Asserting that Jewry’s primary aim is to “preserve (its) splendid, brilliant, magnificent heritage.” Israeli Ambassador Yosef Tekoah contended yesterday that the new Encyclopaedia Judaica was “indispensable” not only to schools but to Jewish homes. Israel’s chief United Nations representative spoke at ceremonies, at the headquarters of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, honoring 13 members of Federation’s Commission on Synagogue Relations who contributed articles to the 16-volume set.
“Jewish civilization as such is an encyclopedic civilization.” Tekoah told the luncheon audience. “Our heritage is an encyclopedic heritage….This has always been so.” But, he noted, “Faith cannot stand alone, faith cannot exist without knowledge,” and thus he welcomed the “profound analysis” and “most magnificent form” of the Encyclopaedia Judaic, published worldwide by the Macmillan Company and in Jerusalem by Keter Publishing House Ltd.
Jeremiah Kaplan, president of Macmillan, called the Encyclopaedia a “unique” publishing event. He had been surprised, he said to general laughter, that the editors had managed to “get Jewish opinion so well organized.”
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.
