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Ben-Gurion, David -ALS Re A Hospital Named For His Wife

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
Ben-Gurion, David -ALS Re A Hospital Named For His Wife
<Our item number 111085><B>Ben-Gurion, David.</B> Autograph Letter Signed in Hebrew, 2 separate pages, 8½&#34; x 4¾&#34;, Sde-Boker, 1 Dec. 1968. Fine; file holes in margins. Addressed to Moshe Soroka, general manager of the Histadrut [trade union] for healthcare clinics. Ben-Gurion writes: &#34;<I>I have not shown my appreciation for naming the nursing school next to the hospital in Beer-Sheva after my Pola </I>[Ben-Gurion&#39;s late wife]…<I>believe me it was not due to lack of appreciation…for months after the passing of Pola I was deeply depressed and in addition I was burdened with completing the writing of 20 years of the state of Israel…I do not believe that I deserve anything being named after me for the things I did in my life. The truth is, and many cannot understand it, that whatever I did, I did out of deep inner need and I do not believe anyone deserves any gratitude or prize. However, Pola was not a Zionist when I fell in love with her…she did not hesitate for a moment to settle in Eretz Israel…even though I told her Israel was a primitive place compared to the USA….she never hesitated for a moment…when I told her in the end of 1953 that I would like to live at least a few years in the Negev. She agreed to come with me to Sde-Boker even though she had to leave her children and friends…I don&#39;t know if there was ever a wife more devoted and loyal to her husband than Pola was and she undoubtedly deserves being remembered forever. You have done a great and wonderful thing naming the nurse hospital after her &#40;she herself was a nurse until we came here&#41; and a school in Beer-Sheva at that. I was told you are in favor of nationalizing all healthcare clinics…that is my opinion as well and I wish the Histadrut will understand that the state and entire nation come first</I>…&#34;. Six months after writing this letter Ben-Gurion made his first state visit to the hospital which is now called &#34;Soroka Medical Center.&#34; A beautiful expression of Ben-Gurion&#3 9;s love and devotion for his deceased wife. <BR>Estimated Value &#36;4,000-6,000. <BR><BR>Our item number 111085<BR><IMAGES><P ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG SRC="http://64.60.141.195/photos/40jpegs/111085.jpg"> </P></IMAGES>