The Jews of Israel celebrated the Feast of Passover under warm, smiling skies and pleasant weather which followed a week of the “khamsin,” the hot wind from the Mediterranean. Public seders were held throughout the country, in the cities and in all army camps. In the villages and settlements hundreds of youths danced in the fields.
President Chaim Weizmann, confined to bed by illness, was not able to participate in the seder at his Rehovoth home where Yehudi Menuhin and Prof. B. Zondek were guests. Gov. and Mrs. Theodore R. McKeldin of Maryland, who are now visiting Israel, were the guests of Chief Rabbi I.J. Unterman, of Tel Aviv, for the seder services.
The richest man in Israel, for one week, is Yani Petergi, a Greek dockworker. He “bought” all the Chometz in Tel Aviv and Jaffa, estimated to be worth ten million pounds. According to tradition, Petergi acquired all the non-Passover food in the two cities by making a small “down payment” and receiving the keys to the food stores. After Passover, as in past years, he will return the keys and go back to his job as port laborer.
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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.
