The Hebrew University in Jerusalem is destined to play an increasingly important role in the life of Palestine and of world Jewry, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, chairman of its board of governors, and Salmann Schocken, chairman of its executive council, declared tonight at a dinner given in their honor by the American Friends of the Hebrew University at the Hotel Commodore.
Others on the speakers’ list were Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach, president of the American Friends, who presided; Dr. Stephen S. Wise, a member of the university’s board of governors; Dr. Israel J. Kligler, a member of its science faculty, and Dr. Nathan Ratnoff, chairman of the American Jewish Physicians’ Committee.
“The Hebrew University,” Dr. Weizmann said, “is destined in several spheres to play an increasingly important role in Palestine. It is providing higher education for a constantly growing number of students from all parts of Europe. On the purely scientific side, it is beginning to make a valuable contribution toward conquering disease and developing the natural resources of the country. It will have a no less significant function to perform arising out of the special conditions in Palestine–that of creating a bridge between different sections of the population.”
The university has performed a service to scholarship as well as a humanitarian service by salvaging many of the Jewish scientists of Europe and opening its doors to hundreds of students who are denied admission to the universities of Central and Eastern Europe, the Zionist leader declared.
Dr. Weizmann paid tribute to the role of American Jewry in the university’s development, citing particularly the services of the late Felix M. Warburg.
Mr. Schocken, dwelling, on the university’s contribution to Jewish culture, said:
“We feel that the Hebrew University can make a real contribution to the perpetuation of Jewish life and Jewish essence, which especially in these days is of the utmost importance. I believe it is our duty to continue quietly with our work in the heart of the Jewish world, to keep the torch of Jewish thought burning over the destruction of Jewish masses, to fulfill our role worthily as a link in the chain we are handing down to future generations.
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.
