Menachem Begin Heritage Center Bulletin 5, Vol. 5

Menachem Begin
Heritage Center, Jerusalem
Volume 5, Issue 5
November 20, 2008
Total Number of Visitors Since October 2004: 449,529

Begin Prize 2008

As has been done for the past eight years, the Menachem Begin Heritage Center will present the Menachem Begin Prize during Chanukah. The Prize Ceremony will be conducted on the evening of the lighting of the third candle of Chanukah on December 23, 2008. This year's Prize will be awarded to Prof. Reuven Or, Director of the Department of Bone Marrow Transplant at Hadassah Hospital, who initiated a national program in Israel for a bone marrow bank. Awards of Honor this year will go to Prof. Moshe Arens for his work towards the security of Israel and his more recent historical work illuminating the actions of the Betar in the Underground during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and to Harold "Smoky" Simon for his contribution to the Israel Air Force during the War of Independence and more recently for his untiring work as Honorary Treasurer of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and as Chairman of World Machal.

"A World Before Catastrophe"

On December 21st, a new exhibition will open at the Begin Center. In cooperation with the International Cultural Center of Krakow, Poland, the Begin Center will host the exhibit "A World Before Catastrophe" which depicts Jewish life in Krakow, Poland, before World War II. The exhibition will be on view at the Begin Center until April 2009.

Traffic Changes

As a follow-up to last week's story about the traffic changes around the Begin Center, here are a few pictures illustrating the new signage and the adjustments made to the intersection.

31 Years Ago

On 19 November 1977, President of Egypt Anwar Sadat arrived in Jerusalem at the invitation of Prime Minister Menachem Begin. After Sadat spoke at the Knesset, Begin responded:
"We believe with all our hearts that the day indeed will come when we can sign a freely negotiated agreement with mutual respect. Then we shall know that the era of the war is over; that we have extended our hands to one another, we have shaken each other's hands and the future can be glorious for all the nations in this area."

Seen and Heard at the Begin Center

Commissioner of Police in Jerusalem Aharon Franco toured the Begin Museum with his senior staff.

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Forty young leaders of the General Assembly came to visit the Begin Museum and afterwards held their special meetings here.

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A seminar was held for the Hebrew University-sponsored Outstanding Ethiopian Young Leadership with 30 participants led by Dr. Shalva Weil, President of the Society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry Senior Researcher-Research Institute for Innovation in Education. They were addressed by Yisrael Medad, Information Resources Director, on Begin’s role in the liberation of Ethiopian Jewry.

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The Yerucham-Miami Federation Partnership meeting (as part of the General Assembly) made an international conference call from the Nathan Silver Executive Board Room at the Begin Center and subsequently making full use of the Center's facilities for their deliberations and planning for the coming year.

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The Menachem Begin Heritage Center
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