East and West were joined in the presence of representatives of American and West European men of letters, political representatives and officials of the Palestine Government, when the Institute For Jewish Studies, the first department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem was opened on Mount Scopus yesterday, the first day of the Festival of Lights commemorating the Maccabean victory over the Greeks.
Professor Crawford, of the American College at Beirut, and Dr. Allbright, of the American Institute of Archaeology in Jerusalem, represented the American world of letters at the celebration. The consuls of various lands and representatives of Moslem and Christian institutions in Palestine were also present. Cable messages were received from Louis Marshall, President of the American Jewish Committee; Felix M. Warburg, President of the Joint Distribution Committee; Federal District Court Judge Julian W. Mack, Dr. Cyrus Adler, Acting President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and from Baron Edmunde de Rothschild of Paris; Dr. Joseph H. Hertz, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, and Dr. Zevi Chajes, Chief Rabbi of Vienna, who is now visiting in the United States.
Dr. Yehuda L. Magnes, American Jewish Communal leader, who is now a resident of Palestine and President of the governing board of the University, in his opening address declared: “We are creating in Palestine a place for study without fear and without fear and without prejudice. We depend upon the Jewish spirit to enrich the spiritual life of mankind.” “The material wealth and civilization of ancient
Judea lies in ruin. The prophets and the law of Judaism are, however, a part of the culture of mankind,” declared Sir Herbert Samuel, High Commissioner of Palestine in the address which he delivered at the celebration. “The Institute for Jewish Studies will be a connecting link between the wisdom of the East and the civilization and culture of the West. I hope that a department for Arabic will be established at the Hebrew University,” Sir Herbert further stated.
Professor Herzberg of the Deutsches Evangelishes Institute in Jerusalem, Mr. Menachem Ussishkin in behalf of the Jewish National Fund, Dr. Ruppin in behalf of the Zionist Executive, and Dr. Thon for the National Jewish Council of Palestine also spoke.
A letter of greeting and congratulations from Macinnes, Anglican Bishop at Jerusalem, was read.
Particularly impressive were the messages received from Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, who laid the cornerstone of the University when Palestine was still in the war zone, and from Achad Ha’am, the venerable Hebrew writer, who, for the last forty years, has advocated the idea of making Palestine a spiritual center for the Jewish people.
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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.
