WEIZMANN CHAIM Three letters each Signed Ch Weizmann as Pres

Sale 2296 - Lot 132

Price Realized: $ 11,400

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000

"WE CAN DEFEAT THEM THROUGH IMMIGRATION" WEIZMANN, CHAIM. Three letters, each Signed, "Ch. Weizmann," as President of the World Zionist Organization, to Rabbi Solomon Goldman: Autograph Letter * two Typed Letters. The first, TLS, thanking him for sending a check, asking forgiveness for not writing more and explaining that he hasn't had a moment to himself for weeks. 1 page, 4to, "Oakwood" stationery; folds. The second, TLS, discussing his interview with FDR, asking that the possibility of acquiring a tract of Druse land and the ensuing Arab emigration be taken up by Justice Louis Brandeis, complaining of the lack of British assistance and the spread of exaggerations and distortions. 3 pages, 4to, written on separate sheets, pale blue "Weizman House" stationery. The third, ALS, reporting that relations are strained, stating that violence must be avoided, reporting that the Permanent Mandates Commission will pass a resolution against the White Paper, wondering whether the attitude of New York Times publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger is shared by most American Jews, discussing the importance of immigration to his strategy, and describing his difficulties in London. 3 1/2 pages, square 8vo, written on a single folded sheet, "Hotel Plaza-Athénée" stationery. London, 24 February; Rehovot, 28 April; Paris, 30 May 1939

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28 April: "Ben-Gurion has sent me a copy of your letter . . . in which you gave details of your interview with the President. . . . [I]t was a great comfort to feel that a man of Roosevelt's calibre is beginning to understand the importance of Palestine and the severity of the struggle through which we are passing at present. . . .
"There is another matter of extreme importance which I would like you to bring to the notice of Justice Brandeis and that is the possibility of acquisition of a large tract of land belonging to the Druses . . . .This would give us territory . . . which in its size almost equals the territory allotted to us by the Peel Report. . . . They are . . . willing . . . to migrate to the Jebel Druse and join their brethren in Syria. . . . It would offer all the advantages of Partition without a single one of its disadvantages. . . . It is the greatest opportunity which has been offering itself to us during the last 50 years . . . . I believe that the President's suggestion of a large loan for the transmigration of Arabs from Palestine to Iraq would then become a realizable project.
". . . Although the London Conference has brought us a great deal of disappointment, it has, . . . produced the effect of establishing some personal contacts between ourselves and some Arab leaders in Iraq and Egypt . . . . If the British were not blinded by abject fear of phantoms they could not only help us in settling the Palestinian difficulties but would for all times make a substantial contribution to the friendly relations between us and the Arabs . . . . Whatever . . . has come over the British, whether . . . infection by the virus of Hitlerism or something else, but it is certainly a bitter disappointment . . . ."
30 May: ". . . I . . . had a very long talk with Mr. [William Immanuel] Rappard. There is little doubt at present that he will urge the Mandates Commission to pass a resolution to the effect that the new White Paper does not square with the Mandate or with the International obligations of Great Britain. . . .
". . . Lady Astor . . . mentioned that Sulzberger is in London and that we must meet. I have refused to do so . . . . As for Sulzberger--he is a cowardly Jew! Now, what I would like to understand . . . is whether the general attitude and feeling of the Jews is very different from Sulzberger's and his paper.
". . . Only if we initiate constructive work, like the occupation of land (already bought!) and conduct immigration, we shall be able to hold out: otherwise it will peter out after a few fruitless demonstrations, some people will be killed, a great deal of bitterness will be engendered and we shall relapse into torpitude. Work alone can render non-cooperation an important weapon . . . . We can defeat them through immigration . . . .
"In London . . . I saw everybody, the P.M., MacDonald with whom I had a terrible quarrel, the Archbishop, all the political leaders including Churchill, the military people, Times, D.T., M.G., Lord Lothian, Lord Harley. . . . All these men take the colour of the country they are accredited to; it is necessary for their career! . . . ."