l i i I N T R O D U C T I O N T O V O L U M E 1 6 Magnes’s administrative decisions.[27] He was nevertheless still receiving informa- tion about the university’s affairs from disenchanted academics in Jerusalem. The departure of prominent bacteriologist Arthur Felix particularly irritated Einstein and led him to conclude that the conditions at the university were “unbearable” (Doc. 37). He was greatly dismayed that “men of scientific abilities are being kept at a distance or driven away from the university in disgust” and thus repeated his threat to resign officially from the board of governors and the academic council (Docs. 59, 72). In the meantime, the university’s subcommittee on teaching and research, chaired by British-Jewish mathematician Selig Brodetsky, submitted its report in September 1927. Its major proposals were the appointment of an academic head and the establishment of a permanent executive of the academic council.[28] In January 1928, Einstein informed Weizmann that he would refrain from publicly re- signing his official roles if the university adopted the Brodetsky reforms within a year. He further stipulated that if the board of governors failed to take such action, he deemed it “much better for us to delay for another generation the foundation of a Hebrew University than to establish a bungled university under pressure from outside conditions” (Doc. 128). That same month, Weizmann informed Einstein that he believed Brodetsky himself was willing to take on the role of academic head for a year. Weizmann also wrote that he planned to resign as president of the Zionist Organisation in the summer of 1929 and dedicate himself exclusively to the uni- versity from 1930 onward (Docs. 133, 139). Einstein was pleased with the plan but admitted to Weizmann that he did not quite believe him because such announce- ments in the past had not been actualized (Doc. 140). Two months later, Weizmann informed Einstein that Magnes was prepared to accept the proposal for a new aca- demic head. However, Magnes favored German mathematician Edmund Landau for the position over Brodetsky (Doc. 154). In response, Einstein deemed the uni- versity “a quagmire” (Doc. 155). On the eve of the governors’ fourth meeting in early June 1928 in London, Einstein sent Weizmann three letters detailing his demands for reform. American benefactor Felix M. Warburg described these missives as “bombs which had been thrown into the meeting” (Doc. 207). One letter addressed to the board members was particularly extensive and contained a proposal for the establishment of a per- manent executive of the academic council. It also stated Einstein’s conditional sup- port for the introduction of teaching at the university in accordance with the Brodetsky report (Doc. 201). In his official letter to Weizmann, Einstein asked him to propose Brodetsky as academic head on their joint recommendation (Doc. 203). In his personal letter to the Zionist leader, Einstein again expressed his opinion that if an academic head were not appointed, it would be “much better to close down the whole shebang.” This demand was a conditio sine qua non for him to remain