The 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the scientist-statesman who became the first President of the State of Israel, will be celebrated Thursday night at a Weizmann Centenary Dinner, addressed by Abba Eban, former Israeli Foreign Minister, and Nobel Laureate Dr. Gerald M. Edelman, Vincent Astor Distinguished Professor of the Rockefeller University.
The dinner, at the New York Hilton, under the auspices of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, is expected to be attended by a distinguished national audience of 1000. Proceeds of the dinner, reservations for which are $500 per person, will benefit research at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Eban. Visiting Professor at Columbia University’s Faculty of International Affairs, a close associate of Dr. Weizmann’s. will speak on “Israel’s Place in the World Crisis.” Dr. Edelman’s theme, science and society, and Dr. Weizmann’s scientific legacy, will be discussed by him under the title of “The Two” Faces of the Angel.”
The development of the constructive resources of science, its universality as the basis of human achievement, and the recreation of the Jewish State were the twin loves of Dr. Weizmann to which he devoted his entire life. The future of Israel, he believed, would rest on three pillars: science, security and education.
The Weizmann Institute of Science was a 70th birthday gift to Dr. Weismann, and encompasses the Daniel Sieff Research Institute, established by Dr. Weizmann in 1934 to “create absorptive capacity for Palestine.” Dr. Weizmann served as first president of the Weizmann Institute, from its founding in 1944 until his death in 1952. His home on the Institute campus was Dr. Weizmann’s official residence as the President of Israel.
YEAR-LONG SERIES OF PROGRAMS
The program Thursday night will be the first in a year-long series of programs to mark the Centenary which will be officially inaugurated in Israel on Nov. 2. Former Israeli Premier Golda Meir is president of the World Committee for Chaim Weizmann Centenary Celebration. Meyer B. Weisgal, chancellor of the Weizmann Institute of Science, is the general chairman. Three hundred and seventy notables in science, education, the arts, business and public affairs, among them 60 Nobel Laureates, and 26 heads of colleges and universities, have joined an International Sponsoring Committee for the Weizmann Centenary.
An invitation has been extended by Israeli President Ephraim Katzir and Mrs. Meir and Weisgal, to a group of friends of Israel and of the Weizmann Institute in the United States, Canada and Great Britain, to participate in the special Centenary events in Israel from Nov. 2-10. The American and Canadian delegations will depart on Oct. 31 from New York to attend the celebration.
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