Tribute was paid to Vladimir Jabotinsky at memorial services held here today under the auspices of the Jewish Agency.
After dwelling on his long relationship with Jabotinsky, Dr. Chaim Weizman, president of the Agency, declared there was no doubt whatever that his views were guided and inspired by one great idea, to bring about a solution of the Jewish problem as quickly as possible.
The speed with which he wanted to achieve such a solution set Jabotinsky apart, Dr. Weizmann said. “History will judge whether Jabotinsky or the Zionist organization was right,” Dr. Weizmann said.
“Jabotinsky was burned up by a sacred fire. In his opinion we had only a limited time in which our program could be realized. This may and may not be so. Factors and events independent of the desires of the Jewish people forced us to follow a path which may be difficult and above all slow.”
Dr. Weizmann said Jabotinsky often mistook the mere proclaiming of an idea for the actual performance in Palestine, not stopping to think that the fulfillment of the idea might be a slow and painful process because of factors over which the Jews had no control.
David Ben Gurion, chairman of the Palestine Executive of the Jewish Agency, said the great tragedy of Jabotinsky, as well as the Zionist movement, was that while he clearly saw the end he failed to see the means to this end. “This failure, I am afraid, largely destroyed a great career in Zionism,” he asserted.
Tribute was also paid by Prof. Selig Brodetsky, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and J. K. Goldbloom, vice-president of the Zionist General Council.
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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.
