Ben-Gurion postcard from 1948 Independence Day up for sale
Jerusalem auction house selling missive signed by prime minister on May 15, 1948, declaring that the 'State of Israel was born.'
By AMY SPIROA postcard from David Ben Gurion on Independence Day 1948, in which he writes that the state of Israel was declared.(photo credit: KEDEEM AUCTION HOUSE)
An auction house in Jerusalem will be selling a postcard written and signed by David Ben-Gurion on the day that the State of Israel was declared: May 15, 1948.Ben-Gurion sent the missive to his longtime friend and future MK Shlomo Lavi; the two friends grew up together in the same town in Poland.“When me made aliyah to this land, you as Levkovich and me as Green, with the flag of labor in our hands, we found – malaria and corruption – under the Ottoman Empire,” Ben-Gurion wrote to his friend. “Now, despite the fact that the roar of cannons has not ceased, and our sons are fighting on the frontlines, my heart is happy at the sight of this great advancement. The nation of Israel has arrived at the peak of their existence: the State of Israel has been born.”Ben-Gurion signed the note and dated it with the Hebrew date, the 6th of Iyar, 5708, the day the State of Israel was officially declared.The Kedem Auction House announced the discovery and sale of the postcard on Thursday, the day of Independence Day this year. The postcard will go up for sale this Wednesday at the Kedem Auction House in Jerusalem. Bidding on the postcard began at $1,200, and as of Thursday afternoon stood at $6,000.“This postcard is a very special find that encompasses a supreme historic value,” said Meron Eren, co-owner of Kedem Auction House. “Above all, it carries with it nostalgia for the early days of the country, sentiments of renewal, excitement upon a state in the making as well as the exhilaration and joy of a generation that took nothing for granted.”The Kedem House is auctioning off more than 150 items on Wednesday, including the former passport of the Satmar Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum and the tefillin boxes that once belonged to the Chazon Ish.
