Auction 56 - Jewish and Israeli History and Culture

David Ben-Gurion - Handwritten Letter to Shlomo Zemach - Sde Boker, 1973

Opening: $500
Unsold
Letter handwritten and signed by David Ben-Gurion. Addressed to "Dear beloved Shlomo" [Shlomo Zemach], signed: "David". Sde Boker, 1973. Hebrew.
In the letter Ben-Gurion mentions his health ("My health is not quite good but it is getting better") and his plans to meet with Zemach in Jerusalem. The letter is written in an intimate tone, reflecting the long friendship between the two. For example, near the end of the letter Ben-Gurion writes: "I think you and I are the only ones still alive out of all those who arrived in the country together. The best thing you said in your last letter to me was that 'We are like brothers'. We were brothers in our childhood and have remained brothers our whole lives".
Shlomo Zemach (1886-1974), Israeli author and educator, born in Plonsk (Poland); one of the first pioneers arriving as part of the Second Aliya to Palestine. Winner of the Bialik Prize and the Israel Prize for Literature. In his youth Zemach befriended David Ben-Gurion (who also grew up in Plonsk), and together they founded the "Ezra" society for the study of Hebrew.
[1] leaf, 22 cm. Good condition. Folding marks and creases, some stains and minor defects. Pen inscription on reverse.
Autographs, Manuscripts and Archives, Hebrew and Yiddish Literature
Autographs, Manuscripts and Archives, Hebrew and Yiddish Literature