Center Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 3

Volume 4, Issue 3
October 31, 2007

Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 335,704


Exhibition Opening Nov. 18: "No More War"

The Foreign Minister of Israel, Tzipi Livni, will be the main speaker at the opening of an exhibition on Sunday, 18 November, to mark 30 years after the historic visit to Jerusalem of President Anwar Sadat of Egypt at the invitation of Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The exhibition tells the story of that visit and various other milestones in the Peace process which led to the signing of a Peace Tre aty between the two countries.

The Ambassador of Egypt, His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Assem Ibrahim, will address the gathering. The proceedings will be introduced by Zvi Harry Hurwitz, the Founder and President of the Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation and the Master of Ceremonies will be Herzl Makov, Chairman of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

Members of the Diplomatic Corps, personnel of the Foreign Office, Members of the Knesset and other Israel dignitaries are expected to attend this rare occasion. Admission will be by invitation only—it is not open to the public.

The following day, November 19, the King David Hotel management, in conjunction with the Menachem Begin Heritage Center will host an event of nostalgia for those people who participated in various events during Sadat's visit. He stayed at the King David Hotel, had talks with the Prime Minister there and attended a festive dinner and other formal events at the hotel. This event too is closed to the public.

President Ephraim Katzir, who was in office at the time, has indicated his desire and readiness to be present.

"Our World View and Our National Outlook"

The famous booklet expressing Menachem Begin's Basic Outlines of Our World View and Our National Outlook, which has been translated, for the first time into English, will appear within a week.

The text was first published in Hebrew in 1951 and has been out of print for many years. A copy has been on display in the Begin Museum and has aroused much interest. The heads of the Center announced that they would publish an English version at an early opportunity. This was made possible by a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wallach of Flushing, NY. The booklet will be distributed to the VIP and academic circles in Israel and abroad and will be on sale at the souvenir store at the Begin Center.

I.G.F. Meet with the Prime Minister

The Israel Government Fellows (IGF) program, a new MASA—an initiative of the Prime Minister's Office and the Jewish Agency—project that is run by the Begin Center, received a boost this week when the 19 Fellows from six countries met with members of the government and the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency and reported on their satisfying experience in their internships in various government offices. On Monday, they were present at the meeting of the Coordinating Committee (between the government and the Jewish Agency) where they were welcomed by the Prime Minister Eh ud Olmert and Chairman of the Jewish Agency Ze'ev Bielsky.

Several hours later a committee of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency visited the Menachem Begin Heritage Center where they were received and welcomed by Harry Hurwitz, the Founder and President, who told them about the Menachem Begin Commemoration Project. He warmly welcomed Mr. Shoel Silver, the newly-elected Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee of the Jewish Agency and wished him grea t success in this important position. Hurwitz said that Silver's parents, Nathan and Lily, were among the founders of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center. Herzl Makov afterwards spoke about future programs and the group continued on to visit the museum.

In Memoriam

We deeply regret to record the death of Mrs. Charlotte Rohr of New York and Florida and extend our heartfelt sympathies to her husband Sami, son George and daughter-in-law Pamela, and grandchildren.

The funeral took place at the Mt. of Olives cemetery followed by shiva first in Israel, then in Florida and New York.

The Rohr family is closely connected with the Menachem Begin Heritage Center where they are funding the Rohr Family Parashat HaShavua programs. Last week's lecture, which was attended by 450 people, was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Charolotte Rohr.

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Menachem Malatsky, a high-ranking officer of the Irgun who had special assignments in the Haifa and Netanya areas and participated in major Irgun operations, passed away last week on the very day when there was a commemoration at the former Acre Prison for the Underground fighters who were executed by the British. He was in the Acre jail at the time of the Great Escape and was one of those who escaped.

He and his wife, Aviva, visited the Begin Center three months ago. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to her, their daughters Orilia and Eleanor, their sons-in-law and grandchildren.

Visitors

Mr. Mendel Kaplan, a member of the International Board of the Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation, spent some time at the Center on Monday and had a discussion with its founder Harry Hurwitz on future plans.

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Mr. and Mrs. Pinchas Broder hosted their friend Mrs. Ruth Milichovsky of Brussels on a visit to the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and a tour of the Menachem Begin Museum. They were all very much impressed by what they saw and were especially moved by the museum. Mrs. Milichovsky knew Menachem Begin and said that by creating this Center "you are doing a great service to the nation and its future."

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Mark Regev, the spokesman and director of the Press Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, took advantage of the school strike and brought his two secondary school children, Danielle and Yuval, to the Menachem Begin Museum. He was accompanied also by his father-in-law. All three generations appreciated the visit very much.