The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein: The Far East, Palestine & Spain 1922-1923

by Ze'ev Rosenkranz, editor,
The Jerusalem Post, July 13, 2018

Following a reception in Tel Aviv in February 1923, at which then-mayor Meir Dizengoff and members of the City Council named him an honorary citizen, Albert Einstein noted in his diary that the accomplishments of Jews in Palestine in a few short years “excite the highest admiration... What an incredibly lively people our Jews are.” That same month, while in Jerusalem, Einstein acknowledged that he was “wanted at all costs” to head the Hebrew University and “am being assailed on all fronts in this regard.” Convinced that a Jewish University would serve “as a rallying point” for scholarship and an authoritative center for Jewish thought,” whose influence would “enliven and inspirit the diverse communities of scattered Israel,” Einstein told himself “My heart says yes but my mind says no.”

Read the full article