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Teddy Kolleck, major at the time of the so-
called New Jerusalem, tells a convention
luncheon at the Jewish Museum about the
woes and vissitudes of heading a municipal
ity which bordered on hostile and enemy
territory. A “tzimis” of the meal, erroneous
ly termed a luncheon but worthy of a ban
quet label any time in the U. S, was a tasty
dish of broiled mushrooms—produced some
where in Israel by the expanding agricul
tural production. Meyer Maier, the Museum
public relations director seated next to
Rosenberg, was excused from his military
outfit for a few hours so he could be present
and later take the American newsmen on a
guided tour of the museum. Seated next to
the mayor are Mrs. Areah Zimuki, Mr. Zim-
uki who is the president of the World Bu
reau of Jewish Journalists, and Moshe
Ronn, international secretary of the Israel
Journalists Association. The gentlemen in
the foreground are editors and publishers of
Israeli daily papers.
was The Southern Israelite
editor’s honor and privilege as
the national president of the
majority of the weekly Jewish
newspapers in the United
States to lead a delegation to
Israel for what in advance ap
peared a routine convention,
to articulate under the circum
stances the great confidence
and affinity American Jewry
had for Israel.
During the months and
months of planning that went
into the shaping of this con
vention, we had in mind the
opportunity of seeing as a
group the land which to say
the least had for the previous
nineteen years been the prim
ary single subject of Jewish
interest in all our publications.
We had in mind that we
would tour a placid country
and watch the Israelis crea
tively engaged in their human
itarian task of immigrant ab
sorption and creation of op
portunity for distressed Jews
from scores of countries where
they had been persecuted.
We had in mind that we
would see first-hand to get a
better understanding of where
American philanthropy had
helped and how we as inter-
pretators of news and events
could do a better job of relay
ing what had taken place,
what was taking place and
what likely would transpire in
the future.
But if we thought we were
formulating the convention
program in cooperation with
the Israel Tourist Office, with
leaders of the Israel press and
government, we were to be
proved quite wrong.
Forces beyond our control
would ultimate shape the pro
gram. Characters in the Arab
lands around the Jewish state
had a far greater part to play
in what ultimately took place
than we.
Ours had been the guiding
hand which brought represen
tatives of the American Jew
ish press to Israel and ours
was the responsibility for
playing by ear, to so speak,
what actually resulted as our
convention interest and
agenda.
If the photographic record
appears to concentrate more
on the American visitors than
on the Israelis, it was not so
much that we wanted it this
way. Rather it was because to
point the camera in other di
rections would at the time
have revealed military secrets
and installations which though
open to us as, literally, “mem
bers of the family,” or mis-
pocha, were literally of course
“off limits” for photographic
purposes.
Remember, that our conven
tion began literally on “D-Day
Minus 10” though we had no
idea of this at the time and
was scheduled to wind up on
“D-Day Minus One.” Some im
perative we could not fathom
at the time, nor do we begin
to even hint that we discerned
the imeminence of war on
June 6', but for expedience in
light of the mounting press
ures and tension we brought
our convention to an official
conclusion on June 3.
Let me -start again during
those hectic days before the
scheduled date of departure.
For a reason at the time no
more complicated than a sim
ple inability to book enough
rooms at any hotel for our
delegation, our convention had
been postponed a full week as
far back in March, It was as
though some unknown deter-
minor was guiding our actions
so that we would be “beshair-
ed” or fated, to be in Israel
during those provocative and
frought pre-war days.
During the weekend when
the delegates should have been
10
occupied in nothing more fren
etic than last-minute packing
for the trip we had a far great
er task to perform.
For a few days earlier
events in the Mid-East had
taken a decided turn for the
worst. Should we continue
with the convention plans? Or
would it not be more expedi
ent to scrub the whole thing?
Who would blame us if we
if we deemed it too dangerous
to dive headlong into the caul
dron of uncertainty and dan
ger which appeared the tem
per of the times? Would in
deed the Israelis have any
time for us in their midst of
national defense?
Moreover the U.S. State
Department was urging na
tionals not to journey to the
Mid-East, unless they had bus
iness there.
The thousands of tourists
who had been in the Mid-East
were urged to leave at first
opportunity.
Suddenly, it appeared to this
writer that a moment of truth
had arrived. A decision had to
be made and it was awesome
to have the responsibility for
this decision.
Suddenly it was clear that
the Jewish press did have
business in Israel at this
special time in history, not we
felt to cover whatever story
might ensue but for a reason
whose importance we were
far too humble to distill in the
ultimate implications.
It seemed to us that tlje
reason was the imperative of
demonstrating our solidarity
with the Jewish people of
Israel.
From some great inner
depth we had the feeling that
our presence would have
special meaning to the Israelis.
How much it would have been
“hutzpaedic” to suggest. But
we felt a cancellation would be
an example of lack of faith in
this country’s future, in a
sense suggesting that their
destruction was so near we
were afraid to make a trip and
subject ourselves to the possi
ble personal danger which
faced the Israelis.
And so against the counsel
of family and friends, and ac
quaintances. and the State
Department, we made the de
cision to go on with the con
vention.
Thus it was that on D-Day
Minus 10, we landed at Lod
Airport, Tel Aviv, and were
transported that evening to
Jerusalem where our sessions
were to open the following
day.
“You come as heroes,” a
newspaperman who greeted
our group told us. “Through
out the country, the people
know you are here. They ap
preciate your being here. . .
Every half hoifcr the radio sta
tion has been announcing
The Southern Israelite