Center Bulletin Vol. 4, No. 27

Volume 4, Issue 27
April 16, 2008

Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 391,388


65th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The 65th anniversary of the famous Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is being observed at the highest level in the Polish capital this week.

In addition to the official State delegation headed by President Shimon Peres, who will attend the memorial service at the site of the Warsaw Ghetto, there will be a first time event in Muranowska Square where the ZZW (Betar and Revisionist fighters and others) waged a valiant struggle against the German army which is now being revealed by the research that is being done by Prof. Moshe Arens, former Defense Minister and Foreign Minister of the State of Israel.

Last Friday, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper carried a major article on this important research project. Prof. Arens is leading a delegation which includes the Menachem Begin Heritage Center's Deputy Director Moshe Fuksman-Sha'al and a representative of the Betar, Simcha Felber. They will be joined at the ceremony by lead ers of the Polish Jewish community, pupils of the Ronald Lauder Jewish Day School and representatives of the Polish government and of the city of Warsaw.

A plaque will be unveiled in Muranowska Street to record the role of the Irgun and Betar in the Uprising which started on 19 April 1943.

Much interest has been aroused by a picture in the archives of the Begin Center at the back of which are three words in Hebrew and a date (Mordechai Anilewicz, Tel-Hai 31-3-1935). Anilewicz, one of the primary leaders in the Uprising itself, in fact, had started his Zionist youth activities in the in the ranks of Betar and said during the historic battle that he was strengthened by the spirit of Jabotinsky and Betar that he had absorbed at that time.


Menachem Begin Fellows to be Honored

The first MENACHEM BEGIN FELLOWS will be honored during the annual meeting of the International Board of the Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation which will take place on Friday, 9 May. A number of FELLOWS will be arriving specially for the occasion and others will be here for various events connected with the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel.

MENACHEM BEGIN FELLOWS are individuals or groups or foundations that have made additional special contributions to the Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation Endowment/Development Fund for the on-going work of the Center.

A number of VIPs will attend the event to honor the FELLOWS and to outline the future programs and activities of the Foundation.

To receive more information about how to become a MENACHEM BEGIN FELLOW please contact Harry Hurwitz at hhurwitz@begincenter.org.il


60 Years After the Jaffa Campaign

On the 24th of April, the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in cooperation with the Etzel Museum, the Etzel Soldiers Veterans Union and the Museum Division of the Ministry of Defense will conduct an interactive, unique all-day event in the city of Ja ffa. Walking tours will revisit sites of the Etzel campaign of 1948 accompanied by Etzel members who were there at the battle and by actors who will portray characters from the battles. Participants will see photos of the actual events of 60 years ago and recreations of posters that were on the walls of buildings at the time. Tours end at the Gidi museum, on the beach between Jaffa and Tel Aviv.

Tours will take place from 9:00am until 6:00pm. Pre-registration is required. Please call 03-517-2044 or 03-517-7180. Price for adults is 25 ₪ (discounts for students, age 8-18).

In the evening, at 7:30pm, a rally will take place at the Charles Clore Park on the beachfront between Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Speakers will include Rabbi Meir Lau, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Gen. (res.) Ya'acov Amidror and Prof. Mo she Arens.


Flag-Bedecked Begin Center

As in previous years the Begin Center is now surrounded by waving Israel flags to celebrate the season of religious and national festivals that are approaching. They will flutter in the wind the whole of Pesach and the Yom HaAtzmaut season and are an attraction for tourists and Israelis who see the building from near and far.

Wishing all our readers a

Happy Pesach Holiday Season!



"Moving and Effective Presentation"

The Chief Archivist of Canada, Mr. Ian E. Wilson, has written to Harry Hurwitz, to thank him and his colleagues for their wonderful hospitality when he and the Chief US Archivist, Dr. Alan Weinstein, visited the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in mid-February:

"The recollection of our time together in that magnificent building will endure as a highlight of our brief time in your historic city.

Thank you for the excellent initiative you and your colleagues have brought to reality. It is a moving and effective presentation. The Center provides a place for discussion and learning about the history of our times."