Several hundred people filled the auditorium in the Jewish Agency building at 515 Park Ave. to commemorate the yarzeits of Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) and Chaim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934). Joseph Deligdish, prest-dent of the American Zionist Federation of Brooklyn and chairman of the event, extolled Herzl and Bialik as “men of great vision.” He noted that Herzl “foresaw the scheme in which Jewish people would be reunited with their own land,” and that Bialik “saw deep into the soul of Jewish culture, to link the spiritual heartbeat with modern poetry.”
Dr. Sara Feinstein. director of continuing education for the Association for Jewish Education, termed Bialik “the lyrical voice of the Zionist movement” and stated that “the contemporary works of Bialik suggested a previous period of transition for the Jewish people in the context of a social revolution.” She added that “Bialik called for changing the psyche of the Jewish people who in the state of degradation lost their sense of national dignity and human courage. He rekindled the flames of the Maccabees and sparked the Jewish resistance movement.”
Dr. Gerald Meister, professor of sacred scriptures at Holy Cross Monastery, viewed Herzl as being “in the tradition of Israel’s Prophets because he held out the promise of the return to Zion to the Jewish people.” He noted that “if the return to Zion is a canon of Jewish faith we must regard Herzl as a primary exponent of this article of faith.”
The program, which was held Sunday, concluded with the showing of “The Hope.” a mixed media presentation of modern Israel. “The Hope” was created by the American photographer Harvey Lloyd for the World Zionist Organization and the AZF.
The State Comptroller announced Sunday he was looking into the activities of the company for the reconstruction of the Jewish quarter of the Old City The announcement came a day after. Uzi Benziman of Haaretz came out with a long story suggesting irregularities in the way apartments in the quarter were allocated. The story had it that some apartments were sold under market prices to officials of the company and the Ministry of Housing. Benziman is also the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s Jerusalem correspondent.
A group of American members of Hashomer Hatzair will settle the Nahal Geshor settlement on the Golan Heights, it was learned in Tel Aviv. It will be the first HH settlement on the Heights.
Eighteen students from the Gaza Strip who were studying in Syrian high schools crossed the Golan Heights border today for summer vacation with their families in the strip. The transfer was supervised by Red Cross officials.
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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.
