The 75th birthday of Louis Lipsky, leader in the Zionist movement for more than 50 years, was celebrated tonight by more than 350 people. Guests included representatives of all Zionist organizations and other major Jewish groups and civic and government officials. The reception was given by the American Zionist Council, of which Mr. Lipsky is chairman, and the Jewish Agency at the Delmonico Hotel.
Mrs. Moses P. Epstein, vice-chairman of the American Zionist Council, who was chairman at the reception, pointed out that although Mr. Lipsky had frequently taken sides on many of the crucial issues facing the Zionist movement during the years before the establishment of the State of Israel, he “has emerged with the unbroken friendship of the leadership and the rank and file and with respect for his integrity which has never been questioned. “
Speaking for the Jewish Agency, Mrs. Samuel Halprin, acting chairman, lauded Mr. Lipsky’s “keen and incisive mind” and his “unmatched facility with the word and the pen. ” She emphasized that Mr. Lipsky “helped to imbue a whole generation with a sense of consecration and devotion to the Zionist ideal, setting the pattern by his own selfless labors.”
Among the speakers was also Avraham Harman, Counselor of the Embassy of Israel, who brought greetings from Ambassador Abba Eban. The Embassy presented Mr. Lipsky with a silver-bound Hebrew Bible printed in Israel. Mr. Lipsky, who has long been interested in the theatre and who was at one time dramatic critic for the old New York Telegraph, was presented with a 15-volume edition of Odell’s “History of the Theatre” by Mrs. Epstein on behalf of the American Zionist Council.
Responding, Mr. Lipsky spoke of the present status of Zionism. “The tendency in the Zionist movement to revert to reminiscences and memoirs is a waste of energy, ” he declared. “To harp on the glories of the past is bound to lead to frustration. The movement has a growing future, and the future will overshadow all the beginnings. There has been a confusion between the Zionist movement and the Zionist Organization. They are not and cannot be identical. The movement is the larger concept. The Organization is the dynamic force within the movement. “
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.
