Center Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 17

Menachem Begin
Heritage Center, Jerusalem

Volume 3, Issue 17
February 7, 2007

Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 256,886


Mark Your Calendars:

Events on the Occasion of the Begin Anniversary

* 22 February Members of the Begin Family will have a graveside memorial

* 23 February In the Footsteps of Menachem Begin Tours at 9:30am

* Tel Aviv: Meet at Beit Jabotinsky

* Jerusalem: Meet at the Begin Center

* 26 February Haifa University lecture on "15 Years After Menachem Begin"

* 27-28 February Seminar in conjunction with Bar Ilan University

* 27 February: Opening at 6pm at the Begin Center

* 28 February: 11:00am at the Wohl Center, Bar Ilan University The seminar is divided into three parts: Peace and Security; Society and Economy; and Democracy and Justice.


On the Radio…

The Army Radio station, Galei Tzahal is organizing an elaborate program on and around 22 February. On 22 February they will rebroadcast a Question and Answer interview with Menachem Begin recorded in 1977. On 23 February the station will rebroadcast another show about books dedicated to Menachem Begin. There will also be a one-hour radio show by Eitan Haber which will feature interviews and speeches by Menachem Begin and in their weekly program by Prof. Aronson, a section will be devoted to Menachem Begin.


Menachem Begin Nobel Speech Most Popular

In a poll conducted by Channel 1 and the internet site ynet.co.il (Click here to see the article and hear the speech), Menachem Begin's Nobel Prize acceptance speech at Oslo was chosen to be the most beloved of the nostalgic TV moments shown on the television show "The Way it Was" from among 20 different clips covering a wide array of topics. Menachem Begin's speech won 16.8 percent of the vote and was followed in second place with 10 percent by a clip from the 1970s Israeli children's show "Sami and Susu." Other political figures were further down the list. Mirav Kristal, the author of the article, wrote about the significance of the choice:

Today, when leadership appears fragile—the Chief of Staff has been forced to resign and the President is suspected of rape and slinging insults at the law enforcement institutions—we miss Menachem Begin, his leadership with honesty and charisma and the simplicity of the common man.


Tu B'Shvat at the Center

The personnel at the Begin Center—full-time, part-time, volunteers and especially sherut leumi girls—continued the tradition of celebrating Tu B'Shvat at a special gathering where different dried fruits of the season were served.

Yisrael Medad gave a dvar torah and the young staff led community singing. Director General Herzl Makov and the Head of the Center Harry Hurwitz each made appropriate remarks.


25 Years ago Begin Acts to Help Very Ill

In his important column appearing in the Jerusalem Post, Alexander Zvielli reports from their archives that twenty-five years ago, on 1 February, the question of special medication for terminal patients was already a serious problem.

"Prime Minister Menachem Begin said in the cabinet that the case of Reuven Ma'ayan (who had died of cancer) was a "shocking case of a sick man, who had sought and been denied a High Court order because of legalistic formalities." Health Minister Eliezer Shostak said that he was giving the "green light" for the future use of the DMBG drug, developed by Dr. David Rubin. Begin had persuaded the cabinet to authorize the Health Minister to examine the question of a change in regulations with regard to new medicines prescribed by qualified doctors for terminal patients."


Improvement to the Reuben Hecht Auditorium

At last, the Reuben Hecht Auditorium of the Begin Center has railings on the stairs going from the top to the bottom. Since the opening of the building two years ago, there have been complaints and requests from members of the public for such a banister to be installed. Older people have found it difficult to navigate the stairs without something to hold on to.

We wish the persons using this facility easier and safer passage to the top or bottom of the Auditorium.


Visitors

Mrs. Sisel Klurman of Miami and her daughter Tzipora Ben Aviv from Long Island visited the Begin Center on Sunday. They were received and briefed by Harry Hurwitz, Head of the Center, and were accompanied on their tour by Herzl Makov, the Director General. They were very impressed by the building and its numerous facilities and its programs and were moved by the museum, its state-of-the-art technology and its content. The Klurman family have endowed the Aba Samuel and Sisel Klurman Research Center at the Institute.

* * * * *

The mayor of Eli, Lior Shtohl and his wife, Nehama, accompanied Mrs. Klurman and her daughter on their visit to the Begin Center and were likewise much impressed by all they saw and heard.


Visitor Comments:

v We very much enjoyed the museum. It was very emotional and thrilling. It was a great experience to stroll down memory lane. – Rehovot

v The visit was a great experience. The museum is interesting, impressive and fascinating. It's a pity that we don't have more leaders like Begin today. – Ra'anana

v I had a tremendous time at the museum. No amount of money could buy this kind of experience. It's a wonderful and exquisite masterpiece. – Israel

v I was very impressed by the museum. I wish that we had such leaders today who think of the people and not of themselves. – Israel