The Zionist Emergency Committee, which represents all Zionist groups in America, issued a statement saying: “With profoundest grief we mourn the passing of Menahem Ussishkin. He was more than a leader. In his person he epitomized the steadfastness, the faith, and the unbreakable resolve of the Jewish people to achieve a national future for themselves in their own homeland.
“Ussishkin’s singleness of purpose, his unbending insistence on first principles, and his passionate love of the land, made him the ideal head of the movement for the redemption of the land of Palestine. Under him the Jewish National Fund had gone from strength to strength and for countless thousands Ussishkin was the National Fund. His loss will be deeply felt in every sphere of Zionist work. He was a pillar of Zion and in the history of the Jewish people his name will stand out as a symbol of national devotion.”
VALIANT CHAMPION OF ZIONIST MOVEMENT, SAYS LEVINTHAL
Judge Louis Levinthal, president of the Zionist Organization of America, in a statement said: “American Zionists and all friends of Palestine everywhere mourn the passing of Menachem Mendel Ussishkin. From the very inception of the modern renaissance of the Jewish homeland Ussishkin has been universally recognized as one of the most valiant champions and ablest leaders of the Zionist movement. His own vigorous and courageous personality symbolized the strength and heroism of the Jewish pioneers and his indomitable spirit reflected the unshakable determination of self-respecting Jews to help reestablish a free and creative Jewish commonwealth in Palestine.”
HIS IRON WILL REMAINS UNIMPAIRED, DR. GOLDMAN STATES
Dr. Solomon Goldman, in a message from Chicago said: “It is unbelievable that Menahem Mendel Ussishkin yielded to death. Certainly his iron will remains unimpaired even as his illustrious name remains undying and the faith and determination that name will always inspire in the Yishuv and among Jews everywhere will redeem the soil of Palestine. The grief of Zionists the world over is beyond expression.”
WAS THE BRAZEN WALLS OF OUR MOVEMENT, SAYS DR. SILVER
Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, in a message from Cleveland declared: “Profoundly saddened by death of Ussishkin. Few men could be spared as little as Ussishkin in these critical times. He was the iron pillar and brazen walls of our movement. The land which he loved so deeply and the people whom he served so nobly and so unswervingly will never forget him.”
Emanuel Neumann, former president of the JNF of America, issued a statement saying “The death of Menahem Ussishkin is an incalculable loss to the Zionist movement. He has been fittingly described as a human monolith, hewn of bedrock, whole, harmonious and unshakable in his convictions. It was my privilege to serve with him as governor of the Keren Kayemeth in Jerusalem, representing the Zionist Executive, and I, shall always cherish the recollection of his sterling qualities, his massive character and his utter devotion to the Land of Israel.”
Dr. Israel Goldstein announced today that a public meeting dedicated to the memory of Ussishkin will be held following the expiration of the thrity-day period of mourning.
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