I N T R O D U C T I O N T O V O L U M E 1 5 l x x v i i As a counter-movement to the revisionists, the pacifist Brith Shalom (Covenant of Peace), founded in Palestine in 1925, advocated equal rights for Arabs and Jews in a bi-national state. Many of its key figures were German-speaking Jews, such as Arthur Ruppin, Robert Weltsch, Hans Kohn, and Hugo Bergmann, some of whom had close ties to Einstein.[46] Before the Vienna Congress, in June 1925, Weizmann had decided to resign from both his presidency of the Zionist Organisation and from the Hebrew University’s board of governors (Doc. 14) owing to the growing internal political opposition to his policies. Einstein supported the former but not the latter action (Doc. 15). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mt. Scopus was inaugurated with great fanfare on 25 April 1925. Away in South America at the time, Einstein was the guest of honor at a celebration held in Buenos Aires on the occasion of the event.[47] This watershed moment in the nascent university’s development led in July 1925 to the decision of the Zionist Executive, the supreme administrative body of the Zionist Organisation in London, to transfer governance of the university to its new board of governors. As the executive wanted the most prominent intellec- tuals among diaspora Jewry to exert the main influence on the board, it proposed the cooptation of additional scholars. To this end, a meeting of the European mem- bers of the board was planned for Munich in September (Doc. 24). Einstein was apprehensive that the university’s local administration in Jerusalem would oppose this move. In advance of the meeting, he drafted a letter to Judah L. Magnes, chair- man of the board, in which he asserted that it would be “highly dangerous” if the selection of scholars and the determination of budgets were decided in Jerusalem. In his opinion, in light of the sparse settlement of the country, the “intellectual abil- ities” of the scholars in Palestine were inadequate for these initial tasks, and he warned that nepotism would likely be exercised (Doc. 61). However, it is unclear whether this letter was actually sent to Magnes. The planned gathering was held 23–24 September in Munich. In attendance were the European members of the board, as well as Magnes from Palestine and Julian W. Mack from the United States. Provisional regulations for the administra- tion of the university until the framing of its constitution were discussed and de- cided upon. The provisional roles of the university’s governing and administrative bodies were defined. The board elected both a presiding committee (Präsidium) and an executive committee (Exekutive), consisting of two members each. Einstein and Weizmann were elected presidents of the board Magnes and Norman Bentwich were elected members of the executive committee, as chancellor and vice-chancellor, respectively. The meeting also decided on the expansion of the board: nineteen new members were chosen, and three more members were to be