Two San Remo Conference commemorative medals. [Netherlands, 1920]. Cast by Christiaan (Chris) Johannes van der Hoef.
1. Bronze medal. Obverse: Relief depicting an encounter between two figures, representing different generations of the Jewish people - a figure of a Jew from the Second Temple period, and a figure of a worker holding a hammer. In the background - a field of wheat. On the lower part, appear the Jewish years 3830-5680 [year of destruction of the Second Temple and the year 1920, when the San Remo conference was held]. Reverse: the Hebrew word "Zion" in the center of a Star of David, surrounded by the 12 shields of the Tribes of Israel, and the Hebrew legend "If I forget thee Oh Jerusalem" and "10 Iyar 1920".
Diameter: 93 mm.
2. An identically designed medal, smaller, made of silver. Diameter: 29 mm. It is possible that the silver medals, all or part of them, were awarded to senior figures in the Zionist movement.
The San Remo Conference (April, 1920) was an international assembly held following the conclusion of WWI that determined the boundaries for territories captured by the Allies. During this conference Britain got the mandate for Eretz Israel. The Mandate incorporated the provisions of the Balfour Declaration: "the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Eretz Israel". This medal was commissioned by the Dutch Zionist Association, to commemorate this resolution of the San Remo Conference. The medalist chosen was the Dutch sculptor Christiaan Johannes van der Hoef.