Isadore Hamlin, executive director of the WZO American Section, recalled Dr. Neumann’s long and varied career as a Zionist and said that “we have learned from Dr. Neumann not to view every setback as an irrevocable disaster, and have learned from him how to fight for the ideas of Zionism. Hamlin presented Dr. Neumann with the first available volume of the 16-volume Encyclopedia Judaica inscribed to “the dean of American Zionists” by friends and colleagues and signed by Mrs. Charlotte Jacobson, former president of Hadassah and a senior member of the WZO Executive, meeting chairman.
ENRICHED ZIONIST THINKING
Numerous messages from Jewish leaders in Israel and the United States honoring Dr. Neumann were received here. Israeli President Zalman Shazar praised Dr. Neumann as “one of the central pillars of the Zionist movement in the United States, prime leader in the political struggle and devotee of Hebrew education.” Israeli Premier Golda Meir lauded his “lifelong service and devotion to the cause of the movement” and his participation “in more than one way in strengthening Israel and in deepening the ties between American Jewry and the (Jewish) State.”
Louis Pincus, chairman of the World Zionist Executive, wrote Dr. Neumann: “With your clear thinking and analytical mind, with your wise advice and your bright personality, you have enriched all fields of Zionist thinking and creativity.” Max M. Fisher, president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, wrote of “my own debt to you for the understanding you have given me of Zionism and all that it has meant for our Jewish people.” Fisher praised Dr. Neumann’s “great personal involvement and responsibility” in Zionism’s “historic achievements,” and said he “treasured” their association.
Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli ambassador in Washington said of Dr. Neumann that “his name will forever be linked with the Zionist cause.” Israel’s chief United Nations representative, Yosef Tekoah, said Dr. Neumann’s life “personifies Zionist dedication, perseverance and undaunted leadership” and has made an “indelible” contribution to “Jewish rebirth.” Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, said Dr. Neumann had “made an important and lasting contribution to (the) development of American Zionism.” In New York, Israeli Consul General David Rivlin expressed warm greetings in the name of the Israeli official family.
DR. NEUMANN: KEEP ISRAEL SAFE
Dr. Neumann, evidently moved by the tributes, in turn praised his colleagues, co-workers and friends, and said he hoped to devote time to writing his memoires. He noted that articles and speeches extending over a period of 40 years are being edited and will appear in book form. Discussing the struggles of the Jewish people to attain Statehood and the role of Zionism in this historically monumental achievement, Dr. Neumann declared:
“A legend was born some 1,900 years ago blaming Jews for the murder of a man which served as the basis for centuries of persecution of the Jewish people. Now, another legend is being assiduously nurtured that Jews uprooted Arabs.” Rejecting both legends, Dr. Neumann called on those present to continue the task of making Israel safe.
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.
