Nostalgia Sunday – Ephraim Katzir
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics, Profiles
Professor Ephraim Katzir, fourth President of the State of Israel, scientist and a founder of the Weizmann Institute, passed away yesterday at his home on the Institute grounds at the age of 93. Although perhaps best known abroad as Israel’s fourth president, Katzir’s contribution to the scientific development of this country was immense.
In addition to founding and heading Weizmann’s Biophysics Department, Katzir’s pioneering studies contributed to the deciphering of the genetic code, the production of synthetic antigens and the clarification of the various steps of immune responses. The understanding of polyamino acid properties led, among other things, to Weizmann scientists’ development of Copaxone, a drug manufactured today by Teva and used worldwide for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
Another major success was in immobilizing enzymes. Katzir developed a method for binding enzymes, which speed up numerous chemical processes, to a variety of surfaces and molecules. The method laid the foundations for what is now called enzyme engineering, which plays an important part in the food and pharmaceutical industries. For example, it is used to produce fructose-enriched corn syrup and semi-synthetic penicillins.
Along with his scientific research, Katzir was profoundly involved in the social and educational aspects of science. He headed a governmental committee for the formulation of a national scientific policy, trained a generation of younger scientists, translated important material into Hebrew and helped to establish a popular science magazine. He served as Chief Scientist of the Israel Defense Ministry and Chairman of the Society for the Advancement of Science in Israel, the Israel Biochemical Society, the National Council for Research and Development and the Council for the Advancement of Science Education. He headed the National Biotechnology Council, was a member of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities and of numerous other learned bodies in Israel and abroad.
In 1973, Katzir was elected fourth President of the State of Israel, a position he held until 1978. Upon completing his term of office, he returned to research at the Weizmann Institute and also devoted himself to the promotion of biotechnological research in Israel and founded the Department of Biotechnology at Tel Aviv University.
In the later years of his scientific career, Katzir turned to new areas of research. In one project, he headed a team of Weizmann scientists that won an international contest for computer modeling of proteins. In another study, he was part of an interdisciplinary Institute team that revealed an important aspect of snake venom’s effects on the body.
Katzir’s brother, Aharon was another founding member of the Weizmann Institute, who headed the Polymer Research Department until he was killed in the 1972 attack at Lod Airport (today Ben Gurion Airport) carried out by Japanese terrorists. Today, on the radio, Aharon’s grandson, LA-based filmmaker Dan Katzir, talked about his grand-uncle and his advice as a surrogate grandfather. Despite the extreme family pressure to go into the sciences (his father is pioneering laser technology engineer Dr. Abraham Katzir), Dan said that Ephraim told him to follow his heart’s desire and, whatever he chose to do, to do it well.
Upon viewing Dan Katzir’s film about Yitzhak Rabin, Out For Love, Be Back Soon, his grand-uncle said that he wept not only for Rabin, but for Sadat and all those who wanted — and died — for the cause of peace in this region.
The Weizmann Institute’s press announcement today, (from which I’ve borrowed liberally), cites an Annual Review quote from Katzir: “I have had the opportunity to devote much of my life to science. Yet my participation over the years in activities outside science has taught me there is life beyond the laboratory. I have come to understand that if we hope to build a better world, we must be guided by the universal human values that emphasize the kinship of the human race: the sanctity of human life and freedom, peace between nations, honesty and truthfulness, regard for the rights of others, and love of one’s fellows.”
They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.
Nostalgia Sunday – Hagana Archive 1947-8
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Nostalgia Sunday, War
The Ministry of Defense’s Hagana Photo Archive is an online treasure trove of the State of Israel’s history from the people who defended it. The collection is so rich, it’s hard to make a selection. Here are a few gems in honor of both Memorial Day for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers, which begins Monday night, and Israel Independence Day, which commences on Tuesday.
This image, from Mandatory Palestine, is of the illegal immigration ship, the Chaim Arlozorov, captured by British soldiers.
The British army withdraws from Palestine.
The tense moments as the UN voted on the resolution to establish a Jewish State.
The Jewish settlement comes under attack and the War of Independence begins. This is Jerusalem under mortar attack:
Jerusalem blockaded.
The conquest of Jerusalem’s German Colony by the Hagana. (The militia was later consolidated into the Israel Defense Forces).
Tel Aviv celebrates the establishment of the Jewish State.
This selection doesn’t begin to represent the amazing collection of photos, dating back to 1880, that exist in the Hagana Photo Archive. For anyone interested in Israel’s history, it’s a must-see.
Nostalgia Sunday on Tuesday – Adloyada
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
Apologies for the delay in posting; this was due to circumstances far beyond my control. Whew. Okay. A moment before the Purim holiday ends, let’s take a look at days gone by, in particular the Adloyada parade.
“Adloyada” is a bastardization of the phrase “ad lo yada” or “unable to differentiate”, referring to the Purim tradition of drinking until one is unable to tell the difference between evil Haman and good Mordechai. The parade was instituted in 1912, in Tel Aviv, the first modern Jewish city, by a teacher at the Herzliya Gymnasium high school and became the stomping ground for Hevre Trask (”the noisy folks”), a band of merrymaking bohemians.
In the 1920s, the event had its profile raised by dancer-choreographer and bon vivant Baruch Agadati. Here he is, the crown prince of of Tel Aviv night life in the 1920s, pictured with Zippora Zabari, winner of the “Queen Esther” beauty contest for 1928.
And another Purim lovely:
And here’s a picture of the parade itself, which was famous for its floats.
It had the support of Mayor Meir Dizengoff. This costume parodied his well-known penchant for riding around town on a horse.
At the end of the 1920s, a committee of artists, poets, architects and theater people was established with the stated goal of giving the Adloyada a higher educational and artistic tone, and it became something of an establishment tool.
Adloyada floats never shied away from politics, such as the 1926 coffin burying the British Mandate, and the 1934 anti-Nazism float. The event ceased activity in 1936 but after it was reestablished in the 1950s, the topical subjects continued. Here’s Egypt’s Gamal Abdul Nasser and David Ben-Gurion, acting out a prime ministerial summit that never happened in reality… as far as we know…
The Adloyada shut down, once again, in the 1970s and was revived, once again in the early 1980s by the Sheinkin avant garde, led by a stellar performance artist, the late Danny Zakheim. This time, the tone was different and probably more like that of the original Adloyada of the 1920s – a punk street fair bacchanal that went on for days. Here’s Mayor Shlomo Lahat venturing into unknown territory.
There are a few parades today calling themselves Adloyada. Holon – a sleepy suburb with ambitions to become Israel’s new center of the visual arts – has apparently been deemed the location for the national Adloyada. But the real deal has been and always will be Tel Aviv. It’s only a matter of time before the Adloyada comes back home.
Nostalgia Sunday – Joseph Bau’s studio
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
Tel Aviv, like many cities that are cultural centers, houses many small gems, collections of artwork which are part of modern Israel’s history and should be preserved. Intending to do a write-up on the work of painter, graphic artist, animator, author, poet and publisher Joseph Bau (1920-2002), I logged into the Joseph Bau webiste only to discover that the studio where Bau worked for 40 years may close due to financial difficulties.
The modest studio-cum-museum includes paintings by Bau, commercial advertisements, and corporate logos, including those of “Eskimo Lemon” popsicles, Shekem (the IDF equivalent of the PX), and Israeli movies including: “Kazablan”, “Salah Shabati” and others.
Bau’s remarkable story – some of which was dramatized in the film Schindler’s List – began in Poland. He was a student at the University for Plastic Arts in Krakow when World War II broke out and Jews were sent to Nazi concentration camps. During his internment at the Plashow Concentration camp, Bau fell in love with another inmate, Rebecca. They secretly married when Bau smuggled himself into the women’s camp – their love story inspired a scene in the film.
Bau never lost hope or a sense of humor and it was art that saved his life. At Plashow, and then Gross-Rosen, he worked as a draftsman, lettered signs in Gothic type while secretly forging documents and identity papers. According to his online biography, he saved 400 lives in the process. Bau was later transferred to to Oscar Schindler’s camp where he stayed till the end of the war. Bau then returned to Krakow to complete his university studies and work as a newspaper graphic artists and illustrator.
In 1950 Bau immigrated to Israel with his wife and oldest daughter. According to his biography, “He was recruited to a secret unit of the intelligence corps that dealt with technical covert operations that utilized his talent for art and graphics. Later he was transferred, together with other Intelligence corps personnel to a similar unit that was formed and worked as part of the intelligence community belonging to the Prime Minister’s office. Joseph never spoke of these activities.” One may assume however, that his talent as a forger was also not overlooked.
In 1956 Bau opened his studio in Tel Aviv, where he painted, worked in commercial art (including designing the famous Amisragas logo) and animation, as well as authoring and illustrating a number of humorous books – even one about his experiences during the Holocaust.
Bau’s daughters, Hadasa and Clila, want to continue keeping this special little museum alive to commemorate their father’s life, artistic achievements, and his contribution to the State of Israel. They have started a petition requesting the city of Tel Aviv provide support.
Nostalgia Sunday – Lebanon 1982
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Life, Nostalgia Sunday, War
They’re not happy memories. However, it seems appropriate, on the eve of Waltz With Bashir’s possible Oscar win, to glean the National Photo Collection for photos of the 1982 Lebanon War that capture something of the movie’s essence.
Sidon – IDF soldier on patrol near Ferris wheel. Photo: Shmuel Rahmany
Zaharani area – burning fuel depot. Photo: Beni Tel-Or
Tyre – Ancient Roman ruins with modern buildings in background. Photo: Yaacov Saar
Sidon – Returning to the marketplace. Photo: Yaacov Saar
Central Lebanon – Two Israeli soldiers take a forbidden dip in a stream. Photo: Yossi Roth
Tel Aviv Fairgrounds – Israeli citizens visit a display of a captured PLO arsenal. Photo: Avraham Zaslavski
Tel Aviv – Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon presents objectives at a press conference. Photo: Yaacov Saar
Sidon – Movie poster: “The Land That Time Forgot“. Photo: Yoel Kantor
Miraculous space pulp
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, General, History and Culture, Technology
Curators at the Israel Museum have worked in conjunction with Israel’s State Archives to sort through millions of archived documents and are now presenting a special exhibition entitled “Blue and White Pages: Documenting the History of Israel,” opening two days from now and closing February 7, 2009.
In celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary, most of the documents on display at the exhibit are available for viewing by the general public for the first time ever. Some of the highlights include the blood-stained copy of “A Song to Peace” lyrics found in Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s pocket on the night of his assassination, Israel’s original Declaration of Independence and peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan.
But perhaps the piece de resistance is two pages restored from the remains of a journal kept by Ilan Ramon while in space. Israel’s first-ever astronaut, Ramon and his co-crew members died when the Columbia fell apart while attempting to land on earth on February 1, 2003. Remains of his diary, which fell several miles to the ground, were found two months later in a field in Palestine, Texas. Years of restoration by the Museum’s Paper Conservation Laboratory yielded 37 rescued pages, most of which are being kept private as per the requests of Ramon’s family.
The Jerusalem Post has this to add:
A little over two months after the shuttle explosion, NASA searchers found 37 pages from Ramon’s diary, wet and crumpled, in a field just outside the US town of Palestine, Texas. The diary survived extreme heat in the explosion, extreme atmospheric cold, and then “was attacked by microorganisms and insects” in the field where it fell, said museum curator Yigal Zalmona.
“It’s almost a miracle that it survived it’s incredible,” Zalmona said. There is “no rational explanation” for how it was recovered when most of the shuttle was not, he said.
According to a statement released by the Museum’s spokespeople, the two pages on display “include Ramon’s description of the experience of life in space and a handwritten copy of the Kiddush, the Jewish blessing over wine, intended for use in live transmission while on board the Columbia spacecraft.” Read more
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