What inspired me?
Our Mission
My mission is to have the reader develop an understanding, appreciation and a respect for awesome achievements of the State of Israel since it’s early years – especially under the constant shadow of war.
To do this, I am presenting the the letters which my father, Bob Jacobs, wrote to his parents during his first-time visit to Israel in the summer of 1957.
The view of a young Jew from a comfortable and “modern” America experiencing the surprises of a “development” nation helps us better appreciate the great advances of the State of Israel since those early days.
– David Jacobs
Hadassah Ein Kerem today
Introduction
by David Jacobs, son of Bob Jacobs and Elaine Mirwis Jacobs
In 2015 I found handwritten letters that my father, Bob Jacobs, had written to his parents while on a trip to Israel with the ZOA from July 19, 1957 to September 1, 1957. It was almost a miracle that these letters were even recovered. After being moved around from house to house since 1957, I found them in the basement of a vacant house in Englewood NJ, owned by my parents. One week after I found them scattered among boxes and crates, a sewer backup flooded the basement and ruined all the items that were still left in the basement. These letters had not been seen in fifty-eight years. My father had no idea his parents saved them and my mother did not even know of their existence. I also recovered many pictures from his trip.
My father’s letters to his parents in 1957 are a great history lesson. He spent 40 days in Israel and was able to see almost every part of the land. The handwritten letters on El Al stationary and aerograms give detailed descriptions of Israel and its people in 1957 probably better than any history book. My father called Israel at the time a “storybook come true”. Each letter had the original Israeli stamps from 1957 and most were sent from the ZOA House in Tel Aviv which was later sold in 1993.
Since the letters were handwritten, I transcribed them so they would be easier to read I also separated all of the important quotes by category and made comments for each individual letter. Israel was established in 1948, three years after the Holocaust, and just nine years prior to my father’s visit in 1957. At the time, the Kotel and the Old City of Jerusalem were controlled by Jordan. In fact, my father stated in one of his letters on August 6th, 1957 : “ what a pity the Wailing Wall is not in our hands”. It was not until 1967 that the Kotel, also known as the Wailing Wall, was liberated by Israel.
My father was twenty-two years old when he made his trip. I do not know of anyone else who would have written 38 letters in 40 days. He has taught all of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren the importance of honoring parents and grandparents.
The letters shows the respect he had for his parents and the love he had for the land of Israel. He came to Israel in order to surprise Elaine Mirwis, now my mother, who had traveled to Israel earlier that summer. Of course, a trip to Israel was something he always wanted to do. The letters are handwritten in my father’s handwriting, each one individually dated. For example, one letter was dated “Sunday July 21, 1957 9:15 AM Israel time , 2:15 am US time.” I don’t know anybody else who ever wrote both the US time and the Israeli time. Most of the letters were sent to Wurtsboro, NY where Bob’s parents were staying for the summer in 1957, or 200 Bay 32nd street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn where my father lived.
Through these letters, one sees the impact this type of trip can have on young Jews. When a Jew goes on a Birthright or ZOA trip and sees Israel for the first time, it could be a life-changing experience.
History of Finding Bob’s 1957 Letters
Summer 1957: Bob sent letters from Israel to his parents both to their summer house in Wurtsboro, NY and to their home on 200 Bay 32nd St. in Brooklyn.
Apparently Bob’s mother Fannie put these letters away in a box in their basement. Bob and Elaine got married on November 9th 1958 and do not remember ever seeing the letters.
My grandfather William Jacobs OBM, passed away in 1973. My grandmother Fannie Jacobs passed away in 1981. The house was cleaned up and obviously the boxes must have been brought to our house on Westwood Ave in Staten Island.
My parents then gave the Westwood house to my brother Joel and his family some time in 1993 when they had their fourth child, Yael.
My parents moved to Steers St., also in Staten Island, and obviously also moved the boxes there. In 1999 my parents moved from Steers St. to Cumberland St. in Englewood, NJ and the boxes were then moved there.
Over the years as people passed away everything was sent to the garage and downstairs of 480 Cumberland. There were many boxes of unsorted belongings of Sadie & Nick Mirwis, Fannie & William Jacobs and from their extended families. In addition there were boxes of belongings David & Debra that they did not take to Israel with them in 2004; old things that Anne & Jerry left in the house, most of which was broken; miscellaneous stuff from Joel, Elliot, David and Anne as kids, including boxes and boxes of old books and toys and piles of miscellaneous junk. This does not include at least 200 boxes of business files that were kept in the garage. The house was also filled with displays and items from Evette Gallery which Joel purchased at an auction several years before. My parents would stay in Florida for the winter and I would come into New Jersey for business and stay at 480 Cumberland.
In 2015 my brother Joel’s daughter Atara and her husband Uri lived with their 5 month old baby girl in a small apartment in Englewood. They found out Atara was expecting twins and began looking for a larger place to live in Englewood. My parents offered them 480 Cumberland which had a perfect layout for a young family. There were 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, den plus a washer dryer on main level. The master bedroom had 2 closets plus a bathroom with a shower and Jacuzzi. The house was perfect except it was filled with a lot of stuff and needed major renovation before Atara and the babies could move in.
After I found out that my parents were giving the house to Atara I spent days and nights whenever I was in the U.S. going through the stored items at 480 Cumberland and throwing out whatever possible. Over the years people had also stored old couches and furniture and dining room tables in the basement and garage and it was almost impossible to get through. I threw out tons of stuff. As it got closer to the time of the twins being born I moved more and more stuff. I eventually found boxes of pictures and old stuff from my grandmother Fannie Jacobs, including love letters written by Fannie to William from 1927 before they were married. I then found 38 letters from 1957 written by my father to his parents and to his little brother Alan. I also found photographs from my father’s 1957 trip. They were all over the place. I put them in a red well folder and began sorting them by date. I then went to Staples and put each letter separately in a plastic protector. I had the letters scanned and I and my office typed each letter to make it easier for people to read.
I began reading the letters and noticed in two of the letters that my father mentioned to his parents that he was keeping a detailed diary. I looked and looked and never found it.
One week after I found the letters there was a sewer backup in the basement and garage at 480 Cumberland. Whatever boxes that were still left were thrown out. Had I not brought them to my office the week before the letters never would have been found.
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my gratitude to my parents Sadie and Nick Mirwis of blessed memory, for sending me to Israel as a present for graduating High School.
I also want to thank Gideon Patt (who I just learned passed away in April, 2020) our “madrich” and youth program director at the Junior Hadassah Machon Kayitz Program, an all girls summer program. Mr. Patt later went on to be Israel’s Tourism Minister, and prepared the best itinerary for the touring youth groups. It is obvious that different Israeli government administrations recognized his talents. That is why he served at various times as Minister of Housing and Construction, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Minister of Science.
I want to thank Bob for surprising me in Israel and writing such detailed letters.
Further thanks to my son David for finding these letters after they were not seen for 58 years.
Gratitude to the Israeli army who sacrifice their lives to grant me the opportunity to visit Israel.
Last and most importantly, deep thanks to the G-d of Israel, for giving the Jewish People the gift of the Land of Israel.
– Elaine Mirwis Jacobs