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MEDALS, PINS and MEMORABILIA of the ZIONIST CONGRESSES:
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Palestine(?): 1st Zionist Congress 40th anniversary commemorative delegate's pin, 1937; bronze; not-maker-marked (but possibly made by Kretchmer of Palestine); size: 55.5mm x 15mm; weight: 1.65g.
Scarce, but not to be confused with the rarer original from 1897: this version is based on the original design but differs in the better, stronger quality of its manufacture with thicker planchet and sharper details; unlike the original which has a very delicate double-framed Star of David design, this version has a thick single framed Star; the original has a clear cut mini-star on the top, whereas this version has a round clump around it; the Stars and lion are larger and clearer than on the original.
These pins were distributed at the 1937 20th Zionist Congress (in Zurich), to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first congress, and were affixed to a Hebrew presentation placard which read, "Symbol of the First Zionist Congress 1897, Prepared According to the Original Die".
More pictures: front of pin, reverse of pin, close-up of Zionist emblem
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Item Code: 0130908 Price: €175
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Switzerland(?): 2nd Zionist Congress Praesidium commemorative tallion, 1898; bronze; not maker-marked; size: 28.5mm x 38mm; weight: 8.45g.
The obverse depicts five portraits in circular frames with names underneath, pronounced in Yiddish but transliterated in Hebrew letters: "Dr. Herzl" (center), "Bernard Lazare" (top-right), "Prof. Dr. Mandelstamm" (lower-right), "Dr. Nordoi" (eg. Max Nordau, lower-left), "[Rabbi] Dr. Gaster" (spelled here "Naster", top-left).
On reverse, at center is the original emblem of the Zionist movement, with quotation from the Prophet Yechezkel, "Behold I will take the sons of Israel from among the gentiles and I delivered them to their land"; along the edge, in transliterated Yiddish (spelled in Hebrew letters), "Prasidium dem zweiten kangresem der Zianisten in Basel. 10-12 Elul 5658. 28-30 August 1898."
The second Zionist Congress, like the first, was held at the Stadtkasino in Basel; Herzl (1860-1904) was President of the Congress, Chief-Rabbi Moses Gaster (1856-1939), Max Mandelstamm (1838-1912) and Max Nordau (1849-1923) were vice-presidents; Bernard Lazare (1865-1903) was a distinguished participant at the Congress.
Oddly, the protocols of the Congress (p. 12) don't describe a "praesidium" and Lazare is not singled out as holding a special position in the Congress: unlike the three vice-presidents, whose biographies speak for themselves, Lazare in Zionist history became in time relatively obscure. He was a contemporary of Herzl's, a journalist as well, who championed the innocence of Captain Dreyfus as well as attacking the vices of anti-Semitism and assimilation, but held socialist-anarchist beliefs which at times conflicted with his support of the aims of the Zionist movement. At the first and second Congresses he was a popular guest and speaker, even considered a close confidante of Herzl's, but shortly after the 2nd Congress he parted ways with the movement calling its goals "bourgeois". The 2nd Congress was also the first time the socialist movement participated in the Zionist movement's proceedings. In AU-UNC.
More pictures: obverse of tallion, reverse of tallion
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Item Code: 0130909 Price: €850
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France: 2nd Zionist Congress commemoration medal (1898), in struck bronze; by Samuel Friedrich Beer (Paris); 63mm, 110.75g: depicts an allegorical figure pointing to a new dawn/horizon for the Jewish people on obverse, and Biblical quotation (in stylized Hebrew), a prophecy, from the Book of Ezekiel (Yekhezkel) "Behold and I take the sons of Israel from among the nations and I have brought them to their land".
The official organ of the Zionist movement at that time - 'Die Welt', Herzl's own paper - described the motif of the medal thus:
"On a large, peaceful landscape bordering on the seashore, at a well, shaded by a very old tree of Southern type, there rests a Jewish family composed of father, mother and three children, with eyes turned upon the ocean, where the sun is mirrored in myriads of waves. The father, in the prime of life, leans on his travel-staff, the tragic symbol of the lot of his race on earth. The mother nurses the infant at her breast. A little child is seated on the floor; an older boy, stronger and determined, stands erect and already holds the travel-staff in his hand, which is to become the symbol of his destiny, as it is that of his father.
A supernatural vision appears to these exhausted and aimless wanderers; it is the personification of the Jewish ideal--the ideal of Zionism. Her left hand she lays on the shoulder of the father and points with her right hand in the distance to that land across the sea where he shall secure at last a home. Her expression is full of sympathy and love. Her arm and the movement of the hand illustrate destiny. The father gazes with a heart overwhelmed with emotion at the golden hope of the future which this genius has awakened in his soul. He resolves at once to follow his guide.
The mother, half doubtful and half relying, grasps the strong hand of her husband,--she is the typical Jewish wife, that loyally speaks to her husband: 'I follow thee to the end of the world; where thou art there is my home; thy destiny is mine.' The little child is only curious, it does not comprehend yet the great event that is happening before his eyes.
Not so the boy. The 'Arba Kanfoth'--the religious 'garb of fringes'--on his naked breast, teaches him symbolically that his race will eventually be 'gathered from the four corners of the earth.' He turns, therefore, with keen earnestness and profound determination to the destiny foretold by the heraldress, drinking in her words and impressed by her sympathetic features; he is ready to go with her, no matter what sacrifices this may require, what battles he will have to wage, nor in what struggles to endure."
Beer (1846-1912) was a well known Jewish sculptor and medallist, and a personal friend of Herzl's; it was during conversation between them while Beer was rendering a bust of Herzl, in 1894, that Herzl got his inspiration to write the play "New Ghetto".
Perhaps because of the importance of the procedings and decisions reached at the Zionist Congresses, particularly the first ones, Friedenberg considers this medal to be "one of the most important Jewish medals ever struck".
The 2nd Zionist Congress took place between 28-31 August, 1898 under the chairmanship of Herzl, in Basle, and among its chief decisions was the establishment of the Jewish Colonial Trust bank for the financial development of Palestine and the creation of the colonization commission.
The obverse design of Beer's was also featured on the 2nd Zionist Congress's delegate's pin, as a round bronze-colored miniature centered within a filled-in gilt-colored Star of David (ref: David Baron, "The Ancient Scripture and the Modern Jew", pg. 230) - meaning, the design does not post-date the time of the Congress (as is sometimes implied by medallic literature). In AU-UNC with some traces of original luster; a catalogue number is pencilled on the reverse ("4144"); GJPM-17 and JMM-60.
More pictures: front of medal, reverse of medal, detail of Beer's mark
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Item Code: 0130253 Price: €1100
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Czechoslovakia: 13th Zionist Congress delegate's pin, (1923); bronze(?) and enamel; not maker marked; size: 19.5mm; weight: 3.45g.
Hexigonal shaped pin with gilded Star of David in center with Hebrew letters abbreviating "The 13th Zionist Congress" (the number "13" is composed of the Hebrew letters "Yud" and "Gimmel"), and white and blue borders around. The reverse has a hinged safety pin; the pin may have been made in Czechoslovakia (as locally made design work in Palestine would have been prominently marked so).
The 13th Zionist Congress took place in Karlsbad under the chairmanship of Nachum Sokolov in August 1923. The key issue at the Congress was a debate over the expansion of the "Zionist Executive" in accordance with the authority granted to the Jewish community in Palestine (the "Yishuv") to be represented by a "Jewish agency" which would cooperate and advise the mandatory government there. One of the proposals to include non-Zionists in such an agency was debated by rejected.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130924 Price: €135
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Austria: 14th Zionist Congress delegate's pin, 1925; bronze and enamel; by M. Hammer of Vienna; size: 28mm; weight: 6g.
Round emblem with stylized Hebrew letters "Yud" and "Daled" whose numerical values are "14", with legend in Hebrew around edge, "The 14th Zionist Congress Vienna 5685"; pieces of the enamel are missing. On reverse the soldiered pin is broken off; manufacturer's mark is visible.
The 14th Zionist Congress took place in Vienna in the second half of August 1925 under the chairmanship of Nahum Sokolov, during the 4th "Aliya" (immigration wave to Palestine), which was fuelled less by ideology and more by exigency: most of the immigrants came from the economy weak Eastern Europe and Poland, and the United States imposed severe immigration restrictions.
This immigration was was characterized by the import of financial means and individual businesses/economic resources into Palestine: the Congress debated the merits and vices of realizing the establishment of a Jewish national home through private enterprise rather than socialist labor (which characterized the three previous immigration waves). This was also the first Congress attended by the [right-wing] Revisionists, who demanded a more proactive policy by the Zionist movement.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130920 Price: €100
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Israel/Palestine: 20th Zionist Congress delegate's pin, (1937); nickel(?); manufactured by M[oshe] Moro of Jerusalem; size: 19.5mm x 22.5mm; weight: 5g.
Square shield shaped pin depicting the official emblem of the congress (a Hebrew letter "Kaf" whose numerical value is "20"), with Star of David in right corner and Hebrew legend above "The Zionist Congress". On reverse, a safety pin and Moro's mark.
The 20th Zionist Congress took place in Zurich throughout most of August 1937, under the leadership of Menachem Ussishkin (the head of the Jewish National Fund): against the backdrop of the 1936-39 Arab Revolt in Palestine, it debated the position of the Zionist movement with regard to the 1936 Peel Commission's study to establish the practicality of dividing Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states - Ussishkin's faction was opposed, though the faction represented by Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion supported such a partition. In the end, the Congress rejected specific borders recommended by the Commission but permitted its executive to negotiate over them.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin, Chaim Weizmann (center) wearing the delegate's pin on his lapel
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Item Code: 0130925 Price: €70
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Israel/Palestine: 21st Zionist Congress delegate's pin, (1939); bronze; not maker-marked but probably by Moro of Jerusalem; size: 13.25mm x 45mm; weight: 3.35g.
The pin is in a profile of raised hand with two upheld fingers, drawn from a base with the Hebrew letters "Kaf" and "Alef" (for "21") and below, the quotation from the Bible, "If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem". On reverse is a soldiered pin, and stamped "Yerushalem" (in Hebrew) with "Palestine" in English below.
The 21st Zionist Congress took place in Geneva single days before the outbreak of the Second World War under the chairmanship of Menachem Ussishkin, and against the backdrop of two critical decisions by the British government - the cancellation of the Peel Commission's recommendations to partition Palestine by the Woodhead Commission, and the May 1939 'White Paper' which limited Jewish immigration to Palestine to 75,000 over a space of five years. Another critical development during the Congress was the news that Germany and the Soviet Union entered into an alliance - a development which shocked and depressed the mood of the Congress.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130923 Price: €70
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Israel: 23rd Zionist Congress pin, (1951); bronze; not maker-marked; size: 28.5mm; weight: 3.15g.
Hollow-backed badge with safety pin on reverse, with stylized but generic emblem of the Congress - a Menorah - flanked by the Hebrew letters "Kaf" and "Gimmel" (for "23") and the legend in Hebrew around edge, "The Zionist Congress Jerusalem".
The 23rd Zionist Congress was only the second one held after the Second World War, and also the first ever held in Israel, in August 1951. To commemorate the accomplishment of the Congress's original aim (the "Basel program" - the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel by political means), the Congress opened at the site of Herzl's grave in Jerusalem (his body was interred there in 1949). The Congress therefore focused on the new goals of the Zionist movement in light of Israel's establishment and also called upon the Israeli parliament (the "Knesset") to recognize the World Zionist Organization as the representative body of all Jews in matters related to the connection between diaspora Jewry and the Jewish State.
Pins from this Congress and the next exist as both hollow-backed and solid versions: given the novelty of the Congresses being held then in Israel it may be that the hollow-backed types were more widely available, either as souvenirs to the public or for wear by Congress behind-the-scenes staffers and assistants.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130922 Price: €18
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Israel: 24th Zionist Congress tallion, (1956); nickel(?); not maker-marked, but may be by Kretchmer; size: 28.5mm x 33mm; weight: 12.45g.
Uniface tallion bearing similar design to that of the 23rd Congress - a stylized Menorah flanked by the Hebrew letters whose numerical value is "24" and the legend "The Zionist Congress Jerusalem".
The 24th Zionist Congress was held in Jerusalem between April-May 1956, under the chairmanship of Nahum Goldman - the Congress had lacked a chairman since Chaim Weizmann resigned in 1946, and it took place against an atmosphere of military insecurity around Israel's borders. The Congress discussed matters of immigration to Israel and immigrant absorption, settlements and fundraising; a proposal to eliminate party divisions within the Zionist movement and instead have regional representation was rejected.
Congress emblems from this period are found as hollow-back and solid backed pins (or tallions); given the relative expense of the solid-backed emblems (particularly then, during the period of austerity - the "Tzena"), it's possible that these solid-backed badges were issued to actual delegates of the Congress.
More pictures: obverse of tallion, reverse of tallion
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Item Code: 0130921 Price: €35
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MEDALS, PINS and EXONUMIA of ZIONIST INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS and ERETZ ISRAEL COLONIES:
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Jewish National Fund ("Keren Kayemet LeIsrael) medal: with palm tree, 8 Stars of David (one larger than the rest, with rays) and legend "Keren Kayemet LeIsrael" on obverse, and 7-branch Menorah, sword and Star of David surmounted by the legend "From the East I shall Gather Your Seeds, From the West I Shall Gather You" on reverse (from the Prophet Yeshayahu / Isaiah, Chapter 43, verse 5: "Fear not for I am with you; from the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you").
The Prophet Yeshayahu is most closely identified with the movement for the redeption of the Promised Land by the Jewish People, and given the land-purchasing objectives of the JNF-KKL, this quotation is appropriate for the medal.
Although not catalogued, the medal's design looks most similar to the Eretz-Israel "Bezalel School" of design, and is probably made in Palestine. The Bezalel academy of art was founded by the Zionist Congress of 1905 and established in 1906 under Professor Boris Schatz (the court sculptor to the King of Bulgaria); the JNF was founded in 1902, and so this medal probably dates to the period 1906-1909 - just before the founding of the neighborhood which would become Tel Aviv (and thence a physical symbol of Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel). Weight: 7.35g.
More pictures: front of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0120077 Price: €100
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Austria/Germany(?): 'Keren HaYesod' calendar medal in German, 1937; cupro-nickle, size: 40mm, weight: 17.55g, in EF-AU (with a few toning stains): featuring business- and Hebrew-dated (5697-5698) calendars on observe and reverse with the dates of major holiday's (named in Hebrew); with Biblical fruit motifs and a (Zionist) laborer; "Keren HaYesod" ("United Israel Appeal") appears above the Menorah on the obverse.
Intricately designed in a style strikingly similar to J. Prinz on Austrian calendar medals, and may actually be his work: though the text below "Apr-Juli" on obverse is unclear, from some of the visible letters it may be "MUNZAMTWIEN" (Vienna Mint) as on other Prinz pieces.
The Keren HaYesod was founded in 1920 as the official fundraising arm of the World Zionist Organization and of the Jewish community in Palestine (the "Yishuv"). The funds raised by the Appeal paid for immigrant absorption, security and settlement in Palestine, and underwrote the foundations of the kibbutz and moshav settlement movements as well as the development of land, water sources and public works.
As this medal comes from the period of the Arab Revolt (1936-39), the Jewish "notrut" self-defense movement and the "tower and stockade" settlement initiative, this token may have been issued in exchange for a donation to the Keren HaYesod; the Jewish New Years ("Rosh HaShana") is traditionally a day of fund-raising in Jewish communities.
The concept of "calendar medals" is common in Austria and Germany and many such non-Judaic medals existed in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Rare, coming from Austria-Germany of the late-1930's and particularly so if minted by the Viennese mint just months before Austria's annexation by Germany in March 1938. That noted, if from Germany, it may have been produced with the approval of the Reich authorities during a blurry period of anti-Jewish but pro-Zionist/emigration policy, which promoted Jewish emigration to Palestine (rather than extermination or expulsion); JTM-EP-38.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal, detail of manufacturer's/artist's name
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Item Code: 0130009 Price: €100
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Chile: 20th anniversary commemorative medal of the Zionist Federation ("Federación Sionista de Chile"), 1939; struck in aluminum/alloy; maker-marked "JP"; size (medal only): 28mm; weight: 9.8g.
Obverse bears a Star of David at center, with Spanish legend above and below "XX Aniversario" and "Fed. Sionista de Chile".
Reverse bears a raised hand drawn out of a Hebrew letter "Kaf" (which means "20" when used as a digit; the 20th Zionist Congress of 1937 used the letter "Kaf" as well in its emblem) with Hebrew legend below "If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem" and the dates "1919 1939" above; minter/marker's mark is at base, near edge.
The obverse of the medal may be a reused planchet as traces of the design can still be seen, though upside down. This example has a horizontal rosette device at the base of the wreath; another variety with a different maker's mark has a horizontal rosette device instead - perhaps two different engravers who knew how to design Hebrew letters.
Zionist activity in Chile increased after the First World War party because of Jewish immigration caused by the Russian revolution and also because of the Balfour Declaration (of 1917): by 1919 a "Congress of Chilean Jewry" of representatives from 13 cities convened in order to centralize the Jewish community, and here the "Federacion Sionista de Chile" was established and became the main organization of Chilean Jewry.
In VF-EF; seldomly encountered with a ribbon.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal, detail of obverse, detail of reverse
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Item Code: 0130965 Price: €175
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Great Britain: English Zionist Federation commemorative medal for King Edward VII coronation, 1902; aluminum; by R. Neal; size: 41mm; weight: 11.15g.
Obverse depicts 'the children of Israel' gazing forth at the Promised Land, with a sun-device bearing the word "Zion" above, and Hebrew legend at top, "And there is hope for your descendents [to return to the Promised Land]" (from the Book of Jeremiah - the reference is to G-d's reply to Rachel's plea to end the foreseen exile of the Jews, eg. before the time of Moses).
On reverse, co-joined busts of Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII; the legend in transliterated English into Hebrew (and the Hebrew) reads "Edward the Seventh King and Emperor, and Queen Alexandra the Almighty [abbreviated for "Yirom Hodu"] in His Days and in Ours Will Judea be Saved".
Medallic strike, thick planchet. The bust is maker-marked "R. N"; it is unclear whether Neal designed both the obverse and reverse, and Forrer doesn't list him at all, crediting instead J.A. Restall of Birmingham with a 1902 double busted coronation medal which may at least be this reverse (Forrer vol5 pg. 94).
The combination of the themes in this medal is not coincidental: the English Zionist Federation was founded in 1899 (after the 3rd Zionist Congress; the next Congress was held in London), to help strengthen the cause of the Zionist movement. At this 3rd Congress Theodore Herzl reported on his meetings with German Kaiser Wilhelm II the previous year during the latter's visit to Jerusalem - they produced no practical result as the Kaiser refused to commit himself to backing a Jewish homeland in Palestine and thereby press the Turks for concessions to that end.
The appeal in this medal appears to be from a different position: an approach by British Zionists towards their new King. Edward VII was a monarch favorably disposed towards the Jews, his successful household finances being managed by several of them - the Rothschild's, Maurice de Hirsch and Ernest Cassel. In VF-EF, with luster.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal, detail of maker's/designer's initials
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Item Code: 0130915 Price: €400
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Israel/Palestine/Austria: celluloid pin of "HeHalutz" Zionist movement, circa. 1910's/early 1920's; iron and cellulite; not maker-marked (Shmuel Kretchmer?); size: 21.75mm; weight: 2.15g.
Simple pin with miniature representation of an idyllic labor-Zionist design by Shmuel Kretchmer (a pupil of the Bezalel School of design).
Kretchmer established a long-standing design, printing and medal minting firm in 1913 which serviced the requests of the Zionist movement and later, of the pre-State Israeli authorities and finally the Israeli Government, producing many famous designs; between the world wars he relocated his factory from Jerusalem to Vienna, and it may be that this pin was made abroad (in Austria).
The "Halutz" ("Pioneer") Zionist movement began in the early 1880s as an amorphous twin to the also amorphous religious-secular "Chovevei Zion" movement of Eastern Europe, which promoted "practical Zionism" - immigration to Palestine and an establishment of a Jewish national home through cultivation of the land.
The sister "Halutz" organization was a youth-oriented movement which trained future immigrants in Hebrew, Zionism and agriculture, while still in Europe, to prepare them for their work in Palestine. The "Halutz" movement became an organized body in 1905, under Eliezer Yaffe, in the United States; it established the "World Halutz Congress" in 1921, and continued to expand and develop in Europe and Russia up through to the Holocaust. A remarkable momento from an important foreunner of the modern Zionist movement.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130949 Price: €100
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Israel/Palestine: Zionist affiliation enamelled pin, circa. 1918-1920's; bronze and enamel; not maker-marked; size: 11.5mm x 53.5mm; weight: 1.4g.
Star of David shaped pin in blue enamel with bronze and gilt, bearing the word "Zion" in metal at center. Has a curved prong back which supports a simple metal pin.
Although the Zionist movement from its first days in 1896 actively promoted the use of promotional devices to advance interest in the movement and its agenda, devices such as this, particularly with the word Zion on them, became extremely popular in Palestine after the end of Turkish rule at the end of the First World War: buildings and doors also featured such emblems incorporating the Star of David and the word Zion, and were sported without reference to any specific political affiliation.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130953 Price: €135
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Israel/Palestine: Jewish Agency member's pin, circa. 1930's; silvered bronze and enamel; no makers-mark; size: 17.75mm x 55.5mm; weight: 2.7g.
Round pin with Hebrew letters for "S" and "Y" - "Sochnut Yehudit" (Jewish Agency) alongside a portion of Palestine; soldiered pin on back.
The "Jewish Agency for Palestine" succeeded an earlier body called the "Zionist Executive", and served as both the executive arm of the World Zionist Organization as well as a quasi-government of the Jewish state-in-the-making in Palestine (the "Yishuv").
The Agency was founded at the 16th Zionist Congress in 1929 and empowered according to the 1920 terms of the San Remo conference which granted Britain a mandate over Palestine, with a "Jewish agency" to coordinate policy with the mandatory government.
With the agreement of Zionist representatives from 26 countries, the Agency was officially established (1929) to tackle the growing needs of the Jewish community in Palestine and abroad: to raise more funds for the development of the local community as well as to assist Jews with immigration to Palestine.
In the 1930's and '40s the Agency actively pursued policies to establish more settlements in Palestine, enable Jews - "legally" and "illegally" - to reach Palestine and escape persecution, raise funds and forces for police and self-defence, and laid out political and economic plans for the future establishment of Israel - when independence was declared (1948), it was done so by the Jewish Agency.
The "derring-do" character of the Agency, together with its natural importance and influence was such that for many years then and since the phrase "Agency man" ("Ish Sochnut") meant "member of the Jewish Agency", and carried with it much import, implying power - the ability to get things carried out, or at least to influence their execution.
Although the Jewish Agency had representations abroad, as the emblem is only in Hebrew, it was probably only used in Palestine; in the 1940's, representations abroad bore emblems with the Agency's name in English (or in English letters - "JAFP").
Of note: the map only shows the territory west of the Jordan River: in 1922 the British split "Trans-Jordan" out of the Palestine Mandate, effectively turning into a separate entity of its own (eg. not part of a future Jewish state); only in rightwing (Zionist-Revisionist) circles would one expect to see a map of "Greater Palestine", including Trans-Jordan - the Jewish Agency was led mostly by Labor-Zionists.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130926 Price: €235
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Russia/Palestine: Rishon LeZion Jewish settlement token, circa. late 19th Century (1889?); copper; possibly maker-maked "J" or Hebrew "Lamed"; size: 28.5mm x 33.5mm.
Obverse depicts scene of rolling orchard and fields, with homes in background; in exergue, Hebrew date of "5642" (1882); around the upper edge the legend in Hebrew "The first to Zion ['Rishon LeZion'] here they are, and to Jerusalem a portent I shall give" (Yeshayahu, chapter 41), and along the bottom edge, "Colonia Rishon LeZion".
On reverse an image of twin peaked windows, on left one depicting prayers at the Western Wall, and on right an image of a seed sower; above a Star of David, and above both windows the Hebrew, "Who will deliver from Zion the salvation of Israel:" (from the book 'Tehilim'/Psalms, 14); around the upper edge, the legend "If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem, May My Right Hand Forget its Cunning".
The possible makers-mark appears in the rough "surface" area just outside the bottom of the right-hand 'window'.
The Jewish settlement of Rishon LeZion was founded as a "moshava" - an agricultural community with private ownership of the land - by a group of Russian Zionists called the "Yesod HaMa'alah ['source of elevation'] Pioneers Committee" in 1882; difficult conditions, lack of agricultural skills and political infighting hindered the development of the settlement and already in 1883 the pionneers approached Edmund Rothschild for financial assistance.
By 1887 the settlement was being underwritten by Rothschild, but it was also developing: the "Carmel" winery was established there in 1886 and the Great Synagogue was inaugurated in 1889. Today Rishon LeZion is Israel's fourth-largest and fastest growing city.
The images of orderly landscapes, of labor and prayer on this tallion suggest that it was made some time around the establishment of the Great Synagogue - either in 1889 to commemorate the event itself, or around 1892, when the settlement was 10 years old.
There are some indications that the medal was manufactured abroad, probably in Russia: the uneven spacing of the Hebrew letters, particularly on the lower obverse, suggest that the designer did not know the language; the letter "Yud" appears as a hyphen; the date also bears the double-apostrophe over the wrong letter. Another indication is the use of the non-Hebrew word "Colonia" in place of something in Hebrew like "moshava" or "yishuv": the word "colonia" was used particularly in Russia to refer to the then new phenomenon of Jewish villages of privately-owned land, established in the south of that country in the late 19th Century.
Rishon LeZion has the distinction of being the 'first to Zion' on a number of interesting accomplishments: the Israeli flag and the flag emblem used by the Zionist movement before the establishment of the State was first flown there in 1885 (on the occasion of the settlement's 3rd anniversary); the precursor to the Jewish National Fund, the "Keren Kayemet Ha Rishona Le Zion" was established there (1889); the first Hebrew school (1887), Hebrew kindergarden (1898) and Hebrew orchestra (1895) in Palestine were also founded there.
In UNC (small spot of oxidation), with original luster; almost proof-like in appearance - very scarce in this grade.
More pictures: obverse of token, reverse of token, detail of manufacturer's/artist's name, possible manufacturer's/artist's name (with more light)
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Item Code: 0130913 Price: €400
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Russia/Palestine: Rishon LeZion Jewish settlement token, circa. late 19th Century (1889?); copper; not maker-marked; size: 22.75mm x 25.25mm.
A smaller version of the tallion item 0130913: obverse depicts scene of rolling orchard and fields, with homes in background; in exergue, Hebrew date of "5642" (1882); around the upper edge the legend in Hebrew "The first to Zion ['Rishon LeZion'] here they are, and to Jerusalem a portent I shall give" (Yeshayahu, chapter 41), and along the bottom edge, "Colonia Rishon LeZion".
On reverse an image of twin peaked windows, on left one depicting prayers at the Western Wall, and on right an image of a seed sower; above a Star of David, and above both windows the Hebrew, "Who will deliver from Zion the salvation of Israel:" (from the book 'Tehilim'/Psalms, 14); around the upper edge, the legend "If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem, May My Right Hand Forget its Cunning".
Though the design is identical to the larger type tallion, there are a few differences in the engraving: here there is no sign of a maker's mark; the date still has the double-apostrophe incorrectly over the second-to-last letter and now the second letter of the date is incorrectly the letter "Hey" instead of "Tav" (or a very oddly designed "Tav"); the word "Mi" ("Mi Yiten...") is incorrectly spelled with a "Vav" and in general instances of the letter "Mem" appear to be awkwardly constructed from a "Nun" and a "Yud" letter.
One improvement over the larger tallion is that the letter "Yud" here is correctly designed. Overall a very nice token with clear detail; VF. For more information on the token and its origins see the description for item 0130913. Scarcer than the larger (29mm) version of this tallion.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0130912 Price: €175
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Russia/Palestine: Rishon LeZion settlement/Theodore Herzl commemorative token, circa. 1898; copper; possibly maker-marked "J" (on rim); size: 26mm x 32.25mm; weight: 6.8g.
The obverse of this token is a mixture of tha hallmarks found between the larger and smaller original (circa. 1889-1892) versions of this tallion, specifically in connection to lettering design and spacing (see items 0130913 and 0130912 for more details).
The reverse here features a left-facing portrait of Herzl, with his name "Dr. Theodore Herzl" along the left edge, and a Hebrew excerpt of a quotation from the Prophet Yeshayahu (chapter 62, verse 1), "For the sake of Zion I will not be silent [and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, until her righteousness comes out like brilliance and her salvation burns like a torch]" - here, the (non-Jewish?) engraver appears to have accidentally written the Hebrew word "Lema'an" ("for the sake of") with the letter "tzadi" rather than "ayin".
Although this token is not catalogued, it most probably dates to the period immediately after his visit to Rishon LeZion in October 1898. In the framework of his activity to gain political acceptance of a Jewish state in Palestine, Herzl approached leaders of key foreign powers to enlist their support.
Herzl's mission to Palestine in October 1898 was both an opportunity to gain familiarity with the desired homeland as well as a scheduled chance to meet with the Kaiser of Germany who had close ties with the Sultan of Turkey which controlled Palestine. Herzl's mission however was low-key - he travelled with a small circle of just four associates (Max Bodenheimer, David Wolfsohn, Reuven Schnirer and Yosef Zeidner) and his visit to Palestine was deliberately unannounced.
Nevertheless, his arrival was met with excitement and pride in spite of the lack of preparations to greet him; he reached Rishon LeZion (26 October) after visiting the agricultural school at Mikveh Israel, and stayed overnight, visiting with winery, the house of Rothschild's official, and being entertained by Rishon LeZion's symphony orchestra.
The degree of excitement was summed up by the winery's director, David Yudilovich (from his diary entry for 26 October): "5pm... And here approached me a fellow countryman, one of the founders of [the settlement of] Rosh Pina, and he too was part of the approaching coterie, and presents: Dr. Herzl. It was as if I froze, I was seized by trembling and fear. A tremor passed through my body. I didn't know what to do with myself. The whole group entered the large hall. And I stand and am astonished: Herzl is in Eretz Israel?! Herzl is here?! Herzl is here?! And in the official's [of Rothschild] house?!..."
Foreign historiography then and since tended to dismiss the importance of Herzl's visit and underscore the lack of success in enlisting the Kaiser's support, however Herzl's visit rallied the Jewish community in Palestine and the Kaiser, meeting Herzl now for a second time, was quite interested in the Zionist movement, even saying that it contained a "healthy ideology" though he could not give it public backing without the Turkish Sultan supporting it first. In F-VF.
More pictures: obverse of token, reverse of token, detail of possible manufacturer's/artist's name
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Item Code: 0130911 Price: €500
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Russia/Palestine: Zionist-religious tallion, circa. late 19th Century; white metal; maker-marked "Cahamovsky"(?); size (whole tallion): 17mm x 74mm; weight: 3.4g.
Round medallion with ornate upper and lower flourishes, and tallions attached above and below; the possible makers-name "Cahamovsky" appears on the bar on obverse, separating the image from the exergue. On obverse an image of laborers in the field, doing agricultural work, with four different excerpts of Jewish prayer and study: on the upper edge, the excerpt, "Bear a standard towards Zion, dare and do not stand [idly, for tragedy I bring from the north and great destruction]" (from the Prophet Jeremiah/Yirmiyahu, chapter 4); on the lower edge, the excerpt, "And G-d's redeemed will return and will come to Zion with gladness [and never-ending happiness over them, joy and happiness will they gain and grief and groans will they escape]" (from the Prophet Yeshayahu, chapter 35) - interestingly the word "come" here has been rendered in the future tense on the medal, whereas in the original it is always in the present tense; above the image, near the rising sun, an excerpt from Yeshayahu chapter 60 (an inverted form is also found in the Friday evening psalm 'Lekha Dodi'), "Rise up and fill with light, thus comes forth your light [and the honor of G-d shines upon you]"; below, in exergue the excerpt from Amos, chapter 9, "[Here come the days, addressed the Lord,] and the harvester shall approach the grove and tread upon the grapes which extend from the seed...".
On reverse an image of Jews praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, within a Star of David, with except along the upper edge, "If I forget Thee O Jerusalem may my Right Hand forget its Cunning", and below a quotation from King David, "Because Your servants longed for her [Jerusalem's] stones and her earth to treat kindly".
The tallion's content bears the hallmarks of the first 'Aliya' (immigration wave to Palestine, 1860-1905), which was motivated by a combination of religious and secular desire to settle in the Holyland and subsist from manual labor, developing the land, and may be related to the "Chovevei Tzion" ('Lovers of Zion') movement.
A few details connect the tallion to the movement and to the then-developing communities of Rishon LeZion and Ness Tziona: the obverse physical layout (with dividing bar between the image and exergue) is very similar to then contemporary medallions made in Russia to commemorate the new Jewish settlement in Palestine of Rishon LeZion; similar to the name of the possible tallion maker, there are records of a Cahanovsky (Yanovsky) family which was active in the Chovevei Tzion movement and emigrated from Russia to Rishon LeTzion in the early 1920's (Hillel Isser Yanovsky, 1874-1944 and his brother, a famous Hebrew religious literacist, Shmuel Nahum Cahanovsky, 1856-1926) - it is not unusual to spot spelling mistakes in the Hebrew on tokens of this era, as in the possible case of "Cahanovsky" and "Cahamovsky".
The obverse quotation "Bear a standard towards Zion..." ("Seu Ness Tziona") may also have been deliberately chosen: the town of Ness Tziona (like that of Rishon LeZion), was founded in 1882 by members of Chovevei Zion, though it was initially called Nahalat Reuven and Wadi Khanin before being renamed Ness Ziona in 1891 - the city's motto is this same excerpt of Jeremiah. The city of Rishon LeZion uses as its motto another Biblical quotation (from the Prophet Yeshayahu), and in the division of 'credit' for establishing modern Israel's first communities, Rishon LeZion's establishment is generally credited both to its pioneers, the "Yesod HaMaalah Pioneer's Committee" and to the benevolence of the Baron Edmund Rothschild, while credit is given to Chovevei Zion for establishing Ness Ziona (and the settlement of Gedera to the 'Bilu' movement).
More pictures: obverse of tallion, reverse of tallion, detail of obverse, detail of reverse, detail of possible manufacturer's/artist's name
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Item Code: 0130914 Price: €500
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MEMORABILIA COMMEMORATING THEORDORE HERZL and KEY ZIONIST LEADERS and FIGURES:
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Palestine: Jewish religious-Zionist amulet/pendant, 1920,; made in white metal, possibly silver; no maker marks, though a design very reminiscent of the Bezalel School; weight: 2.45g; size: 25.25mm.
On obverse Hebrew legend on 3 lines + date "The Right of Jerusalem will Protect You 5680 [1920]" ("Jerusalem" is spelled "Yerushalem" in Hebrew, as opposed to "Yerushalayim" - the practise of that time), below is the phrase "Year of Redeption", with wreath devices on left and right of edge with Star of David at top.
On reverse a Star of David with the word "Shadday" ("G-d") in center, surrounded by ornate floral frame. Milled rim.
Probably made as a token to commemorate the appointment of Herbert Samuel as the High Commissioner for Palestine, in 1920: the appointment of Samuel, a Jew, so soon after the Balfour Declaration (1917) was seen by the Jewish community in Palestine and particularly in religious Jerusalem as a tiding quite literally like the coming of the Messiah (ref: interviews with eye-witnesses in "Pillar of Fire", eg. p.84-85).
His appointment over newly liberated Palestine (from Ottoman Turkey) was seen as the opening stages of the redemption of the Promised Land, and many momento tokens and sourvenirs were made at the time to commemorate his arrival.
In EF-AU with some surface dirt; what appears to be wear on the highest details may be poor original detail due to the manufacture. Seldomly enountered and when so, usually seen with a hole on the top of the token.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0130619 Price: SOLD
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Romania: Theodore Herzl death commemoration token, circa. 1904; cast in gilded bronze(?); by O(?) Negreanu; size: 30.25mm x 34.75mm; weight: 8.65g.
Obverse depicts left-facing bust of Herzl with his name, year of birth and date of passing, and Biblical except in Hebrew below, "If I forget thee O Jerusalem may my right hand forget its cunning". The letter "Mem" at the end of the words is oddly designed out of the letter "Pay".
On reverse, a biblical image looking forth (at Palestine); immediately above and below are the names of two of Herzl's works, "[Der] Juden Staat" ("The Jewish State"), punctuated by a 'Zion' emblem, and "Altneuland" ("Old-New Land"). Around the upper and lower edges are quotations of Herzl's: "The Jews should be Jews and Remain Jews" and "If you will it it is no fairytale".
The same person who helped put Herzl in touch with the German Kaiser six years earlier, the Anglican German clergyman William Henry Hechler, was also present at Herzl's bedside at his final hours (when he died of pneumonia), and recorded some of his last words: "Deliver my greetings of peace to the Holyland. Tell her that I gave my heart's blood for the sake of my people".
The curious connection to Romania (vis. the medallist) may be due to the city of Focşani, where in 1881 the First Congress of all Zionist Unions in Romania for the promotion of settlement in Eretz Israel (Palestine) was held, and marked in a formal sense the beginning of the 1st Aliya (first Jewish immigration wave to Palestine). Although it pre-dated Herzl's involvement in Zionism, his later involvement in the movement - and the instant identification of his image with the movement as a whole - was seen as an extension of this original foundation. In VF.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0130910 Price: €400
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Israel/Palestine: Menachem Ussishkin 70th Birthday commemorative tallion, 1933; silvered bronze(?); no maker-mark; size: 16.5mm x 27mm; weight: 3.95g.
Uniface shield-shaped tallion depicts left facing profile of Ussishkin with Hebrew legend above, "Menachem Ussishkin Redeemer of the [Jezreel] Valley".
Ussishkin was a contemporary of Herzl's and almost a forerunner of his: an early proponent of Jewish immigration to Palestine, a member of the Chovevei Tzion movement, a bold and dynamic figure in the Zionist Congresses, and a strong advocate of Hebrew and colonization in Palestine. He was elected chairman of the land purchasing body, the Jewish National Fund ("Keren Kayemet Le Israel"), in 1923 - a position which he held until his death (1941).
A tall and imposing figure, he is closely associated with (almost synonymous with) the JNF and its bold land purchasing transactions, which enabled the Jewish community in Palestine to cultivate vast areas of the region (including the celebrated Jezreel Valley), particularly in light of restrictions imposed by the Mandatory authorities on the sale of land to Jews.
More pictures: obverse of tallion, reverse of tallion
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Item Code: 0130928 Price: €70
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Israel/Palestine: 3rd Aliya era comemorative pin of three key figures of the Zionist movement, Trumpeldor, Brenner and Gordon, circa. 1921/early 1920's; iron body; not maker-marked; size: 24mm; weight: 1.9g.
The pin is a three piece unit consisting of the safety-pin on reverse and and an iron backing fastened to the iron frame, around a photo-montage image consisting of miniatures of famous photographs of the individuals.
The pin commemorates 3 figures who all passed away between the years 1920-1922, and were already in their time legends to the local Jewish community in Palestine and abroad; their legacies are summed up by the devices below them - a shield (military), a book (literature), and a pick (labor/agriculture), and they all inspired particularly the new immigrants who arrived in a 3rd wave known as the "3rd Aliya" (characterized by ideology, frugality and manual labor in Palestine).
Joseph Trumpeldor (1880-1920) was a Jewish military hero of the Czarist Army (gaining fame during the Russo-Japanese War), the highest ranking Jewish officer in that army, and founder of the Zion Mule Corps (1915); dedicated to Jewish welfare, Jewish self-defence and non-partisan labor in Palestine (ref: the "Halutz" movement), who was killed defending the settlement of Kfar Giladi in 1920. Aharon David Gordon (known popularly as just "A.D.Gordon"; 1856-1922) was a religiously educated man with a weak body, who nevertheless understook strenuous manual labor in Palestine, and through his religious-ideological personality inspired others to devote themselves to the "religion of work" in Palestine. Yosef Haim Brenner (1881-1921) was a contemporary pioneer of Hebrew literature, both translating foreign works like Dostoevsky and Tolstoy into Hebrew, as well as writing ideological tracts promoting labor-Zionism in the language; he was killed in the Arab riots in Jaffo in 1921.
A unique momento from a period of scarcity and austerity, ideology and little industrial activity.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130950 Price: €250
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Israel/Palestine/United States: Yitzhak Leib Peretz commemorative celluloid pin, circa. 1915-1920s; probably made in US or Canada; size: 22.5mm; weight: 1.5g.
Pin depicts photo image of Peretz, his name (popularly known as "I.L.Peretz") and his dates of birth and death (from right to left, as in Hebrew).
Peretz was a popular writer of prose and song in Yiddish and Hebrew in his time, a highly regarded figure of the "Haskala" movement who championed both the Hasidic religious as well as Jewish socialist movement. Although he did not live in Palestine, his works were well regarded here. Over 100,000 people attended his funeral in 1915.
More pictures: front of pin, back of pin
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Item Code: 0130952 Price: €50
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Israel/Palestine: Yitzhak Leib Peretz commemorative celluloid pin, circa. mid-late 1920s; maker-marked "KA-ER"; size: 18.25mm x 52.25mm; weight: 1.1g.
Pin depicts photo image of Peretz, his name (popularly known as "Y.L.Peretz") - a popular writer of prose and song in Yiddish and Hebrew in his time, and highly regarded figure of the "Haskala" movement who championed both the Hasidic religious as well as Jewish socialist movement. Although he did not live in Palestine, his works were well regarded here.
Unlike a similar item (0130952), this pin of Peretz may be a local manufacture, as the maker's name "ka-er" has significance in Hebrew, and means "concavity" or "syncline". This kind of usage of standard Hebrew words for a trademark business name was popular in the early days of the "Yishuv"; the use of non-Hebrew letters suggests it was made during the 4th Aliya (immigration wave) of 1924-1930, when many East European Jews immigrated to Palestine out of necessity and less out of Zionism, but nevertheless established and expanded the local industry (including light industries such as pin manufacturing).
More pictures: front of pin, back of pin
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Item Code: 0130948 Price: €70
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Israel/Palestine/United States: Zeev Jabotinsky commemorative celluloid pin, circa. 1940's/1960's; probably made in the US or Canada; size: 22.5mm; weight: 1.5g.
Jabotinsky was a key figure among the ideological formulators of the Zionism, and championed in particular the notion of Jewish self-defence, self-determination through armed force and the establishment of a Jewish State within "Greater Israel" ("Revisionist Zionism").
This pin may either date from the period of his death (1940), when he died in the United States (hence the English on the pin and the black frame), or even from 1964 when his body was interred in Israel - an event which generated much public interest.
More pictures: front of pin, back of pin
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Item Code: 0130951 Price: €50
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Israel/Palestine: Henrietta Szold commemorative pin, circa. 1945; silver(?), but unmarked; designed by "A.G."; size: 14.75mm x 20.25mm; weight: 3.05g.
Rectangular pin bearing left facing profile of Szold with her first initial and last name in Hebrew and dates of her birth and death below (1860-1945); designer's initials in Hebrew in exergue; safety pin in loop, on reverse.
Szold was key figure of the Zionist movement, involved in many welfare and literary fields: she founded the womens' health and education oriented "Hadassah" organization, served as chief editor of the Jewish Publication Society of America, established the first nurses school in Palestine, and stood at the head of the "Youth Aliya" ("Aliyat HaNoar") movement, which helped Jewish youth flee Europe and gave them vocational training in Palestine.
An unusually well-made momento, not often seen then or since in the realm of Israeli commemorative items - probably a testament to Szold's great stature. In VF.
More pictures: front of pin, back of pin
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Item Code: 0130947 Price: €100
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ZIONIST and ISRAELI POLITICAL MEMORABILIA - PARTIES, MOVEMENTS & GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS:
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Betar: 1st Betar World Congress in Jerusalem pin, circa. 1950; in gold gilded tin(?); no maker mark; weight: 2.2g; size: 25.5mm. Depicts image of the Tower of David in the Old City of Jerusalem with miniature image of the Betar emblem, with legend around edge "Betar World Congress Jerusalem" with the Hebrew letter "vav" stylized into the number "1".
This was the first international assembly of the revisionist Zionist movement in Jerusalem after the establishment of the State.
More pictures: front of emblem, reverse of emblem
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Item Code: 0130129 Price: €35
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Betar: movement emblem badge, circa. 1960's; no maker mark; weight: 4.75g; size: 24.5mm x 28.5mm. Obverse depicts the movement's emblem; reverse is two-pronged.
Betar is a revisionist-Zionist youth movement formed in 1923 by Zeev Jabotinsky and its name is a short form of "Brit Trumpeldor" in honor of Joseph Trumpeldor, Jabotinsky's close friend. The movement had several different emblems; this one was adopted by the Betar congress in Warsaw in 1929 and became the main emblem of the whole movement internationally.
More pictures: front of badge, reverse of badge, reverse of badge at angle
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Item Code: 0130130 Price: €35
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Israel/Palestine: "Agudat Israel" Haredi Jewish-Zionist party 3rd congress ("Knessiah Gdolah") Shekel token, 1937; brass; no maker-mark; size: 33.75mm; weight: 12.35g.
Obverse depicts stylized Hebrew letters "Kaf" and "Gimmel" (for "Knessiah Gdola") above the word "Sela" (a reference to an ancient coin denomination of the Shekel), between two palm trees and the name "Agudat Yisrael" below.
On reverse a map of Palestine with rays emitting forth, with the Kaf-Gimmel emblem above 4 lines of text: "The Third Great Assembly in Jerusalem 5697". Medallic rotation.
Agudat Israel is an ultra-Orthodox Jewish organization originally founded in Kattowicz in 1912, whose purpose is to solve present-day issues and conflicts in among the Jewish people in the spirit of the Torah and good deeds ("Mitzvot"). The movement is led by a "Council of Great Torah Sages", and before the Holocaust it even had parliamentary representations in Poland and Lithuania; since Israel's establishment the movement has been variously represented but most closely identified with the "United Torah Judaism" faction ("Degel HaTorah"). The movement treads a careful political line between support for Zionism and promotion of religious practice over secular (eg. secular-Zionist) social norms.
The 'Great Assemblies' of the movement are international conferences of the movement's members, which began in 1923 - and to date there have been just 6. The 3rd assembly from 1937 took place in mid-August, against a backdrop of the Great Arab Revolt (1936-39) and the Peel Commission (which explored the possibility of dividing Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states), and among its key decisions was a position against ceding any portion of Palestine.
The decision of the Assembly like the modernist design of this token shouldn't be taken for granted: Agudat Israel could easily have been a staunchly anti-Zionist religious movement then and since were it not for Jewish Palestine's first modern political murder - of Aguda's spokesman, Yaakov Israel de Haan, in 1924. Ideological similarities and security threats of the period brought the movement closer to Zionism, and the modernist style of the token, the use of a "Shekel" device (like at the Zionist Congresses) underscores that closeness. Like the Zionist movement's "Shekel" voucher, this token was probably also issued in exchange for a donation. In VF-EF; JTM-EP1.
More pictures: obverse of token, reverse of token
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Item Code: 0130917 Price: €175
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Israel/Palestine: 50th anniversary of Bilu movement and establishment of Kfar Bilu settlement, commemorative pin, 1932; bronze; not maker-marked; size: 28mm; weight: 2g.
Thin, stamped pin depicts stylized image of three Zionist "haluztim" (pioneers) in an agricultural setting, with shining sun and stylized letters for "Bilu" in Hebrew below; Hebrew dates ("5642 - 5692") in exergue below. Slight traces of light blue paint which was originally part of the design.
On reverse, a simple soldiered pin. This pin has double significance, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Bilu movement and also the foundation of the settlement (1932) names after the movement, Kfar Bilu.
The Bilu Zionist movement was a surprisingly small and possibly inconsequential movement in size, but it, together with a similar contemporary movement from Romania, called "Chovevei Zion", represented the first attempts to immigrate to Palestine for the specific purpose of Jewish colonization and establishment of a permanent Jewish presence there.
Fifteen years later, these aspirations would culminate at Theodore Herzl's first Zionist Congress, as a political movement to establish a Jewish State in Palestine.
The Bilu movement is so named from an abbreviation of a Biblical tract "House of Jacob, let us go up". The group was founded in 1882 in Kharkov, and numbered initially around 50 members: they emigrated to Palestine (1882) for the sole purpose of working the land and establishing a communal settlement (goals which later inspired the Kibbutz and labor-Zionist movements).
Enduring much hardship they eventually helped establish the settlement of Rishon Lezion (a Chovevei Zion settlement), and then their own settlement of Gedera. Their frugal lifestyle, emphasis on agriculture and communal living inspired the future development of the Zionist movement far beyond Bilu's own small numbers.
The movement was commemorated within the framework of a 1930 decision by the Jewish Agency for Palestine to expand Jewish settlement in the area of Rehovot and cultivate lands purchased by the Jewish National Fund, and in 1932, on the 50th anniversary of the Bilu movement, the settlement of Kfar Bilu was founded - this pin commemorates both occasions.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130933 Price: €275
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PRE-STATE ISRAEL ("YISHUV") OFFICIAL EXONUMIA:
The following 4 items all relate to the same period in Israeli history and so are accompanied by a similar preface
Between the years 1938 and 1948 the Jewish community in Eretz Israel / Palestine (the "Yishuv") instituted a mechanism by which to raise funds for self-defense, and this initiative operated between 1938-1939 under the name "Kofer Ha'Yishuv" (sometimes translated too directly as the "People's Ransom Fund" and so perhaps it's more accurate to refer to it as the "Community Levy").
Unlike other forms of fundraising by the Yishuv, the "Kofer" was not a voluntary charity but an actual levy imposed on the Jewish residents of Palestine: although the British Mandatory government did impose compulsory taxes, these were relatively light and insufficient for the provision of various services to the Mandate's residents. Until the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939, the Jewish community had raised supplemental funds for areas like education through the issuance of vouchers called "Shekels" - donors who gave money received a "Shekel" token which entitled them to participate in elections to the Yishuv's various bodies.
The intensity of the Arab Revolt led to the inception of the "Tower and Stockade" ("Khoma u'Migdal" in Hebrew) settlement movement whereby barricaded Jewish agricultural settlements were created literally with wooden walls and a stockade, for additional protection; the Mandatory government also approved the foundation of special Jewish constabulary services. The constables, known initially as "Supernumary Police" and later as the "Special Police", the "Jewish Settlement Police", the "Special Night Squads" (of Orde Wingate) and even the "Palmach" shock companies formed the core of what came to be known in Hebrew as "Notrim" ("Constables") - or, as a cultural-military movement, the "Notrut".
With funds for these settlements and armed branches lacking, the Yishuv instituted the "Kofer ha'Yishuv". In this framework taxes were levied on imports, entertainment events, on drinks at coffee shops - and even as imposed contributions during key Jewish holidays. Evaders faced "honor courts" and the movement as a whole generated a culture of its own with slogans, jingles and informative booklets. In this context, residents were encouraged to donate items of precious metals, under the framework of an initiative called "Matat Takhshitim" ("giving of jewelry"), in exchange for which they would receive a 'token' in return - a ring, a pin, a document. In this regard there were men and women who even donated their wedding rings and so in exchange the Kofer fund gave male and female token rings in return, with the words "Kofer ha'Yishuv" stamped on them.
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Kofer ha'Yishuv "Matat Tachshitim" silver pin: pin issued to those who contributed jewelry or articles of precious metals (a special initiative called "Matat Tachshitim" in Hebrew) in the framework of the "Community Levy" ("Kofer ha'Yishuv") in support of self-defence within the Jewish community ("Yishuv") in Palestine. The pin was designed by M. Moro of Jerusalem (stamped on the reverse) and depicts a "Tower and Stockade" ("Choma u'Migdal" in Hebrew) settlement surmounted by the legend "Kofer ha'Yishuv Matat Tachshitim for the Year 1938-1939"; with soldiered safety-pin reverse; weight: 3.65 grams. Very rare.
More pictures: front of pin, back of pin with maker's mark, back of pin, at angle, back of pin, measured
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Item Code: 0120036 Price: €275
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Eretz Israel 'Noter' (Hebrew Constable) "Meguyas" recruitment pin: metal pin issued to new recruits to one of the branches of the Jewish Supplementary Police (known collectively in Hebrew as the "Notrut"), 1936-1939. The pin features an image of a "Tower and Stockade" settlement with the Hebrew word "Meguyas" ("recruited") underneath, and a numbered label on the reverse (probably the recruit's issued number); the badge back is a simple soldiered pin; weight: 1.75 grams.
The "Notrut" movement was the first time the British Mandatory authorities approved a legal armed Jewish force in Palestine (after 1921), and it had multiple branches shared between the Palestine Police and later the British Army. The "notrim" (Hebrew Constables) were formed into the "Supplementary Police", the "Jewish Settlement Police", the "Special Police", "Auxiliary Police" and numerous transporation and plant protection forces, eventually numbering 22,000 in the early part of 1939. Clothed with Palestine Police uniforms and 'Kolpak' and 'bush' hats, the "notrut" became also a cultural movement which embodied the image of the "new" Hebrew man; the "notrut" movement eventually formed the core of the future Israeli Army.
More pictures: front of pin, back of pin, back of pin, at angle, Noter pin, measured, the 'Noter' Gershon Ben-Tzvi, 1938 (sporting a 'kolpak' hat)
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Item Code: 0120028 Price: €175
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Kofer ha'Yishuv "Matat Tachshitim" pin in bronze, 1938-39: issued to those who contributed jewelry (of non-precious metal) during a special initiative called "Matat Tachshitim" (in Hebrew; "Giving of Jewelry") within the framework of an overall movement called the "Community Levy" ("Kofer ha'Yishuv").
The Levy was a fundraising effort which supported self-defence within the Jewish community ("Yishuv") of Palestine. The pin was designed by M. Moro of Jerusalem and depicts a "Tower and Stockade" ("Choma u'Migdal" in Hebrew) settlement surmounted by the legend "Kofer ha'Yishuv Matat Tachshitim for the Year 1938-1939"; with soldiered safety-pin reverse; weight: 0.8 grams.
Metal tokens - rings and pins - from this movement are very rare: of this pin type, its silver counterpart (for jewelry made of precious metals) is the more familiar one; this bronze version is less well known.
More pictures: front of pin, front of pin (more light), back of pin at angle, back of pin at angle
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Item Code: 0120066 Price: €275
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