Rare Vintage Israeli Poster for the First Settlement Day, 1949 — Design by Moshe Vorobeichic (Moi Ver)

This rare and striking poster was created for the first Settlement Day in 1949, part of a national campaign during Israel’s War of Independence. Issued by the IDF, it celebrates the spirit of pioneering and resilience and features a powerful quote by one of modern Hebrew’s great poets, Shaul Tchernichovsky.

The poster was designed by the renowned photographer and graphic artist Moshe Vorobeichic — also known as Moi Ver, Moshé Raviv, or Moses Vorobeichi — whose avant-garde style left a lasting imprint on early 20th-century visual culture.

First commemorated in November 1949, Settlement Day marked the founding of dozens of new communities — primarily kibbutzim and moshavim — across the young State of Israel. The day symbolized the bold national effort to build a sovereign, agricultural, and self-sustaining Jewish homeland.

The poster includes a poetic excerpt by Tchernichovsky, celebrating the power of letters as symbols of purity, struggle, and victory:

“Zayin is a letter,
Chet is a letter —
Letters of purity:
Your seed is a holy seed,
The grace of the pioneer upon your plow —
Letters of purity!”

“Mem is a letter,
Nun is a letter —
Letters of radiance:
War — if there is no other way,
A soul that longs for victory —
Letters of radiance!”

A powerful piece of Zionist visual and poetic history.