Letter from the Jews of Peki'in to the Directors of the Anglo-Palestine Bank, 1910

Handwritten letter from the Jews of the village of Peki'in to the directors of the Anglo-Palestine Bank. Heshvan 5671 (1910). Hebrew.
In the letter, the Jewish settlers of Peki'in request aid in acquiring land plots around the village and tell of the grim situation of the Jewish settlement in Peki'in, saying that many settlers have left the country.
"We, the Jews of the village of Peki'in, the last survivors of the rural settlements in which our brethren formerly resided from time immemorial, turn to you today… to be our mouthpiece and represent our impoverished, failing community. You should know, our brothers and honorable ministers, representatives of the national bank, that just thirty years ago most of the lands of this village belonged to Jews, and it is only due to the heavy taxes imposed then by the government on our land and produce that nearly all our lands here passed into the hands of strangers… and therefore, since then and until today, our settlement has grown ever smaller and many of us have strayed abroad, for they have no land to sow at all… we thus turn to you now with a request, honored directors, that you attempt to purchase for us land here around the village, in a manner which will be proper to both sides, us and the bank…"
The letter is hand-signed by representatives of the Jewish families in Peki'in, including the Zinati family [according to family tradition, the Zinati family has resided in Peki'in for two thousand years. Margalit Zinati, born in Peki'in in 1931, is today the only Jewish person to live in the village], the Oudi family, the Mizrachi family, the Toma family and others. The letter is also signed with the "Stamp of the Holy Community of Land Laborers in the Village of Peki'in near the Holy City of Safed".
[1] leaf, folded in half (written on both sides), 29 cm. Good condition. Folding marks and creases, stains, some tiny tears, filing holes (with damage to text).
Provenance: Shlomo Shva collection.