Mordecai Chertoff came to Palestine in 1947 as a twenty-five-year-old, determined to make his contribution to the emerging Jewish State. Between 1947 and 1950 he was variously local news editor, foreign news editor, and war correspondent for The Palestine Post, soldier in the Haganah, and resident of Jerusalem.
In vivid and often moving letters to his family (annotated and contextualized by his son), Mordecai describes the news of the UN vote for partition, the siege of Jerusalem, the bombing of The Palestine Post, the declaration of the State of Israel, his travels along the dangerous Jerusalem – Tel-Aviv highway, and, inevitably, the loss of friends.
The correspondence, filled with details of everyday life in Jerusalem, and meetings with famous and soon-to be famous people, include historical information never before disclosed, and ranges from passionate discussions about Zionism, to the more personal drama of his search for a mate.
The book also reflects the personal journey undertaken by the author to better understand a crucial period in Jewish history, as well as his father as a young man.