Draft speech by David Ben-Gurion, 1944 in handwriting - deals with the danger posed to the Jews of the world in ...

Draft speech by David Ben-Gurion, 1944 in handwriting - deals with the danger posed to the Jews of the world in light of the extermination of the Jews of Europe, the Histadrut of Officials, Hebrew labor and the need to establish a Jewish state in Israel.

"On the Day of the Ordinance", a draft article by David Ben-Gurion, based on a lecture he gave to members of the Histadrut. Part of the draft was typewritten (with corrections and additions in Ben-Gurion's handwriting) and part was handwritten. [Eretz Israel, 1944].

The draft before us, which is based on a scathing speech delivered by Ben-Gurion to members of the Histadrut, deals with the danger facing all Jews, despite the impending end of World War II, and the necessity of establishing a Jewish state in Israel.

In the opening, Ben-Gurion writes: "Two things have happened these days: one somewhere in Germany and one in Chicago in the United States. What happened in Germany shows the end of the war [it may be an invasion of Normandy]. What happened in North America, at the Democratic Party conference ... It is especially important for the Jewish people. At that conference, a special Jewish clause was introduced demanding the opening of the gates of Palestine for Jewish immigration and the establishment of a Jewish state in the country. These two events have great encouragement, but should not deceive us that we are close to our goal. "The threat to the rest of Israel has not passed. And the state is not yet in the box either."

Ben-Gurion repeatedly emphasizes that the Holocaust of European Jews may lead to repeated attempts to solve the "Jewish problem" through extermination, and refers to Jewish communities around the world (USA, England, Russia, Egypt and Iraq) and the threat that hovers over them - "What happened now in Europe - the fact The physical extermination of 6 million Jews - may also give its signals about the remaining millions. Until recent years, no one could have imagined that the Jewish question could be solved by extermination ... But after this was done by Hitler and done on an unprecedented scale in history, a psychological, political, educational fact was established not only among the Nazis, knowingly or Unknowingly, the thought arises among many Gentiles that there is a "final" solution to the accursed Jewish question that bothers them so much, the solution of extermination.

At the end of his remarks, Ben-Gurion reads: "I want every member and society to bring to their families and acquaintances and to every person in the community the feeling of anxiety living in the rest of Israel, that on the day of the order all workers and citizens will appear and demand the great Zionist claim: "Israel as a Jewish state!".

Part of the draft before us (the part written in Ben-Gurion's handwriting) addresses directly to the listeners of the lecture - members of the Histadrut, and he describes in detail the place and contribution of the officials in a working Hebrew society, according to the socialist-Zionist vision: To the extent that he clings more and more to the accumulation of workers in general and to the pulsating historical vision within him, to the Zionist-socialist vision of the workers of Israel - his power and weight will increase [...] The work of the clerk in a commercial, factory, office ... "Mutual affinity and mutual responsibility with the work of the worker in the field, in the workshop, in the port, and with the work of the scientist in the laboratory and the work of the teacher in the school - constitutes the foundation of our independence and the support of our strength."

In doing so, Ben-Gurion explains the centrality of Hebrew labor as the basis for a sovereign and free society in the Land of Israel: "The free woman who is not subject to external spheres but controls man over his destiny, nature, foreign forces. And every branch of labor has a vital role in this process of liberating the working man and the enslaved people and ensuring his independence and liberty."

The draft of the article before us consists of four typewritten pages, with corrections and additions in Ben-Gurion's handwriting (and a few other handwritten notes) and two handwritten pages.

A final version of the article was published in 1944 in the issue of the journal "Lines, a Notebook for the Clerks' Affairs". In this version, most of the corrections that Ben-Gurion added in his handwriting to the printed pages were included, but the part written in Ben-Gurion's handwriting was largely omitted. The article was reprinted in the book "Following the Tasks", by Akiva Govrin (Am Oved Publishing, Tel Aviv, 1974) - see attached material.

Four printed pages, approximately 29 cm; and two handwritten pages (three written pages), 24.5X20 cm. Good general condition. Folding marks and wrinkles. Stains. Slight tears. Filing holes on all pages. Missing tears along with black spots on the edges of the printed pages (as a result of burning), with slight damage to the text.

Courtesy of Kedem Auction House.