Proclamation of the Reform rabbis of the United States against the Balfour Declaration which proclaimed "The Establishment of a National Home for the Jewish Nation in Palestine." Chicago, 1918. Rare. Not found in the National Library.

Specifications: [1] leaf, paper. 14x21 cm.

Content of the Resolution: The Conference expresses its appreciation for the good will toward the Jews expressed by the Balfour Declaration. They are in favor of Jews being able to immigrate to Palestine, as well as anywhere else, and to enjoy equality in political, civil and religious rights. Nevertheless, they oppose the declaration that "Palestine is to be a national homeland for the Jewish people." In its opinion, Judaism is a religion, not a nationality: the Jews are not a nation without a land, but rather belong to any place in which they live, and as such they should be considered. Jews, like the members of any other religion, are entitled to live and assert their message anywhere in the world. Jews in America are part of the American nation, and they have no need for a "national home" in the Land of Israel. The current ideal of the Jew, as they define it, is not the establishment of a Jewish state or to renew the antiquated idea of the revival of the Jewish nation. The survival of Judaism depends on its historic religious role to witness [the existence of] G-d, and not in receiving the Palestine as a homeland for the Jewish people.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (The CCAR) was founded in 1889, and is the largest and most long-standing organization of Reform rabbis in America.

Condition: Excellent.

Yearbook in honor of the grade finishing the Jewish high school in Chicago, Ill. Chicago, 1929.

Specifications: 63 pages, paper. 25 cm.

Unique Features: The original works of 24 graduates of the second year of the "Jewish Academy" in Chicago, providing a glimpse into the inner world of Jewish Zionist students in America in the late 1930's. The works contain articles [such as: Antisemitism in America, Dr. Theodore Herzl, the Hebrew language], "Stories, poems and descriptions" and "Parperaot." Pictures of the graduating class are on page 6, the names of the graduates and a short description of their characters are on page 56, and information on the school and its activities is on page 57. The booklet is decorated with many illustrations and several photographs.

Condition: Fine. Aging stains, detached binding cover with a slight tear.

Volume One of the Protocols: The State of Israel - Moetzet Ha'Am. Meetings 1-4 ... The Provisional State Council. Meetings 1-21. Tel Aviv, 1948.

Specifications: 8, 26, [2], 23, [1], 20, 35, [1], 48, 46, [2], 30, 16, 18, [2], 15, [1], 15, [1], 23, [1], 40, 43, [1], 28, 23, [1], 29, [3], 48, 32, 43, [1], 43, [1], 32 pages. Paper. 23 cm.

Unique Features: Fascinating primary historical documentation of the discussions in the Moetzet Ha'Am and the Provisional State Council of the new State (May 4, 1948-September 27, 1948), during which the challenges of the time are discussed - declaration of the establishment of the State, the War of Independence, the state of emergency in the country, the "Altalena" case and more - and the frameworks and principles of the governmental bodies are established: elections for the president of the State, the Order of Government Ordinance, the Courts Ordinance, discussions about the flag and the symbol of the State, transferring responsibility for education to the government and more.

Includes minutes of the special meeting which was convened the day after the Altalena tragedy, a tempestuous meeting in which Ben Gurion argued with several ministers, and the proposal to establish an investigatory committee to discuss the matter was dismissed.

Condition: Moderate-fine. Aging stains. Loose binding without a spine.

Kol Yaakov [Our Right to the Western Wall]: Unser Recht auf die Klagemauer, by Rabbi Dr. Avraham Y. Merik. Czernowitz, 1928.

Specifications: 14 pages, paper. 12x19 cm. German with expressions quoted in Hebrew. Title in Hebrew and German.

Unique Features: The booklet quotes the rabbi's words from his speech on October 31, 1928. The background to his words was the British and Arab harassment of Jews praying at the Western Wall in those years. About a month before the speech was delivered, the "Kotel Affair" broke out: On Yom Kippur 1928, armed British policemen entered the area of the Western Wall, destroyed the screen which served as a partition between men and women, and removed the benches on which the worshippers sat. The Mufti Haj Amin incited against the Jews and intensified the situation. As a result of protests from the Jews in Israel and worldwide regarding the harrassment and the insult to the worshippers, the British established the "commission to determine the rights and claims under dispute of the Muslims and the Jews at the Western Wall." The British authorities eventually determined that the Western Wall alleyway belongs to the Arabs but that the Jews have the right to pray there.

Background: Rabbi Dr. Avraham Yaakov Mark [1884-1941], studied Torah with his grandfather, Rabbi Ephraim of Jagielnica and with Rabbi Mordechai Pohorila. He was ordained by Rabbi Binyamin Weiss, and served as Av Beit Din of Ustrzyki when he was only 20 years old. Served as the Chief Rabbi of Czernowitz and the Jews of Bucovina from 1926 onward. Active in Austria and Romania and well known throughout the Jewish world. He was murdered by the Nazis in the massacre of the Jews of Czernowitz.

Condition: Fine-very fine, a few stains, fold mark.