“This Is the Day We Have Longed For—The State of Israel Has Been Established” – Baricht fun der Keren Kayemet LeYisrael – Tetikeyt far dem Yor 5708 in Österreich (Report of the Jewish National Fund – Activities for the Year 5708 in Austria). Published by the National Bureau of the Jewish National Fund in Austria. Linz-Bindermichl, Tishrei 5709 (1948). A celebratory report issued by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in Austria, summarizing the organization’s activities during 1948 and providing a broad survey of the first crucial months of the State of Israel following its establishment. Illustrated with numerous photographs. Printed in blue ink throughout, with many photographic illustrations. Yiddish. Extremely rare.
A rare and historically significant booklet documenting the activities of the National Bureau of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in Austria during the 5708 working year (1947–1948). It was published in Linz-Bindermichl in Tishrei 5709 (September/October 1948), only a few months after the establishment of the State of Israel, and printed by a local Austrian press for JNF activists and members of the She’erit Ha-Pletah residing in the region’s DP camps. The opening page features a group photograph of the members of the JNF National Executive in Austria, accompanied by the names of the officials pictured, including M. Kestensky, S. Totshnik, Mrs. R. Galnik, K. Moravitchik (who served as Chairman of the National Executive and also signed the introduction to the report), D. Idelson, S. Adlerberg, B. Voraletsher, Z. Eidelstein, and A. Wilk.
“Years of destruction and devastation, of humiliation and degradation. Years of coffins, gas chambers, lime kilns, and medieval suffering; years in which the greatest enemies of the Jewish people sought to destroy us physically and spiritually, so that not even a trace of us would remain… And on our journey home, we were forced to come ashore in the very countries we loathed most and to settle temporarily among the peoples who had brought destruction upon us – among the Germans and the Austrians… Yet we continued, despite every obstacle placed in our path… The achievements and accomplishments of the Jewish National Fund in the camps of Austria, despite the harsh material conditions in which the surviving refugees live, are, as this report clearly demonstrates, sufficient proof that the Jews in the camps bound their fate, in life and in death, to the Jewish State, to the ideal of Jewish independence, and to the establishment of a state of their own. Survivors of the concentration camps, partisans, and ghettos; those who returned from the distant forests of Siberia and the steppes of Kazakhstan; and veteran JNF workers – all joined enthusiastically two years ago in renewing the work of the Jewish National Fund in the camps of Austria, demonstrating through their devotion their ability to inspire the younger generation and educate a new generation. May this report for the year 1948, which we present to the surviving refugees in Austria before the liquidation of the camps and during the period of legal immigration to the Land of our dreams, serve as an inspiration for creative nation-building in our free and independent State of Israel, and, for those who may remain here, even if only for another day, as an encouragement and an impetus to continue their work…” – From the foreword by Kapel Moravitchik, Chairman of the Jewish National Fund in Austria.
The booklet provides a detailed account of the Jewish National Fund’s activities across a broad range of fields. It includes a description of the organizational structure and institutions of the JNF in Austria at the time (“Instanzen”), comprising the National Executive, the central office in Linz, the Audit Committee, the Vienna office, and special JNF committees operating within the DP camps themselves. It also presents a detailed account of the JNF’s efforts on behalf of Jewish refugees and their immigration to the Land of Israel aboard the Exodus and other immigrant ships, its work in handling looted Jewish property, and documents the swift and enthusiastic mobilization of Zionist activists and Holocaust survivors in Austria in support of building the young State of Israel immediately following its declaration of independence. Additional sections describe the JNF’s activities in the DP camps, its programs marking the Jewish festivals in Austria, cultural performances and public events, children’s programs, a list of JNF publications, a breakdown of the Fund’s sources of income, and more.
At the center of the booklet is a large photomontage composed of various JNF certificates distributed in Austria.
The front cover features an impressive blue graphic design incorporating the emblem of the Jewish National Fund together with the flag of Israel flying proudly, alongside the celebratory Hebrew inscriptions “This Is the Day We Have Longed For” and “The State of Israel Has Been Established.” The main title, printed in Yiddish, identifies the publication as the annual report of the Jewish National Fund’s activities in Austria for the year 1948.
Extremely rare. Not recorded in the WorldCat library catalog.
27 pages. Light staining. Good-moderate condition.
