Letter Handwritten and Signed by Lehi Founder Avraham Stern ("Yair") – Florence, 1934 – "Eventually, everywhere we ...

Letter Handwritten and Signed by Lehi Founder Avraham Stern ("Yair") – Florence, 1934 – "Eventually, everywhere we feel like guests at most, yet in Palestine we are landlords"
A letter handwritten and signed by Avraham Stern ("Yair"), addressed to Mordechai Morzyński. Florence, April 1934.
The letter was written when Stern was studying in Florence, Italy, several weeks before abandoning his academic career, dedicating himself entirely to underground activity and engaging in purchasing and smuggling weapons to Palestine. The letter is written on a personal note and reflects the great importance Stern attributed to Palestine and its Jewish settlement. Stern writes: " I am in one of the best exiles in the world. Anti-Semitism here is nowhere to be found and yet, you too surely must feel and know that there is no place in the world that can compare to our country in the sense of freedom. Eventually everywhere we feel like guests at most, yet in Palestine we are landlords. I think you will be happy to see when you arrive at Palestine how everything has progressed during the last two years. I hope you will find a job there and feel good […] I hope we can meet there finally although I am not so sure it will happen as quickly as my parents believe" (Hebrew). The letter is signed: "Yours affectionately, A. Stern, Memkeh" (Memkeh was one of Stern's nicknames coined by his friends and relatives).
Avraham Stern ("Yair") was a Jewish resistance fighter, founder of the Fighters for the Freedom of Israel Organization (the Lehi). Stern was born in Suwałki in 1907 and in his youth showed various artistic talents – painting, acting, writing and singing (Stern even dreamed of becoming an actor at the "Habima" Theater). In 1925, he immigrated to Palestine, started studying literature at the Hebrew University and at the same time, took his first steps as a resistance fighter, first in the "Haganah" and later in the breakaway organization "Haganah B" – the first stage of the Irgun. In 1933, he traveled to Florence to complete his doctoral thesis; however, after a personal meeting with the commander of the Irgun, Avraham Tehomi, he decided to abandon his studies and dedicate himself entirely to underground activity. His membership in the Irgun ended in 1940, subsequent to its decision to lay down its arms and stop all hostilities against the British. Stern split from the Irgun, published a manifesto titled "The Principles of Revival" and founded a new underground organization, the Fighters for the Freedom of Israel (Lehi). The organization's motto was an uncompromising struggle against the British Government and it continued to act despite the vehement opposition of the Jewish Yishuv and with almost no means. For months on end, Stern moved from place to place, carrying a cot, shaving cream and a bible and giving his orders to the members of the organization during short nighttime meetings. On February 12, 1942, at 9:00 in the morning, British detectives arrived in Stern's hiding place in Tel-Aviv, found him hiding in a wardrobe and handcuffed him. Shortly thereafter, detective Geoffrey Morton ordered to place Stern before the window and shot him to death.
Stern's enigmatic figure has remained controversial to this very day – alongside those who consider him a national hero, others condemn his extreme opinions and course of action. His unique worldview is also manifested in the many poems he wrote throughout his life, one of which ("Chayalim Almonim" – Anonymous Soldiers) became the hymn of the Irgun and the Lehi.
The addressee of the letter is Stern's friend, artist Mordechai Morzyński (Arieli; 1905-1975). Morzyński was born in Poland (then part of the Russian Empire) and immigrated to Palestine in 1926. He studied at Bezalel during the years 1926-1928 and continued his studies in Paris, at the Grande Schumier Academy. In 1937, he joined the Union of Artists and Sculptors and in 1949 became a member of the New Horizons group.
[1] leaf, folded in half (two written pages), 17 cm. Good condition. Fold lines. Stains. Minor creases and several minor tears.