A Rare Signed Letter by David Ben-Gurion to Moshe Shelush (1962)

On official Prime Minister of Israel letterhead: “From Jaffa to the Building of Dimona” — When Sephardic Zionism Preceded Herzl

Some historical items are far more than a signature on paper.
Some documents become a moment in which history quietly corrects itself.

The letter presented here is an original document from 1962, written in Jerusalem and signed in the hand of David Ben-Gurion. What makes it especially powerful is that it was written on official Prime Minister of Israel stationery, bearing the State emblem at the top and the title: “Prime Minister”.

This is not merely a personal note.
It is the voice of the Israeli government itself — through the signature of the man who founded the State — acknowledging a historical truth that still surprises readers today.

Full Transcription

Prime Minister
Jerusalem, 4 November 1962
(4th of Cheshvan 5723)

My dear Moshe Shelush –

I received with great joy and with deep gratitude the letter you sent
me about Avraham Moyal, and my joy was doubled when I learned that he
was your grandfather. I know that the first Jew who came to Jaffa
and settled there (if I am not mistaken, it was in the year 1838) was a Moroccan
Jew, and if I am able to enter into it — though I doubt it — I intend
to write a special article: what the Jews of Morocco did from the founding
of the Jewish settlement in Jaffa up to the building of Dimona.

Once again, I shake your hand in thanks and appreciation,

D. Ben-Gurion

The Sensation: “1838” — Nearly 50 Years Before the First Aliyah

At the heart of this letter lies a sentence that challenges a familiar narrative:

Ben-Gurion states that the first Jew who arrived in Jaffa and settled there was a Moroccan Jew — in 1838.

For anyone who knows the classic timeline, this date is striking:
the First Aliyah is commonly associated with 1882. In other words, Ben-Gurion places the roots of Jewish pioneering settlement in Jaffa almost fifty years earlier.

And this leads to the great idea this letter forces us to consider:

Pioneering and Zionism did not begin with Herzl.
Not only in books and congress halls — but on the ground, in real life, through families who built a Jewish presence and a future long before Zionism had an official name.

And here comes the human and political layer that gives this letter even more weight:
by the time it was written, Ben-Gurion understood he could no longer remain only “the leader of European pioneers.” In an Israel shaped by growing social tensions, he also found himself needing — to some degree — to win the respect and support of Jews of Sephardic and Mizrahi origins, giving them rightful honor within the national story, and making it clear that Zionism did not belong to one group alone.

“From Jaffa to the Building of Dimona” — Ben-Gurion Connects the Beginning to the End

Ben-Gurion even writes that he is considering publishing a special piece:

“what the Jews of Morocco did from the founding of the Jewish settlement in Jaffa up to the building of Dimona.”

This is far more than a compliment. It draws a single historical line — from early Jewish Jaffa to Ben-Gurion’s own vision: the Negev and Dimona.

The Shelush Family and Neve Tzedek: Leaving the Old City Behind and Building a New Future

The name “Shelush” represents one of the most significant Jewish families connected to Jaffa’s early modern growth — linked to entrepreneurship, construction, and the shaping of an independent Hebrew presence.

The Shelush family is also associated with the story of Neve Tzedek, one of the first Jewish neighborhoods built outside the old urban core of Jaffa, and a major milestone on the road toward the development of the first Hebrew city.

This was not simply a real estate project.
It was a declaration: Jews were building a modern future with their own identity.

1962 and Israel’s Ethnic Divide: What Stands Behind This Letter?

By 1962, Israel’s “ethnic divide” was already surfacing openly.
After the Wadi Salib events of 1959 — and after years of pain surrounding the absorption of immigration — public memory carried heavy scars: transit camps (ma’abarot), harsh living conditions, deep feelings of discrimination, DDT spraying that became a humiliating symbol, and painful stories such as the Yemenite Children Affair and the disappearance of children from immigrant families.

All of this unfolded during the era in which Ben-Gurion stood at the head of the government — leaving a wound that remains sensitive to this day.

Against that background, this letter holds an additional meaning:
it is not merely a thank-you note. It is an attempt to touch lost dignity and to say: you too were “founders.”
And in a deeper sense, Ben-Gurion is expressing something close to regret — on behalf of the establishment — for the injustice done to Mizrahi Jews, while trying to restore them to their rightful place of honor within the founding story of Israel.

Why This Item Matters to Collectors

This letter contains everything that defines a true historical collectible:

✅ An official Prime Minister of Israel letter on state stationery with the national emblem
✅ David Ben-Gurion’s original signature
✅ A clear date: 4 November 1962
✅ A direct connection to Avraham Moyal and Moshe Shelush
✅ A powerful historical statement about 1838 and Moroccan Jews in Jaffa
✅ A symbolic connection: from Jaffa to Dimona
✅ A rare document reflecting the struggle over Israel’s national narrative and identity

This is not just paper.
It is history speaking.

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