Farewell letter sent by David Ben-Gurion to outgoing Chief of Staff Mordechai Maklef – December 6, 1953

Farewell letter sent by David Ben-Gurion to outgoing Chief of Staff Mordechai Maklef – December 6, 1953

A moving farewell letter sent by David Ben-Gurion to outgoing Chief of Staff Mordechai Maklef on the occasion of his discharge from the IDF – typewritten on official Prime Minister’s letterhead and signed in Ben-Gurion’s own hand. Jerusalem, 29 Kislev 5714, December 6, 1953.

In his letter, Ben-Gurion writes: “To the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mordechai Maklef. It is with deep regret that I part from you today, even before my own departure from the Israel Defense Forces. I owe you a profound personal debt of gratitude, for having obeyed me despite your own will and inclination and accepted upon yourself to serve for at least one year as Chief of the General Staff. Yet this gratitude is but a small part of the debt that the entire nation owes you for your blessed service over the past seventeen years, since you were a sixteen-year-old youth: in the Haganah, in the Jewish Brigade during the World War, in the rescue of the surviving remnant of European Jewry and Aliyah Bet, and again in the Haganah and finally, in the Israel Defense Forces, from battalion commander to Chief of the General Staff…”.

Ben-Gurion continues, detailing Maklef’s public service and contributions—his role as a young volunteer in the Jewish Battalions, his service in the Jewish Brigade, his position as HISH battalion commander in Haifa in 1947 and during the War of Independence: “As commander of the city sector, you had the privilege of playing a decisive role in the liberation of the country’s main port city during the final battle between the Haganah and the Arab gangs in April 1948,” his part in Operation Hiram and the battles for the liberation of the western Galilee, and finally his role in building the IDF during the early years of the state, when he served as assistant and senior partner to Chief of Staff Yigael Yadin. Ben-Gurion concludes on a personal note: “And I am deeply, deeply saddened by this parting, ” and blesses him: “May you succeed in all your future endeavors, as you have succeeded until now, and may you be a blessing to the State of Israel.

With appreciation and affection,

D. Ben-Gurion"

Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.”

Mordechai Maklef, the third Chief of Staff of the IDF, served from 1952 to 1953, appointed by Ben-Gurion. Known as a determined, quiet, and efficient leader, he was professionally and personally close to Ben-Gurion, who admired his intelligence and modest, direct approach. Under Maklef’s command, the IDF began taking shape as a structured and organized regular army, with the foundations for long-term planning laid. Despite his brief tenure, his close cooperation with Ben-Gurion made a significant contribution to the early development of the Israeli military.

4 pages. 28 cm. Filing holes. Good condition.