Passover lunch was served today aboard the Israeli passenger ship “Zion” for a number of Jewish and non-Jewish guests who were invited to visit the vessel which arrived here this weekend on her maiden voyage. The “Zion” is now docked at the Zim Line’s new pier in Brooklyn, the first trans-Atlantic passenger terminal in Brooklyn in 17 years.
Gottlieb Hammer, president of the American-Israeli Shipping Co., Zim’s representative in the United States, greeting the guests, reviewed the achievements of the Line. He emphasized that Zim now owns and operates 25 ships totalling 130,000 deadweight tons. Eleven of the ships were delivered in 1955 and 1956. Six more are being built or are on order. Zim Lines links Israel with major ports of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, Northwest Europe, West Africa, U.S. and Canadian East Coast ports and the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Hammer pointed out.
The S.S. Zion is the second of two new passenger liners built for the direct New York Israel service of the Zim Line, Israel’s largest shipping company. She is a 10,500 gross ton ship accommodating 313 passengers in first and tourist classes and with a cargo capacity of 5,000 deadweight tons. She makes the 5,000 mile Haifa-New York voyage in 13 and one-half days with calls at Naples in each direction. The Zion’s passenger accommodations consist of all outside staterooms, most of them with private or semi-private baths or showers. About half the passenger space is air conditioned.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
