A letter from Churchill to Ben Gurion
On my recent visit to Tel Aviv I paid my usual visit to Ben Gurion's Museum which was created from his original modest home and contains many artefacts, photos and letters that he received while he was in office as Prime Minister during the sixties.
As you will probably know by now, I have always held Churchill in high esteem and I was therefore interested to see the above letter that he had sent to Ben Gurion.
Despite the "NO PHOTOS" notice above the glass case in which it was displayed, the friendly curator of the museum gave me special permission to take the photo once I had explained my special interest.
posted by Ron Goldstein at 9:32 am
9 Comments:
Ron -
Interesting letter in which Churchill admits his humility in that all of his writings were not best sellers ! Another indication of how great a man he was.
His courtesy could use a return to normaity to-day, with his sincere wishes for the task ahead for the Prime Minister, and they were great tasks indeed, still not fully accomplished.
I note that you have not lost your powers of persuasion in "conning' the guard that it wasn't really a camera you had in your hand !
Ron -
I undestand that both you and Nita were impressed with the number of books in Prime Minister Ben Gurian's house - can you elaborate on that for us ?
Well I am very impressed with this posting Ron. Firstly, because it links two important figures of the 20th Century: David Ben Gurion and Winston S. Churchill. Secondly, because you have got round the 'No Photographs' rule by using your tactful powers of persuasion to get the story. Well done on both counts, Ron!
I have visited Tel Aviv twice for day visits while on holiday in the area, but I did not get to see this Museum, Ron. There were quite a few places with a 'No Photos', for various reasons.
One of the occasions I was in Israel was to run the Tiberias / Sea of Galilee Marathon. The day before the race two Scandinavian runners decided they would go sightseeing and I took some photos of some old tanks from I think the 1948 War, which was fine. I think they then went on a little further and took photos of soldiers and tanks going up to the Golan Heights - without permission. I heard they had some hard explaining to do.
Fortunately, with the help of the Race Organisers it was clear it was all a misunderstanding by these two runners. But, I don't think they had the best preparation for running a Marathon.
Of course there was the more recent case of the Plane Spotters in Athens, Greece. Again, this was all a misunderstanding, but it must have been a hard time for the people involved.
Sorry if I have gone slightly off your story Ron. You did the right thing by getting permission and I bet they were more than happy to oblige you. Hope you and your dear lady had a nice holiday!
Tom
To elaborate;
As I had mentioned, the house was very small and modest by international standards and to therefore see three complete rooms set aside for wall to wall books really gave one the measure of the man.
Frank
Thanks for filling in the bio of Ben Gurion, there is no doubt that he was one of the 20th century "Greats"
As for you, young Joe
If there is to be a next time for your visit to Israel please let me know and I will be happy to 'mark your card' for you. In the meantime I will e-mail you some snaps of the museum
To conclude....
This quote I found via GOOGLE says it all.
"Ben Gurion's home in the center of Tel Aviv has also been turned into a museum.
The modest digs are impressive because they show the simple way the country's most powerful politician lived. Besides a collection of awards and gifts assembled in the house, his awesome library of 20,000 volumes remains intact, filling much of the upper floor of the house and testifying to the man's thirst for knowledge"
I have been to the Ben Gurion house-museum but have never seen anyone really researching the material (and thus fulfilling the requirement in the will). I am so glad you found interesting stuff :) Thanks for the link
Hels
Art and Architecture, mainly
Hey all
I'm writing a final paper of Ben Guryon, and I need info about the architecture and design of his house in Tel Aviv, and info that connects the man to the house(why Tel Aviv for example...)
It's really hard to find info about it online.
Any help will be appreciated.
10x
EMAIL:shay.lustig@gmail.com
Have you checked all the available info on Bahaus architecture? Tel Aviv was built following the style of architecture that German architects favoured then.
It is unique and at the time represented modernity, for a new nation.
Why Tel Aviv? This new city was built by the sea, it was meant to be the state capital, as Jerusalem was tricky to hold on to, and so much was already at stake there. Check this site to know more about his choices:
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=97726372
I have also been to Tel Aviv, although just outside the Ben Gurion house. He later went to the Negev.
Another possibility for information about Ben Gurion could be to write to the Israeli Tourist Office explaining what you are interested in. They should be able to put you in the right direction.
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