BEN-GURION, David.

Important handwritten letter marked 'Private and confidential ', written by David Ben-Gurion (the first Prime Minister of the State of Israel, 1886-1973) addressed to Menahem Ussishkin (Russian-Born Zionist Leader and Head of the Jewish National Fund, 1863-1941). The letter was written in the period between the great upsurge of immigration to Palestine and the outbreak of World War II. As result of the tenor of the times the issue of open Jewish immigration and the eventual establishment of a Jewish National Homeland were of considerable urgency.

The correspondence concerns several meetings that Chaim Weizmann and Ben-Gurion had with Malcolm MacDonald about the renewal of the British Mandate in Palestine and the negotiations for a Jewish National Homeland. Ben-Gurion's intention is to inform Ussishkin of the British position as best as could be extrapolated from MacDonald's comments during the discussions that had taken place in recent weeks. He is very concerned that be available for the subsequent upcoming negotiations, since he feels Ussishkin's advice would be of paramount importance.

Ben-Gurion states that MacDonald's position is that neither the Balfour Declaration nor the League of Nations Mandate given to Britain ever envisioned or sanctioned Jewish immigration to Palestine. MacDonald's argument is that the Second Aliyah has undermined the stability of Palestine and the Middle East, agitating the Arab world at a time when the world is already on the brink of war. Moreover, he ties any hope of realising a Jewish Homeland on the will of the Arabs. Ben-Gurion's opinion is that the British cannot be trusted, but that it is none the less necessary to continue negotiating. He strongly believes that the Jewish position has to be steadfast and consistent, revolving around two unyielding principles, which are the refusal to let the Arabs dictate the future of Palestine and immediate, unconditional, open immigration to Palestine leading to the establishment of Jewish National Homeland.

This letter is of considerable historical importance since it provides a valuable, first hand insight into the dynamics of the Arab-Jewish conflict in pre-war Palestine, as seen through the eyes of the eventual founders of the State of Israel.