Queen Mother Elizabeth of Belgium, the first royal visitor to Israel, ended two busy days of ceremonial activities with a welcome from thousands of Tel Aviv children who lined the streets through which she passed today.
Accompanied by Mayor Chaim Levanon, the Queen was shown around both new and old Tel Aviv, and ancient Jaffa. From Tel Aviv she went to Rehovot, where she laid a wreath on the grave of Israel’s first President. Chaim Weizmann, later dining with Mrs. Weizmann at the latter’s home in Rehovot.
The Queen yesterday dedicated the Romi Goldmunz Art Museum in Nathanya, opening its gates with a special gold key. Present at the ceremony were former Prime Minister Moshe Sharett, former Nathanya Mayor Oved Benami, and Mr. Goldmunz, the Belgian philanthropist who donated the initial gift for the museum. He was honored by the affixing to the doorpost of a mezuzah. Inside the museum, the Queen unveiled a work of her own, a bust of her grandson, Prince Albert, which she had donated to the museum.
Her Wednesday program included the laying of a wreath at the Herzl tomb in Jerusalem, in a ceremony attended by Mayor Gershon Agron and members of the Jewish Agency executive. Earlier, the Queen and her entourage visited a number of Hadassah institutions in the area. Last night she attended a special gala performance of the Israel Philharmonic orchestra in Tel Aviv, attended also by President Ben Zvi, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and members of the diplomatic corps.
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.
