The tenth anniversary of the Hebrew University in Palestine was celebrated here last night with an impressive dinner at the Hotel Plaza, attended by approximately 300 leaders of American Jewry and addressed by Felix M. Warburg, Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach, Max Reinhardt, Prince Hubertus von Loewenstein and Ludwig Lewisohn.
Sir Herbert Samuel and James de Rothschild broadcast their addresses of greeting from London by radio. An address was also broadcast from Jerusalem by Dr. Judah L. Magnes, chancellor of the university.
Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope, High Commissioner of Palestine, was one of the many notables who sent messages of tribute to the dinner, praising the American Friends of the Hebrew University, under whose auspices the dinner was held, for their activities in behalf of the university in Jerusalem. Other greetings were received from the Marquess of Reading, Sigmund Freud and Li## Feucht-
INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST FEATURE OF DINNER ATTENDED BY 300
Wanger. Messages were also received from Dr. Cyrus Adler, Dr. Julian Morgenstern and from the presidents of Princeton, Brown, New York, Syracuse and many other American universities.
All the addresses delivered at the dinner were part of an international program broadcast over the National Broadcasting Company network.
TESTIFIES TO PROGRESS
“I have just returned from Palestine,” Mr. Warburg said in his address, “where I have seen with my own eyes the tremendous progress that has been made in that mysteriously attractive country. Everywhere hopefulness and helpfulness prevail, and the newcomers, of which there must have been about 50,000 this year are made comfortable and are receiving the right advice, for their and the country’s benefits.
“The plans of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus have been furthered by the activity in connection with the erection of the Rosenbloom Building, by the addition of splendid laboratories, in which I saw people already at work, and by plans for the new hospital which will not only give modern advantages to the population of Palestine, but set great hopes that its research department will help the whole world, disregarding races or religions. I have seen the professors who have come from Germany and they will do credit to Judaism all over the world. Their ideals are high, but their remuneration and comforts are still below what they should be, and I hope that a good part of my audience, far and near, will wish to do their bit to make our plans for the university come true.”
SIR HERBERT’S SPEECH
Sir Herbert Samuel, in his address broadcast from London, said that the Hebrew University is an essential feature in the life of the new Palestine, and the new Palestine is an essential feature in the life of the Jews of the world.
“Since the inception of the Third Reich and the promulgation of anti-Semitic principles belonging to the age of barbarism, the Hebrew University has become increasingly important to the development of Palestine as a nucleus for Jewry scattered throughout the world,” Sir Herbert said.
“The greatest activities of the Jews down through the ages have been in the sphere of the intellect and the spirit,” Sir Herbert continued. “In addition to the material success of Palestine, it must be made a land of culture and ideals. It is in both these spheres that the Hebrew University is essential to the future of Palestine.
“LIVING SYMBOL OF PAST”
“The Hebrew University must be supported, not only to give moral strength to the Jews in all lands, so that bent backs may be straightened and harassed minds assuaged, but to provide world Jewry with a living symbol of the tradition of the past and a medium with which to advance the progress of the race.”
Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach, president of the American Friends of the Hebrew University, in his address pointed out that during the ten years of the university’s existence, the American Friends have had to provide about seventy-five per cent of its financial sustenance.
“Recently,” he said, “other countries have contributed a larger share but the chief responsibility still falls upon this country. It should be a pleasure and a privilege to help in this noble project, which promises so much, not only for the Jews but for the entire world.
“The Rothschild University Hospital, on an ideal site on Mount Scopus, is about to be erected through the herculean efforts of Dr. Ratnoff, in cooperation with the Hadassah and Jewish Physicians’ Committee,” Dr. Rosenbach stated. “It will provide medical care throughout the Holy Land without regard to faith or nationality.”
James de Rothschild, in his broadcast from London, stated that the Hebrew University has always been one of the most necessary and most important factors in Jewish life in Palestine. He referred to the interest which his father, Baron Rothschild, took in Palestine, recalling that his father always held that material gains in Palestine could only be attained with the development of Jewish consciousness and Jewish learning.
Describing the plight of the German intellectuals and the flood of students from Germany into Palestine, de Rothschild urged the Jews of America and the entire world to support the Hebrew University, “each according to his capacity,” in order to turn these days of sorrow into days of creative ability.
Dr. Rosenbach welcomed suggestions for the widening of the circle of American Friends.
“We look forward to a more powerful organization which will celebrate the twentieth anniversary on a great scale and be able to point to membership in every town in the United States,” he concluded.
Alluding to the “iron age” which has come upon the Jewish people, Ludwig Lewisohn, author, an answer “to the new barbarisms that are corroding the Western World.”
“And the adequate, nay, the glorious and supreme symbol of this answer of ours,” Mr. Lewinsohn said, “is that University on Mount Scopus in the land of our fathers, of which we celebrate and commemorate the first decade tonight. In a world of increasing cruelty and terror, of blood and darkness, of force and fraud, we have sought peace and built a house of learning and of research upon a hill—a house in which the spirit of man shall be free and untrammeled and shall be able to pursue its immortal task of seeking truth and creating values. Such is our Hebrew University—a fact and a symbol, an answer to the Pagan world, a focus for the spirit of the Jewish people, a hope and a beacon-light to all men everywhere who still believe in freedom and in mercy and in truth.”
Prince Loewenstein of Bavaria, addressing the dinner “as a German and a Christian,” emphasized that he must express his keen appreciation for the great work done by the Hebrew University.
“From a purely Christian point of view I rejoice in any progress Jewish science may achieve,” the Prince said, declaring that he is pleased to see that many German scientists have been well received at the Hebrew University where they can work for the benefit of Jewish and Christian culture. “I am ashamed of my own country which could not keep all of these resources. When the change in my country comes, and it inevitably will, we shall do our best to support the university,” he said.
Dr. Leo A. Mayer, professor of archaeology at the Hebrew University, here on a visit spoke of the achievements of the university and emphasized the role which it played in the recent excavations in Palestine which resulted in important finds testifying to the accuracy of the Bible and helping toward a better understanding between Jews and Christians all over the world.
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.
