Papers and memorabilia of Dov Joseph (1899-1980), prominent Israeli politician and statesman

AUCTION 39 | Thursday, April 03rd, 2008 at 1:00

Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters & Graphic Art

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Lot 329

JOSEPH, DOV (BERNARD).

Papers and memorabilia of Dov Joseph (1899-1980), prominent Israeli politician and statesman

Collection of approx. 150 papers spanning Joseph's entire career in politics, including: Minutes of meeting of Young Judeans of Montreal (1916); letters of Corporal Joseph serving in Jewish Legion (1918); family birth certificate and correspondence (various postings in Egypt, South Africa, etc.); condolences from Ambassador Golda Meir in Moscow, Rabbi Ze'ev Gold (Mizrachi leader), and others upon the death of Joseph's daughter Leila in the battle for the Negev in 1948; private notes of Joseph's remarks in Cabinet meetings, including discussion of Egypt's blockade of the Straits of Tiran, which prompted the Six-Day War in 1967; notes passed to and from Ben-Gurion; outline of his autobiography broken down year by year, and material for book, including reminiscences of American Chief Justices Felix Frankfurter, Louis D. Brandeis, Earl Warren and Arthur Goldberg; secret negotiations with the Christian Maronite community of Lebanon; etc., etc. Especially revealing are several private letters to Joseph's son Amiram from besieged Jerusalem (1948). Includes 20 black-and-white photos of Joseph: Attending Cabinet meetings; together with David Ben-Gurion and with a galaxy of Israeli politicians; at fund-raising dinners in the U.S.; and at reunions of the Jewish Legion. Texts in English, Hebrew and Yiddish All presented in loose-leaf binder

Est: $3,000 - $5,000

PRICE REALIZED $2,500

PAPERS OF A LIFE-LONG ZIONIST AND CLOSE CONFIDANT OF DAVID BEN-GURION. Dov Joseph, a native of Montreal, held various ministerial positions during the first two Knessets and was Israel's second Minister of Justice, serving twice (1951-2 and 1961-6). Joseph was a member of Ben-Gurion's ruling Mapai Party. Joseph's finest hour was his stint as Military Governor of Jerusalem, when he successfully defended the city under siege. His account of the siege of Jerusalem in 1948 is the subject of his book The Faithful City (1962). Joseph began his Zionist career while yet a teenager as President of Young Judea of Canada. In 1918 Joseph joined the Jewish Legion and served in then Palestine. As a young man of 22, Joseph settled in Jerusalem, soon becoming one of the country's leading lawyers. Eventually, he was tapped by Ben Gurion to act as legal adviser to the Jewish Agency. See EJ, Vol. X, cols. 220-221