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Sale 38
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Lot 410
Ben-Gurion, David (1876-1973) One of the most influential figures in modern Zionism; founder of the State of Israel; Israel's first (1948-52) and third (1955-62) Prime Minister. He was a pragmatic visionary who molded the character of the Jewish state. Born David Grün in Plonsk, Poland in 1886, the son of a fervent Zionist, he immigrated to Palestine in 1906, where he adoped his Hebrew name, Ben-Gurion, and became active in Jewish politics. He studied law in Istanbul from 1912-15, but was deported upon the outbreak of World War I because of his political activities, then spent the war years in the United States, where he met his wife, Paula Monbesz. After Palestine was captured by the British from the Ottoman Empire, Ben-Gurion returned to Palestine as a soldier in the Jewish Legion, a unit of the British Army. He founded the Histadrut, General Federation of Labor, and as its Secretary-General until 1935, forged it into a political, social and economic institution. From 1935- 48 he served as chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive, the unofficial government of the Jews in Palestine, and from 1935-65 he was head of the Mapai labor party. On May 14, 1948, against strong opposition, he passed the resolution to declare the independence of Israel. As Prime Minister he encouraged immigration, which doubled the country's population and oversaw the establishment of the state's institutions. As Defense Minister he carried out the transition from underground organizations to a regular army. Internationally he adopted a pro-West orientation. Ben-Gurion was considered a moderate. During Israel's pre-statehood period, he insisted that violence be used only against military targets; as Prime Minister, after the 1967 Six-Day War ended with large territorial gains, he argued that Israel should not occupy more Arab land, keeping only a unified Jerusalem. A mover and a shaker, he was part Moses and part Washington. TIME Magazine voted him one of the top 100 people who shaped the 20th century.
Autograph Letter Signed ("D. Ben-Gurion"), 2 pp, 8¼x4¾", Tel Aviv, 7 Sept. 1963. Written in English in dark blue ink to a young American woman in Maine. With transmittal envelope. The letter says, in full:
"Dear Miss Heidi Allen / I greatly enjoyed reading your letter of 16.8.63. In my view the essence of Jewish religion was expressed in two sentenced [sic] by our prophet Jeremiah. He said: "Thus says the lord: 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories - glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practice [sic] kindness, justice and rightousness [sic] in the earth; for in these things delight, says the Lord' (Jer. 9-23-24). According to our faith God was never incarnate, for he is no flesh, always invisible and incomprehensible, no human being can perceive or see him. Jesus was a great Jew, but born as all human beings, by a father and a mother. The words of Isaiah (7-14) were wrongly interpreted in former translations. There it is said; 'behold, a young woman shall conceive [and] bear a son, and shall his name Immanuel.' It was never a virgin. In hebrew a virgin is 'betuláh'; Isaiah used the term 'almá, which means a young woman. 'To love thy fellow man like yourself' this is main commandment of God and of all great religions. With Sincerest wishes…."
Estimated Value $30,000 - 50,000.
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