The Hebrew University, whose tenth anniversary is being celebrated today throughout the world, is an example of the valuable contributions which American Jewry has made toward the upbuilding of Palestine.
Established chiefly with American funds, the Hebrew University has been maintained during the ten years of its existence mostly by contributions from the United States. It is the group centered around the American Friends of the Hebrew University that has made the existence of the university possible.
It can be safely said that were it not for Dr. Judah L. Magnes, with his energetic personal efforts in America, the Hebrew University would have faced many a crisis in the ten years since its founding. Devoted to the university, Dr. Magnes has spared neither time nor effort in seeing that this institution develops and justifies the pride which world Jewry is taking in it.
GAINING A FINE REPUTATION
The youngest university in the world, the Hebrew University today ranks among the most popular institutions of higher learning. Its students comprise Jewish youth from all parts of the world. Its faculty is composed of scientists of high repute.
The so-called “Aryan” paragraph in Germany which resulted in the ousting of many Jewish professors from German universities, has contributed towards the enrichment of the university’s faculty. Deprived of the right to teach in Germany, many Jewish professors of world renown have joined the staff of the Hebrew University and have made their home on Mount Scopus.
With the campaign now being conducted by the Hadassah in America, to raise funds for the establishment of a medical center at the university, the Hebrew University is making another step forward in its development. At present only an institution for research, it is well on its way to ranking with the other great universities of the world by increasing its program and the ##ope of its work.
WHY A JEWISH UNIVERSITY?
Never before was a Hebrew university so necessary to the Jews of the world as now, when the doors of many institutions of learning are gradually being closed to them in different countries. The restrictions against Jewish students in the universities of Poland, the movement to introduce restrictions against Jewish students in the universities of Rumania, the elimination of Jewish students from the universities of Austria, the recent campaign against alien students in France, the silent discrimination practised against Jewish students in certain universities in America—all this only emphasizes the necessity for a Hebrew university fully equipped and developed to accommodate Jewish students from all parts of the world.
DR. MAGNES’ ACHIEVEMENTS
Ten years in the existence of a university is a very short period, but the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has shown that with proper assistance from the Jews of all over the world, and especially from the Jews of America, it was able to perform a fine piece of work even in such a short span of time. This is no doubt due to the efforts of Dr. J. L. Magnes, the chancellor of the university. It is also ascribable to the great interest which certain groups in American Jewry have taken to make it possible for Dr. Magnes to bring the Hebrew University to its present point of development.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
