A Rare Signed Letter by David Ben gurion The Sephardim Preceded Herzl: Ben-Gurion Reveals the Origins of Zionism in Jaffa (1838)

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The Sephardim Preceded Herzl: Ben-Gurion Reveals the Origins of Zionism in Jaffa (1838)

For sell A Rare Signed Letter to Moshe Shelush | 4 November 1962 — On Official Prime Minister of Israel Letterhead

A rare and historically significant original letter by David Ben-Gurion, written on official Prime Minister of Israel stationery featuring the State emblem and the title “Prime Minister.” The letter was written in Jerusalem on 4 November 1962 (4 Cheshvan 5723) and bears Ben-Gurion’s original signature.

Addressed to Moshe Shelush, the letter refers to Avraham Moyal and contains a striking historical statement: Ben-Gurion notes that the first Jew to arrive in Jaffa and settle there was a Moroccan Jew in the year 1838 — nearly fifty years before the commonly cited beginning of the First Aliyah. This remarkable line sheds new light on the early roots of Jewish pioneering and settlement in the Land of Israel.

Ben-Gurion further writes that he intends (if possible) to publish a special article on the contribution of Moroccan Jews, “from the founding of the Jewish settlement in Jaffa to the building of Dimona” — a powerful sentence that connects the earliest chapters of Jewish Jaffa with Ben-Gurion’s own Negev vision and the development of Dimona.

Beyond its exceptional collector’s value, the letter offers a rare window into the complexities of Israeli society in its formative decades and into a moment in which Ben-Gurion publicly acknowledges the foundational role of Jews from Sephardic and Mizrahi communities. This is not merely a thank-you note — it is also an attempt to restore lost dignity and to affirm: you too were “founders.” In a deeper sense, Ben-Gurion expresses something close to regret — on behalf of the establishment — for the injustice done to Mizrahi Jews, while seeking to restore them to a rightful place of honor within the founding story of Israel.

A moving and museum-quality collectible, of outstanding importance for collectors of Zionist manuscripts, early Israeli state documents, and Jewish historical ephemera.

Item Details

• Original document on official stationery: Prime Minister of Israel
• Date: 4 November 1962
• Original signature: D. Ben-Gurion
• Recipient: Moshe Shelush
• Key references: Avraham Moyal, Moroccan Jews, Jaffa 1838, Dimona

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