| Collection |
WSJHS |
| Description |
Portrait doll (hand made) of Chaim Weitzmann, first President of Israel. White balding male, greyish hair, moustache and goatee, black felt suit, tie- black, rust and tan of narrow braid, black leather shoes, nails, brown leather book under right arm- white printing says "Trial and Error".
Chaim Azriel Weitzman (1874-1952) was a Russian-born Israeli chemist and statesman who served as the first president of modern Israel (1948-1952). Weitzman was always devoted to the possibility of a Jewish State; at the age of 11, he wrote a letter in Hebrew to his Hebrew teacher urging that the Jewish people must return to Zion. He initially gained prominence as the leader of the "Young Zionist" opposition to Theodore Herzl. Then, during the early years of WWI he took an important part in the negotiations that led up to the government's Balfour Declaration. In 1920, Weitzman, who had been president of the English Zionist Federation from 1917, became head of the World Zionist Organization. From 1921 onward he traveled the world tirelessly, preaching Zionist ideology and appealing for funds at mass rallies. Eventually, Weitzman's doctrines of caution antagonized extremist politicians and Weitzman turned again to science, founding the Daniel Sieff Research Institute at Re?ovot, Palestine (1934). He also played a leading part in public efforts to save German Jewry and its property after the advent of the Nazis. Back in office by election (1935), Weitzman supported the recommendation of a British to divide Palestine into Jewish and Arab areas. Opponents furiously challenged this view, and eventually the proposal was shot down because of Arab rejection. Weitzman's unflagging insistence during World War II brought about the formation of the Jewish Brigade Group in the British army. In 1946, he again lost the world Zionist presidency and never returned to the official leadership. Nevertheless, Jewish people as a whole continued to revere him. Early in 1948, though divested of formal office, he was sent to Washington by the Zionist leadership for crucial talks with President Harry Truman. Weitzman persuaded the United States administration both to drop its trusteeship plan for Palestine and to forego its proposal to exclude the Negev from the State of Israel. His intervention also led to American recognition of the newly proclaimed state and the grant of a $100,000,000 loan. That September Weitzman became president of the Provisional State Council and the following February was elected president of the State of Israel. |
| Object Name |
Dolls, portrait |
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