“The vigor of Jewish scholarship and the broad understanding of the leaders of world Jewry have richly endowed the values of American culture, “President Truman stated in a message sent to the inauguration of the Seminary Israel Institute here, established by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America with the cooperation of the Jewish Agency. About 1,000 persons attended the inauguration ceremony.
Addressing the gathering, Israel Ambassador Abba Eban said: “This planet passed from paganism to civilization at the precise moment when it was touched in Israel by the lucid radiance of the Hebrew mind. No people ever suffered more cruelly from the deprivation of its nationhood or ever merited its restoration more.”
Dr. Louis Finkelstein, president of the Jewish Theological Seminary, defined the purpose of the Seminary Israel Institute as “the clarification of the aims and purposes of the State of Israel and discussion of the common problems of the Jewries of that State and of the United States.” Dr. Hayim Greenberg, member of the executive of the Jewish Agency, told the audience that Jewish culture must be universal in its significance. “The very existence of Israel is deeply involved in intercourse with the diaspora, and its culture must weave itself out of the threads of constant communication with the diaspora, “he said. “If this is true of Israel, how much more it is true of the diaspora, “he added.
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.
