4 3 6 D O C . 5 9 O N PA L E S T I N E . F I R S T V E R S I O N
Society in Manchester Guardian, 10 June 1921, p. 8.
The American tour was arranged by the international Zionist Organization (ZO) to serve as the
fund-raising debut of its Palestine Foundation Fund (Keren Hayesod), which had been established in
July 1920. Designated an immigration and colonization fund, the Keren Hayesod was to serve as a
centralized institution for collecting and administering on a worldwide basis “a fixed and annual self-
imposed tax on every Jew for the upbuilding of the National Home”; Ulitzur 1940, p. 9. Some of those
funds were earmarked for the establishment of a Jewish university, a prospect that filled Einstein with
a delight such as no other public event had afforded him (see his interview, New York Times, 3 April
1921, p. 13). For Einstein’s further thoughts on the university, see Einstein 1921j (Doc. 62).
[7]Officially, Einstein was invited to the United States by the President of the American Jewish
Physicians’ Committee (see Dr. Nathan Ratnoff to Einstein, 27 February 1921), a group of one hun-
dred members dedicated to raising one million dollars for the university. The committee functioned
“as an independent body but in harmony and co-operation with the Zionist Organization”; Proposed
HU 1924, p. [3]. By mid-May more than $100,000 had been subscribed by New York physicians
alone (see New York Call, 16 May 1921, p. 7). Another $250,000, earmarked specifically for the
medical faculty of the university, was pledged by eight hundred doctors attending a banquet at the
Waldorf-Astoria on 21 May. Einstein was quoted in his after-dinner speech as stating that “[t]he
Medical College will undoubtedly be the most important department of the University, as we Jews
have always excelled in this particular branch of science.” New York Times, 22 May 1921, p. 21.
About the same time, he estimated with satisfaction that altogether “ca. 6000” Jewish physicians had
pledged their support (see Einstein to Michele Besso, second half of May 1921 [SzGB]) [7 335]). Of
this number, one whom Einstein had approached personally was Carl Beck of Chicago (see Einstein
to Carl Beck, 8 April 1921), who was also involved in efforts to raise money for German and Austrian
universities (see Einstein 1920b [Doc. 36], note 2).
[8]In late 1920, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) had placed the “Medical Unit and San-
itation” at the head of its list of priorities to receive contributions to the Keren Hayesod (see
“Resolutions Adopted by the Zionist Organization of America in Convention at Buffalo on November
28, 1920,” no. II, Weizmann, Ch. 1977, p. xxvi). Special attention was paid to the creation of a
research institute of microbiology to deal with “the medical and public health problems of Palestine”
(Proposed HU 1924, p. [4]), of which malaria was the most critical. All institutes were to be “trans-
formed in the course of a few years into teaching departments”; Jewish Correspondence Bureau
(London), 18 January 1921, p. 2. See Einstein 1921j (Doc. 62), note 1, for a brief account of the
planned structure of the university.
[9]In order to ensure the success of the medical faculty, a subcommittee for medical research of the
University Advisory Committee was formed in England under the direction of Redcliffe N. Salaman
(1874–1955). Its first research appointment was that of Saul Adler (1895–1966), a young English par-
asitologist (see Bentwich 1961, p. 20).
[10]At the beginning of 1921, the office of the Keren Hayesod announced the creation of a special
University Fund under its auspices. “The money for that fund will be applied solely for purposes for
the University expenditure.” An initial outlay of ca. 100,000 pounds with an annual budget of ca.
50,000 pounds was contemplated. “The first donations, amounting to several thousands, have already
been received, and a house and estate have been purchased on the selected site for the University, on
the Mount Scopus.” Jewish Correspondence Bureau (London), 18 January 1921, pp. [1]–2.
Einstein was careful to distinguish between the University Fund and the Keren Hayesod in
general, as the issue of not mingling funds had become a major bone of contention between the inter-
national ZO and the ZOA. For a discussion of the conflicts that pitted the world organization against
the American leadership, see the editorial note, “Einstein and the Jewish Question,” pp. 233–234.
[11]A large number of small contributions characterized the fund-raising in America. Taking to task
the “small oligarchy of men” who had only been able to collect $28,000 in Boston the previous year,
Chaim Weizmann, President of the ZO, compared that with the $20,000 that had been raised at one
dinner the previous evening. “We don’t get big contributions, but the masses are giving in smaller
sums, but in large quantities.” Chaim Weizmann to Sir Alfred Mond, 18 May 1921, in Weizmann, Ch.
1977, p. 193. Einstein confirmed this in an interview that he gave in late June, in which he boasted
that “the money for our cause flowed in, and much more will follow. Whether it was mostly the rich