The fiftieth anniversary of the death of Theodor Herzl, founder of the Zionist movement, was commemorated at a public meeting tonight held under the joint auspices of the American Zionist Council and the Jewish Agency.
The speakers were Louis Lipsky, chairman of the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs; Mordecai R. Kidron, Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, and Dr. Samuel K. Mirsky, Professor of Rabbinical at the Yeshiva University. Dr. Joseph Tenenbaum, a vice-president of the Zionist Organization of America, presided.
Mr. Lipsky read from a proclamation received from Jerusalem and issued by the World Zionist Organization, announcing the observance of the 50th year since Herzl’s death, beginning July 21, 1954 until July 21, 1955. Mr. Lipsky added that in the United States the year will be highlighted by activities in November, December and January.
“The World Zionist Movement” the proclamation said, “proclaims that this, the fiftieth year since the passing of the father and founder of the World Zionist Organization and the prophet and executor of the concept of a Jewish State in our times, Theodor Herzl, shall be dedicated to the commemoration of his name and the application of principles of his spiritual heritage within the entire Jewish people, in the State of Israel and throughout the world.
“The eternal hope which Herzl, the architect and dreamer, rekindled in our people, led them to the re-establishment of the State of Israel. This hope inspired the fighters in the battle for liberation; it inspires us all in the struggle in which we are engaged today, in the in-gathering of the dispersed and their secure integration in their sovereign ancestral land,” the proclamation declared.”
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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.