Typed Letter Signed, in Hebrew, to Dr. Dov Joseph, Minister of Development

In this personal letter to his confidant Dov Joseph, Ben-Gurion tells of having met the scientist Robert Oppenheimer upon the latter's visit to Israel. Ben-Gurion asked Oppenheimer the reason for his visit, to which the answer was: "I heard before of the vibrant spirit of Israel, a spirit uncommon in the world. I see now that what I conceived was but a miniscule portion of the actuality." Dov Joseph (1899-1980), 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). Previously he was Military Governor of Jerusalem during the War of Independece in 1948, when he successfully defended the city under siege