Early Golda Meir TLS Praising the Memory of One of Italy’s Leading Zionists by MEIR, GOLDA

MEIR, GOLDA. (1898-1978). Russian-born, American-educated Zionist and Israel's fourth Prime Minister. TLS. ("Golda Meirson"). 1p. 8vo. Jerusalem, June 24, 1954. On Ministry of Labor letterhead. To Italian Zionist ADA SERENI (1905-1998), the widow of pioneering Italian Zionist Enzo Sereni (1905-1944). In Hebrew with translation.

"On the anniversary of the death of Enzo I found it necessary to tell you the way I remembered your husband Enzo Sereni of blessed memory. It was during one of the stormy nights of the 'Ha'apala' in 1945 I was standing on the sea shore and was looking out at a 'Ma'apilim' ship bearing the name of 'Enzo Sereni' as it was discharging one thousand Ma'apilim [illegal immigrants] on the sand, and I thought to myself that every nation honors its heroes in its own way, and in our way I am sure this would have found pleasure in the eyes of Enzo. May his memory be blessed..."

Meir joined the Zionist movement while still living in the United States and became a leader in the Milwaukee Zionist Party. In 1921, she and her husband settled in a kibbutz in Palestine and as its representative to the Histadrut began her rise to power. Meir served the Histadrut in a variety of leadership capacities until 1946 when, following his imprisonment, she took Moshe Sharett's place as head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency. Meir was one of the signatories of Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence and, following her service in the Knesset and retirement, she became her country's prime minister in 1969. She was immediately faced with the Arab–Israeli War of Attrition, which ended in a three-year cease-fire that lasted until the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Our letter was written as Minister of Labor, a post she held from 1949-1956.

Enzo Sereni immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1927, and, with his wife Ada, helped found the Kibbutz Giv'at-Brener near Rehovot and advocated for a peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs. During the early 1930s, despite his brief detention by the Gestapo, he helped smuggle people and money out of Germany and championed the kibbutz movement in the United States. With the outbreak of World War II, Sereni joined the British Army, and served in Egypt and Iraq before organizing the Jewish parachute unit of the Special Operations Executive. In 1944, he was one of 33 specially trained recruits to parachute into Northern Italy, where he was captured, sent to Dachau and murdered by his Nazi captors.

In the wake of the Holocaust, hundreds of thousands of European Jews lived in displaced persons camps with uncertain futures. In violation of the British Mandate's terms, underground Jewish organizations began smuggling immigrants into Palestine in a movement codenamed Aliyah Bet that led to a British blockade that attempted to halt mass illegal immigration. Our letter's recipient, Enzo Sereni's widow, Ada, was instrumental in the Haganah's smuggling of Jews from Italy to Israel, helping to purchase naval vessels and bring immigrants through the blockade. In fact, from 1947-1948, she commanded the entire Italian operation.

"In the course of her work in Italy Sereni demonstrated an admirable power of organization and a gift for speaking to the Italian authorities. These qualities were invaluable both in finding living quarters for the numerous refugees and in organizing their journeys. In all, she helped 28,000 Jews to reach Palestine, in a total of thirty-eight ships that sailed from Italy. After the establishment of the state, Sereni continued to work on immigration, but also engaged in clandestine smuggling of arms from Europe to Israel," ("Ada Ascarelli Sereni," The Encyclopedia of Jewish Women).

Our letter mentions one ship involved in the operation named Enzo Sereni. On January 17, 1946 that vessel with 908 passengers aboard was intercepted by the British Navy. The naval blockade and plight of Jewish refugees eventually became an international scandal when the Exodus 1947 crewed byAmerican Jews and carrying 4,515 passengers was violently boarded by British seamen that led to the deaths of a crewman and two passengers. The remaining passengers were shipped back to France where, after refusing to disembark, were eventually transported to Germany. The forced deportation of Holocaust survivors to camps in Germany caused an international furor and focused the world's attention on the plight of displaced Jews. The 4,500 refugees were later transported to different countries and then Palestine. The last of the original passengers left for Israel (from British internment camps in Cyprus) following British recognition of the state of Israel in January 1949.

Addressed to Sereni at the Kibbutz Giv'at-Brener, which she and her husband had helped found. In fine condition with two file holes in the right margin.

An historic letter.