Center Bulletin, Vol. 5, No. 35

Menachem Begin Heritage Center, Jerusalem Volume 5, Issue 35 | June 25, 2009


TOTAL NUMBER OF VISITORS SINCE OCTOBER 2004: 499,279


HAPPENINGS

The Israel Government Fellows Program will be conducting today, Thursday, June 25, its conclusion ceremony for the Third Session. A total of 18 graduates will be receiving gifts and certificates of participation.
The Begin Center continues to provide the public events of a cultural nature as well as those of a professional nature, both sponsored by the Center or in cooperation with other bodies. For example, on Wednesday, June 24, the Center hosted a conference on Psychology and Judaism which featured as its main speaker, Israel Prize Awardee Prof. Mordechai Rothenberg. The conference, “Bereavement and Loss – Between Separation and Continuity”, is jointly sponsored, in addition to the Center, by Beit Moreshet and the Rothenberg Center for Jewish Psychology. Another conference on Jewish education, promoted by Atid, was also conducted recently at the Center.

A researcher, Dr, Meir Zamir of Ben-Gurion University, published a background article, in preparation for a major academic essay on relations between France and the Yishuv. His subject in the article, which appeared in Haaretz this past Friday (see here), was the Altalena and the French arms transfers to the Irgun.

The selling of Begin Center books in Tel Aviv with a special joint booth with the Jabotinsky Institute during the annual Hebrew Book Festival was a success.


VISITORS


The President of Yeshiva University, Dr. Richard Joel, and his assistant, visited the Center last Tuesday. They were escorted through the Museum by Yisrael Medad and were greeted by Begin Center Head, Herzl Makov. Coincidentally, a family from Chicago joined their tour and, as “Jewish geography” would have it, a connection was discovered between Dr. Joel and the family! Dr. Joel, who came at the express request of Hart Hasten, Chairman of the American Friends of the Begin Center, as well as that of his wife who visited the Center some two years ago and was impressed, called the Center a “hidden gem”. He was informed of previous activity with the YU office in Jerusalem and the hope is that future joint programs will result for the benefit of YU students and others who are spending a year in Israel.


The archives aided a doctoral candidate from the United States who is researching the activity of right-wing intellectuals and their connections, among others, with the Begin governments. Next week, the Center expects the visit of an independent film producer who is researching material for a film based on Menachem Begin’s “The Revolt”.


CORRECTION


The name of the person who donated the picture of Menachem Begin on his trip to Colombia is Alter Ben-Tziyon who resides in Mevasseret Tziyon.


EVENTS


On the 29th of Tammuz (Tuesday, July 21), the Yahrtzeit day for Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the Center will be the venue for a special memorial assembly following the official State ceremony at Mount Herzl.