Jerusalem Ahead. A Tour through the Road of Courage

Tel Aviv: Keren Hayesod, 1951. No binding. Very good. Game kit includes (22)pp instruction booklet, two copies of the game board, single die and single player token in original envelope. The game sends players along the Road to Courage as they make their way from Tel Aviv at the coast of Israel through the mountains to Jerusalem. Gameplay thus recreates key tactical infrastructure from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Palestinian forces had established blockades along all main roads, including a main road through Latrun; in response, the Israelis constructed a new road, which was naturally quite perilous. At the point of this game's publication only three years later, the Israeli state had been established but still required constant political messaging to justify its occupation. Often those justifications came in the form of Zionism, an ideology embedded in the\ instructional booklet, which plots the locations of significance along the route. A legitimate state is in the foreground of the messaging, with the horrors of the Second World War in the background. The publisher, Keren Hayesod, was and is the official fundraising organization for the state of Israel, responsible both for social welfare programs and public relations for the state of Israel. Instructions printed in Hebrew, English, French and Spanish. Slight staining to some corners of game boards, both with rubbing along folds. Materials all housed in sleeve with flap, this illustrated at front with text in Hebrew and English. A very good or better example of a rare modern board game known in only two institutional holdings.