An original IDF strategy map from 1948’s Operation Hiram on the northern front, an old armored vehicle periscope and a memorial parchment signed by David Ben-Gurion are among the rare heritage items now up for auction. All proceeds will go toward establishing an alumni fund to support dozens of lone soldiers from North America, graduates of the Hannoton Leadership Academy, who are set to enlist in the coming days.
The auction, scheduled to take place over the next two weeks, was launched through a partnership between the Hannoton Leadership Academy and Curio Auctions, operated by Keren Israel and specializing in Jewish and Israeli historical artifacts. The items, all donated by private collectors who chose to remain anonymous, form what organizers describe as an open archive of Zionist history.
Among the featured items on the Curio website is an official memorial parchment bearing Ben-Gurion’s signature, commemorating Pvt. Shalom Zamirin, who was killed in the Battle of Tzemach four days after the establishment of the state. The item is valued at $4,500 to $5,000. Also listed are an attack map from Operation Hiram, valued at $1,100 to $1,300; rare Sabbath candlesticks by Israeli artist Yaacov Agam; a 1945 pamphlet calling for Jewish enlistment in the Jewish Brigade; and a rare photograph of Yitzhak Rabin during his tenure as Israel’s ambassador to the United States.
“People who participate in charity auctions like this are not simply collectors checking how much an item is worth, as they might at Sotheby’s or Christie’s,” said Jay Shultz, president of Keren Israel and director of the auction house. “Purchasing these items connects those who made the country’s history with those who are making it today.”
One of the most moving items, Shultz said, is the portion of the official memorial parchment signed by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, expressing condolences to the Zamirin family over the death of their son, Pvt. Shalom, in the May 18, 1948, battle near the Sea of Galilee. Seventy-eight years later, the yellowed parchment will be sold to support other pioneering soldiers who left their homes overseas to join Israel’s military and settlement efforts. “For me, these items honor the past for the sake of the future,” added Shultz, who immigrated to Israel from New Jersey about two decades ago.
The financial goal of the auction is directed entirely toward the first cohort of Garin Tzabar at the Hannoton Leadership Academy, which is also supported by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and JNF USA. The 27 participants in the program are not recent high school graduates but bachelor’s degree holders from universities in the United States and Canada.
Unlike other frameworks that place lone soldiers in either religious or secular kibbutzim, this cohort is mixed, including secular, Orthodox, Reform and Conservative participants. “They are people whose lives were set,” Rabbi Yoav Ende, head of the academy, told Yedioth Ahronoth. “October 7 changed everything. They finished their degrees, boarded a plane and came to us. They are looking for community and a sense of belonging, and they represent a Jewish mosaic that it is our responsibility to help complete.”
The funds raised will establish a foundation to support them after their military service ends. “During their service, the entire country embraces lone soldiers,” Ende said. “But the day after their discharge, the title ‘lone soldier’ disappears and they are considered regular citizens. Yet they have no family support network here. The goal is to provide them with backing for the next 10 years, so they will not remain alone the day after.”