shiviti". Hebrew dedication on bottom center reads: "The Balfour Declaration, dedicated by Mr. Nissim Yehuda Fijon… and… M. Simcha, daughter of Rivka, wife of Haji Eliyahu Fijon… the year 5688".
This is a unique item – the text of the Balfour Declaration, the famous state document from 1917 acknowledging the right of the Jewish people to establish a national home in their country, embroidered on a religious artifact, used in a synagogue by one of the communities of the Levant.
The Balfour Declaration was perceived by many as a sign of the coming of the Messiah. Some sages saw the Balfour declaration as the first stage in the process of redemption and the realization of the prophecies about the return to Zion. Subsequent to the declaration, Rabbi Kook, who was then the Chief Rabbi of Jaffa and the settlements, wrote that Britain was destined by Divine Providence to play the role of bringing forth the salvation, and about Lord Balfour himself he wrote that he is "remembered favorably, the renowned declaration being justifiably named after him". Like Rabbi Kook, other rabbis also saw the declaration in a religious Messianic light. For example, Rabbi Moshe Kalfon Hacohen, Chief Rabbi of Djerba and one of the leading rabbis of Tunis, saw the Balfour Declaration as one of the "thirteen holy sparks of redemption", calling the swift economic and agricultural development of Palestine "Ketz Meguleh" (revealed redemption).
Approx. 147X110 cm. Good condition. Faded velvet. Blemishes, stains, wear and unraveling. Some tears and open tears. Suspension loops on upper edge.
An extensive collection of documents, photographs, philatelic items, works of art, immigration certificates to Palestine, propaganda publications and other items documenting the detention camps in Cyprus and the immigration of the detainees to Israel. Cyprus, Palestine, USA and elsewhere, ca. 1946-1949.
Including:
• Broadside issued by the "The Committee of the Hebrew Community of Haifa" protesting against the decision of the Mandate authorities to deport the illegal immigrants to camps in Cyprus. [1946].
• Approximately 20 envelopes sent to and from internees in Cyprus, some bearing Palestinian, Cypriot and other postmarks, and some bearing inked stamps of camp secretariats (Hebrew), inked stamp of the "Central Post Caraolos", and more. • Letters by internees of the camps in Cyprus and letters sent to them, including a telegram sent from Sweden to a female internee at the Famagusta camp in Cyprus.
• Greeting cards and various publications of the "Committee for the Exiles of Cyprus".
• Receipts and documents for donation of funds, a book drive and other initiatives for the internees in Cyprus.
• Membership cards of the Gordonia Young Maccabee movement and the "Poalei Eretz Yisrael" party at the camps in Cyprus.
• 13 illustrations and sketches made by internees at the camps, including still-life exercises and portraits made by the students of Naftali Bezem's art workshop, illustrations documenting life in the camps and caricatures about the internees' situation. These include works signed by artists whose works appeared in the album "In the Cyprus Exile" (see next item) – David Tashamovsky, Peretz Weinreich, Dov Roterman and others. • A woodcut titled "Liberation Cyprus" depicting a Jewish family behind barbed wire, made by the Jewish-American artist Leon G. Miller.
• Notebooks that were distributed by the Joint to the children of Cyprus (one containing a reading journal written by an illegal immigrant in the camps of Cyprus. German); a Hebrew textbook "for the children of Israel in the camps of Cyprus" (printed in Cyprus. Stamped with the stamp of the Joint); personal details questionnaire and knowledge assessment for the schoolchildren of Cyprus; school registration form for the children of the religious schools at camp 70.
• Commemoration leaf (taken from a booklet) in memory of Hashomer Hatza'ir member Shlomo Chaimson, who was shot during an attempted escape from a Cyprus camp.
• Ketubah DeIrkhesa (replacing a previous Ketubah that has been lost) written for the couple Yosef, son of Ya'akov and Chaya, daughter of Menachem Mendel at the "Jewish detention camp near the city of Dhekelia in the island of Cyprus". Stamped with the Hebrew stamps of the "Chief Rabbinate of Cyprus" and the "Committee of Rabbis of the Exiles of Cyprus". [December 1947]. • Birth certificate for the birth of Sarah Shadlezki, the daughter of Yosef Shadlezki and Chaya Shadlezki, née Elmer (presumably, the same couple for which the aforementioned Ketubah was written), also issued by the "Chief Rabbinate of Cyprus" and the "Committee of Rabbis of the Exiles of Cyprus". September 1948.
• Six certificates for immigrants from Cyprus, issued by the immigration department of the Jewish Agency.
• Approx. 15 philatelic items bearing the special postmark "Welcome" (Hebrew), celebrating the closure of the Cyprus camps. The stamp depicts the map of Cyprus alongside ships flying the flag of Israel. January-February 1949.
• Approx. 50 photographs, mostly press photographs and photographs from private albums documenting the arrival of camp internees to Israel in July 1948 and early 1949. A small portion of the photographs document life at the detention camps in Cyprus.
• And more.
Approx. 140 items. Size and condition vary.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.
!["Begerush Kafrisin" [In the Cyprus Exile], an album with twenty-six linocuts made by a group of art students at Naf](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale69a-public/128_1.jpg "\"In the Cyprus Exile\", Album of Prints from the Cyprus Detention Camps")
!["Begerush Kafrisin" [In the Cyprus Exile], an album with twenty-six linocuts made by a group of art students at Naf](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale69a-public/128_2.jpg "\"In the Cyprus Exile\", Album of Prints from the Cyprus Detention Camps")
!["Begerush Kafrisin" [In the Cyprus Exile], an album with twenty-six linocuts made by a group of art students at Naf](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale69a-public/128_3.jpg "\"In the Cyprus Exile\", Album of Prints from the Cyprus Detention Camps")
!["Begerush Kafrisin" [In the Cyprus Exile], an album with twenty-six linocuts made by a group of art students at Naf](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale69a-public/128_4.jpg "\"In the Cyprus Exile\", Album of Prints from the Cyprus Detention Camps")
!["Begerush Kafrisin" [In the Cyprus Exile], an album with twenty-six linocuts made by a group of art students at Naf](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale69a-public/128_5.jpg "\"In the Cyprus Exile\", Album of Prints from the Cyprus Detention Camps")
An album with twenty-six linocuts depicting the lives of the illegal immigrants imprisoned in the detention camps established by the British in Cyprus. The album, created under the guidance of Naftali Bezem by students of the art workshop (established by the Pinhas Rutenberg Seminar in Cyprus), was printed in 120 copies only.
The linocuts are signed in pencil by the artists, students of the workshop – Moshe Bernstein (his works, many of which deal with the shtetls of eastern Europe, were displayed in various exhibitions since the late 1940s. In 1999, he was awarded the Massuah Institute for the Study of the Holocaust prize for his "documentation of the world that vanished at the beginning of his career"), Peretz Weinreich (the drawings he made in Cyprus were published in several Israeli newspapers. After the establishment of the state, he worked as a caricaturist for the newspapers "Dvar Hashavu'ah" and "Al Hamishmar". In 2008 he received the Golden pencil award), Nachum Bendel, Shmuel Leitner, Meir Wachtel, Baruch Randsburg, Baruch Friedman, David Tashamovsky, Avraham Sher, Chana Stern, Elisheva Heiman, Yitzchak Samushi and others.
The album opens with a quote from the last will of Pinchas Rutenberg (linocut): "… we will be brothers in life, in creation, in action and in building" (Hebrew). On the following leaf appears a short introduction: "Cyprus, one station on the painful road to Palestine. Its Jewish meaning is barbed wire, forced idleness and degeneration. Yet even such reality was teeming with life. Friends from the camp in Cyprus tell about all these in this book". These two leaves, the print index appearing on the last leaf, and the cover illustration are all linocuts. The leaf with the quote from Pinchas Rutenberg's last will is signed by Naftali Bezem.
The Pinchas Ruthenberg Seminar operated in the Cyprus deportation camps from mid-1947 to 1949. The seminar established schools in the camps, which imparted education in many fields. Teachers, including artists Naftali Bezem and Ze'ev Ben Zvi, were brought to Cyprus to teach at the seminar.
Artist Naftali Bezem (1924-2018), born in Essen, Germany, immigrated to Palestine in 1939 as part of the Youth Aliyah. Between 1943 and 1946 he studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts. His parents, who remained in Germany, perished in the Holocaust. After teaching art at the Cyprus detention camps, he lived for several years in Paris and with his return to Israel in 1952 became active as an artist in the Kibbutz Movement. Many of Bezem's works over the years dealt with the Holocaust, Aliyah and revival, examining the public, social and political realms of Israel. In 1957, he was awarded the Dizengoff Prize for Painting for his painting "In the Courtyard of the Third Temple" which he made in response to the Kafr Qasim massacre. In 1970, he was invited to paint the ceiling mural in the main reception room at the President's Residence in Jerusalem.
[29] leaves, approx. 50 cm. Good condition. Stains (mostly minor, to margins of leaves). The binding is in good-fair condition, with stains, tears and blemishes. Some open tears to binding's edges, restored. Tears to cloth spine.
Provenance: The Estate of Naftali Bezem (Hammersite auction, March 2019).
!["BeYom HaPekuda" [On the Crucial Day], a draft of an article by David Ben-Gurion, which is based on a lecture to th](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale69a-public/129_1.jpg "Draft of an Article by David Ben-Gurion, 1944 – Addressing the Danger")
!["BeYom HaPekuda" [On the Crucial Day], a draft of an article by David Ben-Gurion, which is based on a lecture to th](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale69a-public/129_2.jpg "Draft of an Article by David Ben-Gurion, 1944 – Addressing the Danger")
The draft, which is based on a fiery speech delivered by Ben-Gurion to members of the Clerks' Union, addresses the danger faced by all Jews despite the upcoming end of World War II, and the necessity of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine.
At the beginning, Ben-Gurion writes: "These days two things have happened: one somewhere in Germany, and the other in Chicago, USA. What happened in Germany shows the end of the war [possibly, he is referring to the Normandy landings]. What happened in North America, at the conference of the Democratic Party… is especially important to the Jewish nation. In that conference a special Jewish clause was brought up demanding the opening of the gates of Palestine to Jewish immigration and the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. These two events are encouraging, yet must not deceive us that we are close to our goals. The war has still not ended… the terrible danger faced by the remnants of Israel is not over. And the state as well is still not wrapped in a box".
Later, Ben-Gurion emphasizes over and over again that the Holocaust of European Jews might lead to repeated attempts to solve the "Jewish Problem" by means of destruction and addresses the Jewish communities around the world (USA, England, Russia, Egypt and Iraq) and the threat posed to their existence – "What happened now in Europe – the physical fact that six million Jews were killed – might take its toll on the millions that remained as well. Until recently, no one could imagine that a possible solution for the Jewish problem could be destruction… however, after it was done by Hitler and done in an extent unparalleled in history, a psychological, political and educational fact has been determined not only among the Nazis; knowingly and unknowingly, many gentiles think that at last there is an absolute solution to the damn Jewish Problem, which is so bothersome, the solution of destruction".
At the end, Ben-Gurion states: "I want each and every member to bring from here to their family members and acquaintances and every person of the Yishuv the feeling of anxiety felt by the remnants of Israel, so that on the crucial day, all the workers and citizens of the Yishuv will demand the great Zionist demand: 'Palestine as a Jewish State!'".
Part of the draft (the part handwritten by Ben-Gurion) appeals directly to those who attended the lecture – members of the Clerks' Union – and describes in detail their place and contribution to a laboring Jewish society, corresponding with the socialist-Zionist vision: "The Jewish clerk in Palestine is also on an essential national and social mission. If he adheres to workers in general and the historical vision throbbing within him, the Zionist-socialist vision of the workers of Palestine – his power and weight will increase […] the clerk's work in stores, in factories, in the office… when it fits in, out of a mutual relationship and mutual responsibility, with the work of the worker in the field, in the workshop, at the port, and with the work of the scientist in the lab and the teacher at school – constitutes the foundation of our independence and the support of our strength".
Ben-Gurion also explains the significance of Jewish labor as the basis of a free and sovereign society in Palestine: " Man's freedom, the worker's freedom and the freedom of the nation will be achieved when labor will not be the means by which man controls man, a nation controls a nation and a class controls a class – and on the contrary, when labor controls the nation, creative labor, freeborn, which is not subject to external authority but makes man a master of his fate, of nature, of external powers. Each field has an essential role in this process of liberating the working man and the enslaved nation and ensuring their independence and freedom".
This draft is composed of four typewritten leaves, with corrections and additions handwritten by Ben-Gurion (and several comments in a different hand) and two leaves handwritten by him.
A final version of the article was published in 1944 in an issue of the journal "Shurot, Pinkas LeInyanei Pkidim" (Lines, a Notebook for the Matters of Clerks). This version contains most of the corrections added by Ben-Gurion to the typewritten leaves; however, the part that is handwritten by Ben-Gurion was mostly omitted. The article was reprinted in the book "BeIkvei HaMesimot" by Akiva Govrin (Tel Aviv: "Am Oved", 1974) – see enclosed material.
Four typewritten leaves, approx. 29 cm; two handwritten leaves (three written pages), 20X24.5 cm. Good overall condition. Fold lines and creases. Stains. Small tears. Filing holes to all leaves. Open tears with black stains to margins of typewritten leaves (as a result of fire), slightly affecting the text.
Including:
• Approx. thirty letters that Yosef sent his wife and son, Goldy and Amiram, during the years 1947-1948. These letters, written during the War of Independence, when Yosef served as the military governor of Jerusalem, provide a personal and extraordinary record of this historic period. Although his written Hebrew was faulty, Yosef was very strict about writing to his son only in Hebrew. In a letter from 4.1.1948, Yosef writes: "The Old City is almost cut off, no one comes in or out, since the Arabs put a barrier at the Jaffa gate and the [British] government is afraid to remove it […] what a low point has the government reached! It is hard to describe – it continues its policy of not touching the Arabs". Later in that letter, Yosef refers to the Haifa Oil Refinery massacre, by members of the Irgun: "The worst case was in the refineries thanks to the nastiness of the Irgun, who threw a bomb in a mixed workplace […] our guys [members of the Haganah] do not kill Arabs for nothing". In a letter from February 1948, there is an interesting reference to Chaim Weizmann's political approach: "You complain about Dr. Weizmann's speech – certainly he should not have praised England just now, but he is an old man and it is hard for him to forget the love of his youth", and in another letter from the same month, Yosef sharply addresses the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin: "Bevin knows very well what he wants […] he would like the Arabs to destroy us, and that's not an exaggeration". One of the bluntest letters in the collection was written after the USA declared it was withdrawing its support of the UN partition Plan (March 1948): "Indeed another blow. Another betrayal […] England is the dog and the USA its tail […]".
• Fourteen letters sent by Yosef to his son and a letter sent by his son during the years 1943-1945, when the son served as a soldier in the Jewish Brigade. In one of the letters, Yosef refers to Ben-Gurion's resignation as chairman of the Jewish Agency: "We are immersed these days in a domestic crisis related to the resignation of Ben Gurion, who announced he cannot be held responsible anymore for the political action… he insists on his resignation and does not want to retract it". In another letter, sent on Amiram's 21st birthday, Yosef writes: "I always imagined you at this age sitting in the university and acquiring knowledge… I have no other comfort but that this war is coming to its end… each time I see the actions of our youth, my deep faith in the future of our nation grows stronger".
• Approximately forty telegrams of condolence sent to Yosef after his daughter, Lila Naomi, was killed on 9.10.1948 during the battles of the War of Independence (Lila was a soldier of the third battalion of the Yiftach brigade and was killed in an Egyptian air raid).
• Three notes presumably handwritten by Ben-Gurion, with personal messages to Yosef: a note urging him not to quit the government; a note requesting his help in the elections in Jerusalem; and a note with a short message – "May your hands be strong! Do and succeed".
• Approximately thirty-five notes handwritten by Yosef, some presumably written as speech drafts after the establishment of the State of Israel, addressing various issues (democratic elections, the achievements of the Mapai party) and some as various reminders.
• Eighteen letters and paper items from the 1910s and 1920s, documenting Yosef's early years (some of them written on official stationery of the Canadian Red Cross).
• Additional items.
Dov (Bernard) Yosef (1899-1980), an attorney and minister of the Israeli government, born in Montreal. During World War I, he played a part in organizing the Canadian volunteers to the Jewish Legion and in 1921 immigrated to Palestine. In Palestine, he joined the Mapai party, becoming the legal advisor to the Jewish Agency and representing it before the two British commissions of inquiry that dealt with Palestine – the Peel Commission and the Woodhead Commission. After the outbreak of World War II, Yosef was appointed head of the Center for the Enlistment of the Yishuv, coordinating matters related to Jewish volunteers in the British army. On August 2, 1948, in the midst of the War of Independence, Yosef was appointed to the most important position of his life – military governor of Jerusalem. The city was delivered into his hands in the midst of the siege, with its fate pending, and Yosef saw it his duty to support the residents and stengthen the status of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
After the war he was appointed Minister of Rationing and Supply and led the policy of austerity. In the following years he held a number of senior positions: Minister of Justice, Minister of Health, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Transportation and other positions.
Enclosed are three large photographs: two photographs of Yosef at the convention for bringing Jewish refugees to Israel (New York, 1949); photograph of Dov Yosef and Ben-Gurion (captioned on verso in handwriting: "Midreshet Sdeh Boker – 1969").
Size and condition vary.
Manuscript of the book "Yoman Vietnam" (Vietnam Diary) by Moshe Dayan – more than 150 leaves handwritten by him, including a draft of the first half of the book and additional leaves documenting events from dates that are not mentioned in the book (some of them were possibly written already in Vietnam).
In 1966, as a member of an opposition party in the Israeli Knesset, Moshe Dayan accepted the offer of the editor of "Ma'ariv" to travel to Vietnam, where the USA was involved in the war between the north and the south, and write his impressions in a series of articles. When he was in Vietnam, he accompanied the USA forces and kept a journal which was eventually published as a book, the "Vietnam Diary".
The introduction to the first article of Moshe Dayan's series of articles for "Ma'ariv", published on October 14, 1966, describes his work: "Lieutenant General Dayan prepared himself for the mission with the thoroughness of an officer going to battle. He first travelled to Paris, where he met with French generals… then he proceeded to London and met with British experts… and with Marshal Montgomery… finally, Lieutenant General Dayan arrived in the USA and met with the American Minister of Defense […] Lieutenant General Dayan wrote his diary in Vietnam on pieces of paper, by a kerosene lamp, at times at the front in the heart of the jungle, at times in a tent in the camp shortly after returning from an exhausting patrol; he wrote after taking part in the landing of helicopters in the battle zone… he wrote the content of his discussions with generals and soldiers; his impression of the interrogation of a Viet Cong prisoner; his impression of a visit to a refugee camp – close to 400 pages in five weeks. Many war correspondents are in Vietnam, among them ex-military men. However, it is doubtful whether we could find another correspondent of a higher military rank… therefore, Moshe Dayan's diary constitutes a unique document, not only for the Israeli reader, but also internationally" (Hebrew).
Most of this manuscript is an initial draft of the first half of the book "Vietnam Diary" (pp. 1-97 of the "Dvir" edition, 1977) dealing with the period between July 4 to August 10, 1966. The draft was written on two different types of paper with different pens and differs slightly from the book (there are several textual variations. Several lines and short passages appearing in the manuscript were not printed in the book). Several leaves of the manuscript describe events that occurred in dates not mentioned in the book – some of them drafts of chapters not included in the book and some, possibly, original leaves written by Dayan in Vietnam:
• A leaf describing the events of 3.7.1966 (The "Vietnam Diary" begins one day later).
• Seven leaves mostly describing the events of July 30, 1966.
• Four leaves describing events from July 31 and August 1966, including Operation Hastings. These leaves differ from the other leaves of the manuscript. They are written across the page, on both sides (four pages per leaf), in a somewhat sloppy hand. In one of them Dayan wrote: "I am writing while walking slowly – I hope it will be readable". These leaves are numbered by hand (1-9 and 5-7. Possibly, they were part of a larger group of leaves).
In the "Vietnam Diary" there are no entries from July 30 to August 1, 1966. In the entry from August 2, Dayan writes: "In the last few days I was in the field with the units as part of an operation […] while with these units (at the headquarters of the company), I took part in patrols with the subunits – platoons. I wrote – usually while walking – a single copy only. I sent my lists with John Schneider… who accompanied me. I hope my lists arrived safely in Israel… I will not attempt to rewrite this part".
Possibly, these four leaves are part of the aforementioned lists, which Dayan wrote in the battlefield with the American army.
• Enclosed with the manuscript: "Yoman Vietnam" (Vietnam Diary), by Moshe Dayan. Tel Aviv: Dvir, 1977. Inscribed by Moshe Dayan on the first page.
The manuscript and the book are both placed in an elegant custom-made case, decorated with the flag of Israel on one side and with Dayan's trademark eye-patch on the other.
A total of approx. 200 leaves. Approx. ten of the leaves are carbon copies. Approx. 28 cm. Good overall condition. Stains and creases to part of the leaves. Minor blemishes. Filing holes to margins of several leaves.
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Moshe Dayan (1915-1981), born in Degania, a member of moshav Nahalal, a military leader, politician and Israeli public figure. His biography embodies extensive chapters of the history of the Jewish Yishuv, the hardships of the establishment of the State of Israel and the rise to greatness of the State of Israel as a regional military power. Dayan spent the years of his youth in the Jezreel Valley and at the age of 15 joined the "Hagana". He served in the Jewish Supernumerary Police and the Field Companies led by Yitzchak Sadeh; on a photograph from the establishment of Kibbutz Hanita depicting Dayan with Yitzchak Sadeh and Yigal Allon, Chaim Weizmann wrote the prophetic words: "General Staff".
In 1939, Dayan was sentenced, alongside 43 prisoners of the Hagana, to ten years' imprisonment; however, in 1941, he was released and enlisted in the Field Companies headed by Yitzchak Sadeh, which eventually became the Palmach. During an operation north of Rosh HaNikrah, he was wounded in his left eye; from that day on, he wore the famous eye patch which became his trademark. During the war of Independence, he commanded various operations, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant colonel and served as the commander of the Jerusalem region. After the war, he became a member of the delegation that negotiated the armistice with Jordan.
In 1953, Dayan was appointed the Chief of Staff; in this position he adopted an active, offensive policy; to any Fedayeen activity, the IDF responded with a retaliation act in the enemy territory. It wasn't long before the situation escalated and became a constant military struggle. In 1956, with the blocking of the Tiran Straits to Israeli watercrafts, Israel launched Operation Kadesh, achieving important military goals and strengthening its military position in the area. In 1958, Dayan's tenure as Chief of Staff ended.
After being elected to the fourth Knesset, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture of Ben-Gurion's government, a position he held for approximately five years, although it was far from his heart's desire and nature. In the fifth Knesset, Dayan found himself in a "political desert", belonging to the opposition, holding no real position. He dedicated his time to writing his book "Diary of the Sinai Campaign" and to other activities. During this period, he also travelled to Vietnam to tour the battle zone, the impressions of which he published in the "Vietnam Diary". Dayan's visit to the battle zone while serving as a member of the Knesset was severely criticized by the Knesset and the government, which saw the visit as a violation of Israeli neutrality. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Abba Eban said that although Dayan is entitled to visit anywhere he pleased, the visit to South Vietnam was politically inappropriate; Israeli embassies around the world were ordered not to provide him with any assistance beyond what he deserves as a citizen and for personal needs only.
During the tense period before the Six-Day-War, the public started demanding that Moshe Dayan be appointed Defense Minister. Eshkol had wanted Yigal Allon in the position; however, due to the public pressure, he appointed Moshe Dayan. On the morning of June 5, 1967, Dayan ordered an attack on the enemy aircrafts on the ground; the next day he ordered the conquering of the Old City of Jerusalem, a decision that had crucial national significance, and the conquering of the Golan Heights. After the war, Dayan enjoyed the glory of the undefeated military leader; however, six years later, due to his complacency in face of the Arab threat before the Yom Kippur War and his prophecies of doom after it broke out, the public's love was replaced by outrage and pressure to remove him from office. Dayan was fired, but later was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by Menachem Begin, and took part in the onset of the peace negotiations with Egypt. In 1979, Dayan resigned his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs. After an additional short term as a Knesset member in a party with only two seats, Dayan passed away at the age of 66.
In the decades following the establishment of the state of Israel, Prime Ministers used to keep in touch with bereaved families and send them letters of condolence before the Jewish holidays and official events. Golda Meir, who was appointed Prime Minister in 1969, strictly followed this practice and regularly corresponded with members of bereaved families, both privately and officially. As part of this correspondence, Golda Meir sent a letter on the eve of Yom Kippur, October 5, 1973. Several hours later, the Yom Kippur War broke out. The Yom Kippur War, a war that to this day is considered the worst intelligence failure in Israeli history, cost the lives of approx. 2500 Israeli soldiers.
This letter expresses the great significance ascribed by Golda to the fallen and their families, and in retrospect is shadowed by the disaster about to befall the country without her knowledge. Golda writes: " On the eve of Yom Kippur, a day of self-examination, we painfully remember the heroes of Israel… before our eyes rise the beloved figures of our dear fallen, whose deaths granted us life" (Hebrew). Golda then expresses hope for peace, tragic in hindsight of this historic moment: " Your pain is the pain of the entire nation… Our first mission is the attainment – the attainment of peace for Israel. The memory of our dear ones urges us to do everything so that there will be no more killing and we shall know no more bereavement" (Hebrew).
The Yom Kippur War broke out on October 6, 1973. At 14:00, the armies of Egypt and Syria, supported by expeditionary forces from Arab countries, launched a coordinated attack on the state of Israel. During the first days of the war, the Syrian army penetrated the depth of the Golan Heights and the Egyptian army crossed the Suez Canal. Despite the sheer surprise, the IDF forces succeeded in holding off the assault in the northern front, crossing the Suez Canal in the southern front and besieging the Egyptian Third Army. On October 24, 1973, the ceasefire between the parties went into effect.
The war deeply shocked the Israeli society, and subsequently, the public trust of the government weakened. The commission for investigating the failings of the war – the Agranat Commission – held the military echelon responsible; the public, however, refused to accept its conclusions. Due to the increasing criticism, Golda Meir submitted her resignation as Prime Minister in April 1974.
Enclosed: an accompanying letter, typewritten on official stationery, by the military secretary of the government Yisrael Shneur to the chairman of the Yad Labanim Center of Netanya, Avraham Yahel.
[1] leaf, 28 cm. Good condition. Some stains to margins. Minor creases and fold lines. Filing holes with open tears between the holes and the edges of the letter. Pinholes to upper margins. Placed in a custom-made case, with leather edges and the gilt-embossed name "Golda Meir".