Newberry Library - Wolf, Alex, Ben Hecht incoming correspondence, 1959

User-Contributed Transcription Sept 1-1959
Dear Ben-
Please excuse the handwriting. My secretary types only in Hebrew. I also owe you an apoligy. My first letter was sketchy, because I was not certian how you would respond. I should have known the "Ben Hechts" of the world do not change.
The name of one girl is Ahuva Deganith. She is of Kurdish descent and was born in Jerusalem. She is in her early twenties. She has no mother. Her father is a hero of the War of LIberation. His condition is such that he can barely make a living for himself. Ahuva joined the Israeli army at the age of 17. She lied about her age in order to enlist. After her discharge, she met a Moroccan boy and married. The marriage ended in tragedy. She claimed abuse and brutality and they were soon divorced. She drifted from job to job, always earning less than minimum living requirements. In utter despair, she tried to leave Israel illegally by boarding a ship in Eilat. She was discovered and brought back. Being a very beautiful girl, she augmented her income by modelling for famous artists. Then she met the other two girls in a cafe and restaurant known as "The Rickshaw"- the only chinese restaurant in Tel Aviv. This restaurant was the hangout of all U. N.E.F soldiers on leave.
Rachel Salz- is the other girl- also in her early twenties and beautiful. She was born in Tiberius. Her father was killed in the Arab riots of 1938. She has an old and sick mother living in Kiryat Haem- near Haifa. She too- drifted from one job to another after she did her duty in the Israeli army. She met an Englishman from the U.N.E.F. and they became engaged. He took her to "The Rickshaw" and introduced her to his other friends. She in turn brought the other two girls there as dates

[Transcribe Note: U.N.E.F.= United Nations Emergency Force.]

Transcription Status Completed

Transcription Note This document was transcribed by volunteers as part of the Newberry Transcribe crowdsourcing initiative.

Archival Collection Title Ben Hecht papers, Midwest Manuscript Collection, Society of Collectors

Link to Catalog View finding aid | View record

Call Number Midwest MS Hecht Box 64 Folder 1772

BibID 992595638805867

Rights Status Copyright Not Evaluated

Contributing Institution Newberry Library

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IIIF Resource Type Canvas

Size 3505px × 4440px 89.09 MB

File Created 03/27/2024

Filename 992595638805867_midwest_ms_hecht_box_00064_fl_01772_000001.tif

Unique Identifier NL128VB9

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