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Israel @ 60 #4.........posted Oct 28, 2007

In last month's column I discussed briefly the content of the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. Our fifth graders already know the significance of the four dates (i.e., years) that appear in the text of the Declaration. If you do not, it might be interesting to refer to the copy on display in the synagogue lobby. Hint: One of the four years is in the 19th Century, and the other three are in the 20th. [If you've not yet had an opportunity to read the text, see if you can guess what four dates the framers of the Declaration would make so prominent within this historical document!] If you want to learn a lot more about this amazing document, join us for the Adult Education Committee's program scheduled for 8 PM on 12 March 2008. Micha Balf, the Education Shaliach from the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) to Washington, DC will be sharing and discussing with you a lot more about the Declaration.

On another note, by the time you're reading this you also will be able to find the Hebrew version of the Declaration on display in the synagogue. It's truly a beautiful and colorfully illustrated framed edition of the Declaration, and worthy of prominent display during this special year of Israel @ 60.

Another highlight: The National Park Service recently has given its approval for a single celebration of Yom Ha'Atzmaut ([Israel] Independence Day) on the National Mall. This means that we'll have one single celebration of Chag Ha'Atzmaut, the newly-designated Holiday of Independence, along with our friends, relatives, and colleagues in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. It will be a great event, and I know that our Tikvat Israel Congregation will be deeply involved in making the celebration on the Mall meaningful, exciting for all ages, educational, and a whole lot of fun. The date will be Sunday, 1 June 2008. Watch for more details as our TI planning committee moves forward with this one. I'm confident that the committee will be looking for a lot of volunteers (all ages) to make the TI booth on the Mall an attractive and successful destination for visitors from all over the Metro area and beyond.

Don't forget about our Congregation-wide event (at Tikvat Israel, both indoors and outdoors--in the main parking lot) just before Yom Ha'Atzmaut itself. This Israeli-Style Barbecue and Celebration will take place after work and school on Thursday, May 8th--the 3rd of Iyar. (The 5th of Iyar is on Shabbat this year.) Also, mark your calendars for a special concert at Strathmore (with many TI family members participating with Cantor Helzner) on Sunday, March 2nd. Please note that our youngsters are scheduled to perform in the evening concert, not the afternoon performance.

The Adult Education Committee, in concert with the Israel Affairs Committee, Hazak, and the Strategic Communications Committee, has truly outdone itself this year of Israel @ 60. We have scheduled (as of this writing) a total of 14 programs related to Israel this year! The overview is available on a one-page flyer (both in print on yellow paper and downloadable from our website) and it also is prominently displayed at both main entrances to our building. I guarantee that you'll find something of interest to you (personally) if you take a minute to peruse the highly diverse educational offerings.

In last month's column I talked about Israel President Chaim Weizmann's American connection, I shared some little-know facts about American Colonel David (Mickey) Marcus and his role in Israel's War of Independence, and I mentioned briefly the name of another Israeli closely linked to the United States--Golda Myerson (born Mabovitch, in Kiev, Russia, 1898). Most of us remember her as Golda Meir. Here are some interesting and not-so-well-known facts about the woman who came to be known as Golda (as in the Broadway show, Golda's Balcony).

Golda and her family emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1906 due to extreme poverty in the area where she was born. The Mabovitch family settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, not very far north of Chicago. There she later studied in the Normal School for Teachers. She decided to become a Zionist largely because of her horrible memories of the pogroms in Czarist Russia. She lived in the USA for about fifteen years, essentially growing up here (from age 8 to age 23). In 1921 she and her husband, Morris Myerson, settled in the British Mandate of Palestine. The Myersons joined kibbutz Merchavyah [Merhavyah], and the Myersons managed reasonably well under the harsh conditions of kibbutz life. Her involvement in politics and social activities eventually took her away from the kibbutz, and she was sent back to the United States as an emissary to the Pioneer Women's Organization here (1932-1934). When she returned to Palestine she immediately joined the executive committee of the Israel labor union--the Histadrut. She advanced within that organization, became head of Histadrut's Political Department, and received a great deal of on-the-job training for more significant roles in Israeli politics later. In 1946 she became the head of the Political Department of the Jerusalem-based Jewish Agency, now known as the Jewish Agency for Israel (or JAFI). [In fact, several extremely knowledgeable and excellent speakers and visitors from JAFI are scheduled to visit our congregation in support of our Adult Education Program this year. See the schedule for details.]

In 1948, Golda Meir (now the Israeli surname she used) was appointed Minister to Russia. She had left Kiev in Russia many years earlier, where her father was a very hard-working but poor carpenter. According to Encyclopaedia Judaica (Junior Judaica), she "returned to Russia...[after 50 years from her departure to the USA] as Israel's first minister to Moscow, and was received by thousands of Jews who came to the Moscow Great Synagogue to meet her." She was elected to the Knesset (Israel's Parliament) in 1949 as a member of the Mapai party--and was selected to serve as Israel's Minister of Labor. In that role, again according to Judaica, she began "large scale housing and road building programs, and supported a policy of unrestricted immigration." After she became Foreign Minister in 1956 and held that post for 9 years, she had become a famous international figure--one of very few women in her time to hold such a high office. She was instrumental in that position in extending aid from the State of Israel to a number of African nations. On 26 February 1969, Golda Meir became Israel's fourth Prime Minister. During her term of office, she "encouraged the emigration of thousands of Soviet Jews to Israel, and strengthened relations with the United States."

Many of us remember her role during the Yom Kippur War (1973). Egypt and Syria conducted a surprise attack on Israel during that religious holiday. After leading her country through a difficult and intense period -- and after winning the war, she decided to resigned her office. However, she remained as head of a caretaker government, working diligently on military disengagement of forces, until the assumption of the Prime Minister's role by her successor, Yitzchak (Yizhak) Rabin in June of 1974. Golda Meir then retired from government into private life--after a long and noteworthy career in support of the State of Israel.

Next month I'll discuss another interesting connection between American Jewry and the State of Israel. In the meanwhile, please participate in all of the synagogue and community activities contributing to the making of Israel's 60th anniversary into a meaningful spiritual, social, and education series of experiences.

Harvey T. Kaplan
Tikvat Israel Representative on the Israel Educators Institute (IEI) of the Washington, DC Jewish Community