We are presenting the letters of Bob Jacobs, a young man from Brooklyn who wrote to his parents during his first-time visit to Israel in the summer of 1957. He was 22 years old when he wrote these letters during his forty day ZOA sponsored trip to Israel. During that time, he managed to tour almost the entire country. In his first day touring he described Israel as a “storybook dream coming true”.

The letters give the reader a description of Israel in its early days of statehood from the point of view of a young American on his first visit to Israel. As you read the letters you can feel the deep impressions each experience in Israel had on him. The trip was life-changing, solidifying his connection to Israel and the Jewish people. From that point on, his life was one of love and dedication for Israel.

1957 was only nine years after Israel won her statehood. The young state was still recovering from a bloody War of Independence in 1948 which took a toll of 6,000 casualties, one percent of its population. Moreover, the Jewish People were still licking their wounds from the horrors of the Holocaust only a few years prior to the establishment of the State. It was a time when Israel was absorbing a massive wave of immigrants flowing in from every corner of the earth. These were the years of austerity, insecure borders, and hostile neighbors.

In these thirty-eight letters hand written on El Al stationary and Israeli aerograms, we get a fascinating look and deep appreciation for the achievements of the developing state during those early years. At that time, the most widely used medium of communication were letters. A primitive and limited telephone system did exist – even
for international calls – however it was difficult and time consuming to access, as well as being very expensive. No “Whatsapp”, “Instagram” or emailing at that time.

Though the letters are very informal in their style, one can notice that the author is a stickler for detail. Already in the first letter written while on his flight to Israel, he writes on the letterhead the number of the aircraft. This attention to detail is apparent in his astute observations concerning the situation in Israel back in 1957.

Besides including the original letters, we have taken select quotes from the letters as they pertain to specific topics in order to compare the Israel of 1957 to the Israel of today. Many of the changes are quite dramatic. For example, in 1957, Jerusalem was a divided city, with the Kotel under Arab control, as Bob writes: “This afternoon, mass services are held at Mt. Zion overlooking the Wailing Wall. What a pity it’s not in our hands.” On the other hand, some things haven’t changed much: “if you think New York traffic is bad and the drivers are nasty, try driving over here. It is the worst madhouse you have ever seen.”