A letter in the handwriting of Rabbi Arye Levin to the president Zalman Shazar – a request to pardon the leader of ...

A letter in the handwriting of Rabbi Arye Levin to the president Zalman Shazar – a request to pardon the leader of the group that was accused of killing Kastner, 1962. Historical letter!
Yisrael (Rudolf) Kastner (1906-1957) was a Jew of Hungarian origin, a senior clerk at the Trade and Labor Ministry and a candidate of the Mapai Party for the second Knesset. In 1953, Kastner was accused by a member of the Mizrachi Movement, Malkiel Gruenwald, of collaboration with the Nazis in the extermination of the Hungarian Jews during World War II and of concealing the fact that the Hungarian Jews were about to be exterminated in order to save about 1,700 'distinguished' Jews, his friends and relatives among them, who were allowed to leave Budapest for Switzerland and of assisting the Nazi criminal Kurt Becher by attesting in his favor during the Nuremberg Trials.
Kastner sued Gruenwald for libel. The attorney Shmuel Tamir, a member of the Etzel and the Herut Party, defended Gruenwald. The judge in the trial was Binyamin Ha'Levi. In June 1955, Judge Ha'Levi ruled that Gruenwald's accusations regarding Kastner's collaboration with the Nazis have been proven and that "Kastner had sold his soul to the devil". Kastner's supporters claimed that he was actually a hero, who despite all the objective risks and emotional hardships involved in being in touch with people such as Eichmann, Kastner had done his best to save as many Jews as possible.
The trial itself was conceived as an accusation of the national parties against Mapai, whose representative in Budapest had been Kastner. Therefore, the government decided to appeal to the Supreme Court. On 28.6.1955, the Herut Movement filed a no-confidence motion against the government due its handling of the affair, which brought to the government's collapse.
On 7.3.1957, Kastner was shot and died from his wounds. In January, the Supreme Court ruled that Kastner had not collaborated with the Nazis. The ruling noted that under certain circumstances, a leader should hides information from the public.
The General Security Services found out that the murder was committed by former Lehi fighters. The initiator and organizer was Yosef Menkes. He, the driver Dan Shemer and the shooter Ze'ev Eckstein were judged and sentenced to many years in prison. After several years, they were pardoned by president Shazar.
The letter before us contains a unique revelation. It turns out that President Shazar received a long and personal appeal from Rabbi Arye Levin to pardon Menkes. It seems that this appeal was highly significant.
The matter of the pardon is shrouded in fog. Was it only a humanitarian matter considering the mothers and children? Was it questioning the conviction in light of the special circumstances? In the letter, Rabbi Levin might hint at such a possibility: "to be the savior of the prisoner … even if he is guilty". This is interesting material for those studying the affair.
The letter is composed of two parts. The first contains congratulations to Shazar for being appointed "President of Israel in the Land of Israel". The words demonstrate Rabbi Levin's respect to the State of Israel and its president.
The second part is the request for pardoning Menkes. It turns out that Rabbi Levin was most active in the request for the pardon. He tells Shazar that he has already appealed in the matter to Prime-Minister Ben-Gurion and to the President Ben-Zvi. The latter, however, died before signing the pardon and now the matter is laid before Shazar. He appeals to Shazar in a respective yet most clear manner: "And now, Mr. President, it is your duty to be the savior…"
The complete letter is written in Rabbi Levin's pearly handwriting. At the end of the first part, there are two signatures in his handwriting, one in square script and the other in his regular handwriting. At the end of the second part there is an additional signature. All in all, three signatures.
A historical document, most rare! Another such long letter of Rabbi Levin is unknown!
Condition: Very good.