Golda Meir Rare ALS on Her Personal Business Card, to Early Zionist Leader Baruch Zuckerman

Exceedingly rare Autograph Letter Signed "Golda" as Israeli Foreign Minister, on her 3.75" x 2" business card imprinted in Hebrew "Golda Meir / Foreign Minister." In Hebrew, translated. To Baruch (Zuckerman). In full "Dear Baruch, I am very sorry that I will not be able to attend your birthday, along with your whole family. A thrombosis in my leg has put me in the hospital. Had I come I would have asked for permission to say what is in my heart. I will wait for another opportunity and for now I will only send you my best wishes and many returns. I send my love to you, Nina and the girls." As Golda Meir served as Israeli Foreign Minister from July 1956 to January 1966 and Baruch Zuckerman's birthday was June 26th, this letter must have been written between 1957 and 1965. When she announced her retirement as Foreign Minister, Meir cited her health problems as part of the reason, so the letter, penned from her hospital bed, was most probably written in the early 1960s. It is in fine condition with an indiscernible mid-vertical fold. Autograph Letters Signed of Golda Meir are virtually unobtainable. In the last 27 years, while Meir Typed Letters Signed have appeared at major auction houses from time to time, not one ALS has ever been offered for sale. This one, written to an early Zionist leader, is one of exceptional Israeli historical association.

Baruch Zuckerman (1887-1970) emigrated from Poland to the United States in 1904 and, inspired by Herzl, founded the Poale Zion Publishing Association in New York which published the works of leading Zionists who sought to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Poale Zion (Hebrew for Workers of Zion) was a movement of Marxist Zionist workers circles founded in various Russian cities around 1900 and in New York City in 1903. He was executive director of the People's Relief Committee from 1915 to 1924 when it disbanded, and accompanied Herbert Hoover and investment banker Herbert Lehman to Poland to bring food and clothing to those in need. After World War I, Poale Zion in Palestine was merged by David Ben-Gurion into the Achdut Ha'avoda party which eventually became Mapai of which Golda Meir was a member and later secretary-general. Zuckerman, leader of the American Poale Zion, was one of the founders and officers of the American Jewish Congress and president of the Labor Zionist Organization of America which Meir joined in 1915. After Nina and Baruch Zuckerman and their daughters moved to Jerusalem in 1932, their house became a meeting place for the leaders of the Zionist Movement. Golda Meir had to go back to America with her two children because her daughter Sara had kidney trouble for which suitable treatment was not available in Palestine. Her husband Morris Meyerson, who stayed behind, moved in with the Zuckermans. "Everyone thought Morris Meyerson was our father because our father was never home," recalls Baruch's younger daughter Nomi. In 1937, Nomi Zuckerman graduated high school and went to study at a teacher's seminary in Tel Aviv. Golda Meir had already returned so Nomi moved in with Golda's family and helped to run the household, "although," recalled Nomi, "Golda baked the Shabbat cake." While his wife and daughters remained in Palestine, Baruch Zuckerman's many activities as an emissary precluded him from residing in Israel until his retirement in 1956.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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