Typed Letter Signed by Chaim Weizmann, London: 9 June 1936

1 leaf (9 7/8 x 8 5/8 in.; 250 x 220 mm). On embossed stationery. Creased at folds, starting. French mat, facing a halftone portrait. Housed in a tan morocco portfolio, paneled and lettered gilt.

 

A signed letter from Chaim Weizmann (1874–1952), scientist, statesman, Zionist Leader and future first president of the State of Israel, to Lionel George Archer Cust, British diplomat and former aide de camp and personal secretary  to Sir Herbert Samuel, High Commissioner for Palestine. Cust was the author of one of several partition schemes presented to the Peel Commission. His particular formulation called for two cantons, one Jewish and one Arab with a mandate area in Haifa and Jerusalem, forming a federation headed by the mandatory government. The Jewish canton was to have been a narrow coastal strip running from Gaza to Akko plus parts of the Jezreel and Hula valleys. In this letter, Weizmann politely objects to Cust’s formulation and corrects him on the matter of the cost for maintaining British troops in Palestine. This letter corroborates the important role played by Weizmann during this crucial period in the history of the Land of Israel.

LITERATURE:
Letters and Papers of Chaim Weizmann, Series A, Oxford Univ Press: London, 1968-1985 vol. 17 ed. Yemima Rosenthal.  p.262