The occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the foundation of the “Haolom”, the Hebrew organ of the Zionist organization, was made an impressive demonstration of interest in the growth and development of the Hebrew language.
Dr. Nahum Sokolow, President of the Jewish Agency and the Zionist World Organization, who was the guest of the evening at a banquet in his honor on the occasion of the Anniversary, told of the early and little-known history of the “Haolom.”
Speaking of the difficulties of establishing a Hebrew paper in Cologne, where no Hebrew type was available, he said that “Even at that time the suggestion was made that the paper should be printed in Latin characters, and the very same arguments which are now brought forward for this reform,” he remarked, “were already then in use. Then, as now, however,” he went on, “I persisted in my opposition, and it was decided to print the paper in Berlin, but to have the editorial office in Cologne.
“From Cologne the paper was transferred to Russia, first to Vilna and then to Odessa#. If we deduct the periods during which it did not appear, this would not be its 25th anniversary, but we are celebrating the anniversary of its foundation.
“When I was in Palestine, and the jubilee of the ‘Haolom’ became known to me, I decided to cut short my stay in Palestine, as well as the important matters which I had to attend to in Egypt and Italy, so that I should be in London in good time for the banquet,” Mr. Sokolow explained.
“In Palestine I felt in my element, he proceeded. “To begin with, everybody speaks Hebrew. And secondly, everybody works. I have always been working. I cannot sit idle. Consequently, I felt at home in Palestine, since Palestine and idleness are contradictory. I respect the Palestine worker, not because of this or that idea, but because of his work. In Palestine everybody works. As for those who do not, the country will soon belch them out. Some work with their muscles and some with their brains, like the writers and teachers of Hebrew, and I want to emphasize here that we have neglected this aspect of the work in Palestine.
“We are doing everything for the manual workers, but our Zionist budget makes no provision for writers and the hundreds of people and their families who are working for literature.
“They invited me to many of their gatherings, and I felt myself a sinner. ‘Why have you ignored us?’ they ask
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.
