chaim weitzman

Sunday Mar 23

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this was the most beautiful
day this spring season.

Everything is fine and
beautiful but something
is missing.

Attended in afternoon
the East Side Keren Haysod
meeting with Weitzman at
Cooper Union. Nothing new
excepting the collection of about
$18,000 — the the fund, and
the presentation to Weitzman
of a $25,000 check by the Comittee.

In Evening I hung around
the Z.Z. with Blaustien, nothing
seems to be able to drive away
my monotony.

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Matt’s Notes

Boy, Papa was really in a funk — he attended an event with Chaim Weitzman himself, saw 18 grand raised for his beloved Keren Hayesod, and still he said it was “nothing new.” This would be like me sitting next to William Shatner on a plane, seeing a gremlin crawl along the wing, and later reporting that my flight was “fine.”

He had a lot on his mind, though. When he said “something is missing,” he might have been talking about the ailing father he hadn’t seen for years, the longed-for company of the “20th Century Girl,” or, more likely, a little of both. As we’ve noted before, Papa would take stock of his life with apprehensive introspection at milestones like his birthday or New Year’s Eve. And here it was again: The beautiful weather made his melancholy stand out in relief; the world was thawing, but he felt more frozen than ever.

I understand these feelings because I’ve felt that way myself. But not always, Papa, because this was you and me:

Monday Mar 24

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Attended the Banquet at the
Astor in honor of Weitzman. for
the K.H.

Another source of joy.

Very seldom have I heard such
an outpour of idealism at
one meeting.

About $160,000 has been
raised at this gathering.

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Matt’s Notes

Papa’s been sort of a Chaim Weizmann groupie over the last couple of days, first seeing him at the Cooper Union and now following him to the Hotel Astor, a grand and gorgeous Times Square spot we’ve discussed earlier.

hotel astor

It seems to have been a choice venue for high-profile Zionist fundraising activities. Last time Papa was there he saw the influential Rabbi Joseph Silverman throw his previously-withheld support behind the cause, and now another all-star lineup of American Zionists (including Silverman) showed up on behalf of Keren Hayesod. (At a recent visit to the New York Historical Society, I saw a pamphlet describing one of the Astor’s key attractions, a gallery that featured Native American artifacts and busts of various tribesman. It struck me as well-meaning but rather exploitative; I wonder what Papa made of it, or if Weizmann and company hung around in there.)

In any event, it’s good to see Papa feeling joyful and idealistic after a long string of lonely, anxious days. (I say this partly out of self-interest, too — the more I work on this project, the more I think my own moods are starting to mirror Papa’s.)

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References for this post

Wednesday May 7

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Stopped this morning long enough
to bid Bon Voyage to our leader
Weitzman, The scene was a very
impressive one as the huge ship
moved out slowly.

In evening had Miss B. out
for a bus ride it was pleasant.

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Matt’s Notes

The ship Papa saw off that morning was the Aquitania, the pride of the Cunard line in the early 20th Century (other Cunard ships included the Mauretania and the ill-fated Lusitania). Noted for her great size and opulent interiors, the Aquitania was the last of the “four-stackers” and a favorite among movie stars and aristocrats in the 20’s, so the sight of her leaving New York harbor would have been as impressive as her passenger list.

Among those on board with Chaim Weitzman were Ogden Reid, who had bought the New York Herald to create the Herald-Tribune just six weeks before, and Prince Felix Youssoupoff, flamboyant husband of Princess Irina of Russia, the niece of Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II. According to the New York Times, the Prince had been in America to sell off a “large collection of jewelry” while Weizmann “carried with him approximately $5,000,000 raised in the United States for the restoration of Palestine.” It might have been a tad awkward if Youssoupoff and Weizmann ran into each other on the Aquitania, since Youssoupoff had been a key member of Nicholas II’s brutally anti-Semitic court (so much so that he participated in the murder of Rasputin). Hopefully the cruise director sat them at different dinner tables.

Papa, of course, knew not of the Aquitania‘s luxurious dining rooms and lounges, so while his “leader” was sailing to England, Papa contented himself with a social cruise on one of New York City’s buses. We’ve seen romantic episodes unfold for Papa aboard trolleys and trains, so perhaps he thought a bus ride with “Miss B.” on a lovely, 65-degree day would have been just the thing (this is his first mention of her, so I wonder if she’s the woman he met at a Zionist ball a few days before). Was this a typical way for people like Papa to get acquainted? What bus would they have taken?

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References

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