A postcard containing a letter handwritten and signed by David Ben-Gurion, sent to Shlomo Lavi of Kibbutz Ein Harod a day after the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel. May 15, 1948.
In the Hebrew letter Ben-Gurion compares the country as it was when he immigrated to it to the country as it was a day after the establishment of the State of Israel: "When we immigrated to Palestine, you as Levkovitch and I as Green, with the flag of labor in our hands, we found – Malaria and corruption – under the Ottoman rule. Now, although the thunder of cannons has not yet ceased and our sons are fighting at the fronts – the heart is happy to see the great progress". Ben-Gurion ends his letter with a kind of 'personal declaration' about the establishment of the State: "The Jewish nation has reached the peak of its existence – the State of Israel has been born".
The addressee, Shlomo Lavi (Levkovitch, 1882-1963), one of the forefathers of the Kibbutz Movement, was born in the city of Plonsk (Ben-Gurion's hometown) and was a member of the "Ezra" Zionist youth movement, which was established by David ben-Gurion and Shlomo Tzemach.
Lavi immigrated to Palestine in 1905, as part of the second Zionist wave of immigration. In Palestine, he worked as a laborer in the orchards of Petach-Tikvah and Sejera, at the Atid oil factory and in the farm of Kinneret, and was one of the founders of "HaShomer" Organization. As a member of Kvutzat Kinneret, he formulated the idea of the larger communal settlement (the Kibbutz) and in 1921 was one of the founders of Kibbutz Ein Harod.
In 1931, Lavi became a member of the Mapai party and one of its leaders. During World War II, he volunteered to join the British Army and served as a driver in a transport unit. After the establishment of the State of Israel, he was a member of the first and second Knesset. During the 1950s, after the split of the United Kibbutz Movement, Lavi moved to Ein Harod Ichud and became one of the leaders of the new Kibbutz Movement.
Over the years, Lavi maintained a close friendship with David Ben-Gurion, whom he knew from his youth. Ben-Gurion saw him as one of the greatest thinkers of the second Zionist wave of immigration.
9X14 cm. Postmarks and a "Doar Ivri" stamp. Good condition. Stains, especially on the lower right corner. Filing hole in the right margin (slightly affecting text).