bob's 1957 Letters

To his parents and his brother, Alan

July 23 – Night

Bob's first tour and the excitement of seeing the Israeli landscape for the first time.

To Bob's younger Brother, Alan

My father was 22 years old when he made his trip to Israel. His younger brother Alan was 12. The 7 letters written to Alan are in print, which is a much easier English to read. The 31 letters to his parents were written in script, which is much harder to read. Alan went to “Yeshiva of Flatbush” where he learned some Hebrew. In some of his letters to Alan, he would include Hebrew words, would add vowels (“nekudot”) to make it easier for his younger brother to read and understand.

Bob Jacobs was 22 years old when he traveled to Israel for the summer of 1957. He wrote 31 letters to his parents and younger brother Alan. He also wrote 7 separate letters to Alan, who was twelve years old at the time. He had a close relationship with Alan, and wrote about  things he wanted to remain confidential between himself and his brother. 

Specifically, Bob didn’t want his parents to read about  issues relating to security and army service. He knew that his parents would be worried if they knew he was going on security patrols with the Israeli army. (Bob’s sister died from leukemia at an early age, and his parents were very protective of their children).  While he didn’t want his parents to know about these subjects, he was anxious to tell his younger brother about these adventures, because he knew Alan would be interested and inspired by his stories. 

Bob also knew how much Alan had wanted to go with him to Israel that summer. In his first letter to his parents, he wrote how he “wished he could have smuggled Alan onto the plane, but there was no room.” 

Bob wrote to his parents in script (cursive was considered more formal), but most of the letters he wrote to his younger brother were in regular print, because he believed it would be easier for 12-year-old Alan to read. 

 In general, my father’s letters to Alan focused on the prowess of the Israeli soldier and encounters with the Arab enemy. He reserved these observations for his brother, and not his parents, since he did not want to worry them. But it was important for my father to instill into his little brother Jewish pride. Certainly, reading first-hand about tough Jewish fighters was a novel concept for an American kid in 1957

To Alan – August 23 – IDF Pride

"Sunday morning I am going for a ride on the captured Egyptian Destroyer... It is the first time a destroyer had ever been captured in modern times."