Mayor Vincent Impellitteri of New York today gave Mayor S. Z. Shragai of Jerusalem an impressive reception in the presence of thousands of people gathered in front of City Hall. The New York mayor presented the Jerusalem mayor with this city’s Medal of Honor, receiving in turn from Mr. Shragai a Roll of Honor awarded him by the city of Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem mayor was brought from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to City Hall by a motorcade of 20 automobiles escorted by police. City Hall was decorated with American and Israeli flags and municipal orchestras played “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Hatikvah” during the ceremony.
In greeting the Jerusalem mayor, Mr. Impellitteri said he was happy to welcome “the distinguished representative of the people of Jerusalem” on behalf of the 8,000,000 people of New York and to have him as guest of this city. Mr. Shragai, replying in Hebrew–which was translated into English–declared that he considers that the honors bestowed upon him are meant for the citizens of Jerusalem, “the historic and modern capital of Israel.”
Mr. Shragai expressed the hope that the people of New York “will continue to lend a helping hand in the rebirth of Israel. ” He invited Mayor Impellitteri and his “fellow citizens” to participate in the celebration of the 300th anniversary of “the establishment of the Kingdom of David in Jerusalem,” which will take place next year.
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