A printed letter on Ben-Gurion's official letterhead, signed in his handwriting, regarding "The Lavon Affair".
In the letter Ben-Gurion addresses colleagues from Degania after one of the members – Deborah, read out a letter addressed to Ben-Gurion asking him "not to destroy the state" in his demand to correct the wrongdoing of his colleagues in 1960 when they issued an "unjust verdict" regarding the "Lavon Affair" of 1954. He adds that Deborah's words are based on ignorance of the facts on which his demand to correct the injustice of the Committee of Seven's ruling was founded.
Background: Following a series of operations by Israeli cells in Egypt masquerading as Egyptian terrorist cells, which led to their capture and execution by Egypt – an affair known as the "Lavon Affair", Israel for many years dealt with the question of who gave the order for the operation. In 1960 the government under Ben-Gurion appointed a committee of seven ministers – the "Committee of Seven" with representatives from all coalition parties. The committee determined that Pinchas Lavon was not the one who gave the order, and did not even know about the operation in Egypt. Ben-Gurion did not accept their conclusions (this is referenced in his letter: "the wrongdoing committed by my colleagues in 1960 when they issued an unjust verdict regarding the "Lavon Affair" of 1954") and demanded Lavon's dismissal and the appointment of a "judicial committee" to investigate the matter. Lavon was dismissed from his role as Histadrut Secretary General, and Ben-Gurion faced public criticism over this conduct, eventually leading also to his resignation as Prime Minister. In 1965 Ben-Gurion decided to establish Rafi (Reshimat Poalei Yisrael - Israel Workers List), and many of his supporters including Shimon Peres and Moshe Dayan followed him, leading to Ben-Gurion's expulsion from Mapai by the party court, together with some of his supporters. This letter was written to colleagues from Degania, to whom Ben-Gurion also sought to clarify his position, even though they were not part of the leadership at that time.
[1] leaf, 28x22 cm. Filing holes. Good condition.
