Mendel Menachem Ussishkin, head of the Jewish National Fund and known as the “grand old man of Zionism,” will leave for the United States shortly where he is due to arrive December 2nd coincidental with the launching of a campaign by the Fund in America to further its work of land-buying in Palestine.
Ussishkin, who was born in Dubrowna, Russia in 1863, founded a branch of the Chovev Zion (lovers of Zion) in 1882 while at college. His first visit to Palestine was made in 1891 in the company of Achad Ha’am. An active member of the first Zionist Congress in 1897 he has always emphasized the policy known as practical Zionism.
In 1903 he established the Palestine Hebrew Teachers Organization. His emphasis on the practical aspect of Zionism led him to place in the forefront the acquisition of land, and as head of the Chovev Zion he made a number of purchases. Subsequently he became the head of the Jewish National Fund which
in the decade of his administration has increased the amount of land owned from 20,000 to 300,000 dunams.
At the Peace Conference in 1919, Ussishkin was elected to present the Zionist case in the Hebrew language, after which he proceeded to Palestine where, as the head of the Zionist Committee, he transferred its headquarters from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He has since resided there, having earned the appellation of “chief citizen of the Yishuv.”
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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.
