Long letter handwritten and signed by David Ben-Gurion, addressed to Menachem Zaharoni. Sde Boker, January 30, 1967. Hebrew.
Interesting letter in which Ben-Gurion addresses the Lavon Affair, the political and societal situation in Israel, the Holocaust, the state's future, Herzl and Zionism, and more. The letter is a response to a harsh letter from Menachem Zaharoni to Ben-Gurion, in which Zaharoni expresses his disappointment with the government's conduct and his pessimistic view of Israeli society.
Ben-Gurion begins his letter with the following words: "I read your letter with great interest, and I have no doubt as to the candidness of your emotions. Yet you are mistaken on a number of points, both factual and moral. And first of all I should tell you that I disagree with you and many others who attribute the state's establishment and other such acts to me, since it is only a pioneering enterprise spanning generations that is capable of such acts… I have been witness to events in Israel for over sixty years now, and I have some knowledge of Jewish and general history, and I do not believe that any man can change the world or renew it. In my youth I was a great admirer of Herzl… but Herzl said, rightly, that if he had read Pinsker's Auto-Emancipation before writing The Jewish State, he would not have written it. As for myself I think it is good he had not read Pinsker and did write 'The Jewish State', though this pamphlet contains no new ideas. Yet Herzl inspired the Jewish masses in both East and West Europe with a new spirit… but I do not believe he created 'Zionism'. It already existed before him…".
Regarding Zaharoni's claims about Israeli society, Ben-Gurion writes: "I am not as pessimistic as you are, because I know that today there are more pioneers, and better ones, than there were in the days of the Second Aliya… I am personally acquainted with quite a few Israeli Jews, young ones and not so young, who inspire and fortify my faith in the future of the Jewish people and its moral qualities, and although I can also see the other side of the coin - I don't agree with your pessimism. I also suffered bitter disappointments in my life. 60 years ago, and 30 years ago, I had great hopes, which now, I know, will never be fulfilled… due to the extermination of six million Jews - the best we had in these generations. For them a Jewish state was a vital necessity, they had the desire and ability and need to build it… but they are gone, and we are unable to bring them back to life, and they have no replacements or heirs, and our people is different today from what it was thirty years ago - and we have no choice, we must do what the Jewish people can do, as it is. But to this end it must receive guidance - not in words, but in deeds…".
Further on Ben-Gurion expands on the Lavon Affair and on Zaharoni's declaration that he has lost his faith in Ben-Gurion, concluding the letter with the following: "All of our political parties, none excluded, are interested only in marginal issues and not in the issues that are the mainstays of our life: the absorption of immigrants… making the desert bloom and populating the entire country… excellent maintenance of security and the safeguarding of our financial independence, without which our political independence is not secure either. And above all, the aspiration to be a Chosen People, an aspiration that can attract the masses in the affluent nations, who have no financial or political constraint to flee their countries of residence. This is my credo".
6 leaves, 21.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Some dampstains, with ink smears.
Enclosed is part of Menachem Zaharoni's letter to Ben-Gurion.