LETTER: TLS to David Umansky, Secretary of the Instructors Organization.
Szold, Henrietta. Typed Letter Signed. Jerusalem, Palestine: To David Umansky, Secretary of the Instructors Organization, 1937, March 31.
Single sheet: 8-1/4 x 10-1/2,” letterhead of The Jewish Agency for Palestine / Central Bureau for the Settlement of German Jews with Dr. Ch[aim] Weizmann, Chairman; two punch-holes at right margin (for filing purposes); folded to fit an envelope; very good.
Henrietta Szold (1860-1945), served on the editorial boards of the Jewish Publication Society of America from 1892-1916 during which time she translated many works from French, German and Hebrew, including The Ethics Of Judaism by Maritz Lazarus (2 vol, 1900) and The Legends Of Judaism by Louis Ginzberg (7 vol, 1909-38). However, her fame rests as a Zionist, perhaps the most important woman Zionist, and as the founder of Hadassah, the women’s Zionist organization in 1912. She served as the President of this organization from 1912-1926. With the death of her mother in 1916, Szold had fewer personal ties requiring her presence in the United States. She decided to devote her energies entirely to Zionism and especially to the establishment and delivery of medical and health services in Palestine. Szold largely lived in Palestine, with occasional visits to the United States, for the rest of her life. As president of Hadassah, as one of the three members of the Palestine Executive Committee of the World Zionist Organization, as a member of the executive committee of the National Assembly of Palestinian Jewry, she was a key figure in Palestine. As she entered her 70s, Szold made plans to return to the United States; the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany, however, forestalled her plans. Instead she became part of the effort to bring Jews out of Germany. Her work was largely with the Youth Aliyah whose efforts to bring young Jews between the ages of 15 and 17 to Palestine became “a life-saving effort of profound importance.” In this letter Szold writes to arrange an appointment with David Umansky saying: “I was told you will be in Jerusalem with the members of the Committee on Sunday. Please come and see me at 4 P.M. If you already fixed another meeting, please let me know.” While Szold surely arranged countless such appointments in her lifetime, her work during this period directly affected the safety of many. Few of Szold’s letters during this period come on the market; this letter documenting her work during a critical time in the history of the Jews and in Szold’s role in Palestine is compelling.
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