The celebration of the seventieth birthday of Dr. Chaim Zhitlovsky, noted American-Jewish writer and philosopher, was marred here today by clashes between Jews who insist that Hebrew is the only language to be used in Palestine and others who favor the use of Yiddish.
The Hebraists invaded the meeting at which the Zhitlovsky jubilee was celebrated and turned off the lights, turning the audience into a panic. Stone vollies then forced the public hurriedly to quit the hall.
Four policemen were wounded in the clash. The meeting was disbanded by the authorities in order to avoid more serious fights.
Dr. Zhitlovsky is known as a Yiddishist, who advocates the use of Yiddish as well as Hebrew in Palestine. The rumor spread that the attack on the Zhitlovsky celebration was made by Revisionists. Leaders of the Revisionist movement in Jerusalem promptly denied the rumor.
A celebration in honor of Zhitlovsky was held last week in Tel Aviv. The celebration went off quietly.
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.
