"Kol Tzfat", "published by order of the commander of Safed on behalf of the Hebrew Haganah organization in Palestine", [edited by Yeshayahu Ashani]. Ten out of the eleven issues published during the Israeli War of Independence, and an issue for the first anniversary of the victory in Safed (1949).
The newspaper "Kol Tzfat" (The Voice of Safed) was published by order of the town commander Meir Meivar to dissuade the Jewish population of Safed from abandoning the city. The writers were housed in the Haganah headquarters and during the months of January to May 1948 published eleven issues with militant messages aimed at the citizens of Safed. The first two issues were printed in booklet form with color title pages (designed by "M. Aryeh" – Aryeh Moskowitz) and the following issues as a single sheet (due to lack of paper). On the final issue, which was published one day after the victory of the Haganah forces, the newspaper's title and date were printed in gold, with the headline: "The city of the Zohar and the Ari is celebrating its festival of liberation and victory".
The present lot includes all 1948 issues of the newspaper (except for issue no. 7), alongside the issue printed to commemorate the first anniversary of the victory in Safed (this issue was published by the "Kinneret" press in Tiberias, May 1949, with the layout resembling the 1948 issues).
A total of eleven issues. Issues 1 and 2: 18; 22 pp. approx. 16 cm. Issues 3-6, 8-11: [1] f., 35 cm. Special edition issue: [2] ff., 35 cm. Good condition. Fold lines. Stains and creases. Several small tears to edges (some repaired with paper). Pen notations to one issue (small).
Enclosed: Safed from Siege to Liberation, by Meir Meivar (Hebrew), published by the Cultural Service of the IDF [Tel-Aviv, 1949?]; photocopy of issue no. 7.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.