ISRAEL PRIDE
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Yoni Kelberman // Docu.Text festival goers at an
outdoor event on the National Library Plaza.
Four Documentaries Premier at Docu.Text
The fifth annual Docu.Text Documentary Film Festival at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem kicked off Aug. 18 featuring four highly acclaimed documentary films and experiences making their debut on the Israeli big screen. Two of these films feature virtual or augmented reality as part of the experience, according to The Times of Israel. The four big premiers are: • “Moynihan,” a portrait of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the New York senator and intellectual diplomat. • “Zikr: A Sufi Revival,” a VR experience that takes participants into the world of Tunisian ritual, music and dance. • “East of the Rockies,” an AR experience that addresses relocation of Japa-
Today in Israeli History Aug. 23, 1903: The Sixth Zionist Congress, the last presided over by Theodor Herzl, convenes in Basel, Switzerland. It is the largest Zionist Congress so far, with approximately 600 delegates, and explores a proposal for a Jewish homeland in Uganda. On a 295-178 vote with 98 abstentions, the congress decides to send a commission to East Africa to investigate setting up a Jewish home there as an interim step toward the Land of Israel, but the Seventh Zionist Congress in 1905 rejects the idea.
Photo by Fritz Cohen, Israeli Government Press Office // The first governor of the Bank of
Israel, David Horowitz (right), welcomes to his office David Rockefeller, the president of Chase Manhattan Bank, in March 1971.
Aug. 24, 1954: The Knesset passes the Bank of Israel Law on a 55-0 vote with 14 abstentions. The law, which goes into ef8 | AUGUST 23, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES
nese-Canadians during World War II. • “Paul Auster – What If,” discusses 70 years of American history through the author’s unique point of view. While those four are among the most noteworthy events at Docu.Text, there are dozens of indoor and outdoor screenings, and a concert featuring Israeli Dudu Tassa, playing music inspired by his grandfather’s Iraqi legacy.
Mount Zion Archaeological Expedition //
An earring found during an excavation at Mount Zion is cited as evidence of Babylonian conquest of the city in 586 BCE.
New Archeological Finds Are Evidence of Babylonian Siege
Historical finds at Mount Zion, next to Jerusalem’s Old City, lend credence to the 586 BCE Babylonian conquest of the city. Among those finds were arrowheads, a piece of gold jewelry, lamps and pottery shards, according to The Times of Israel. Those artifacts were found embedfect Dec. 1, 1954, sets up the Bank of Israel as the central financial authority for the country. The bank is allocated 10 million pounds as its initial capital. The bank, whose first governor is David Horowitz, has the authority to “administer, regulate and direct the currency system and to regulate and direct the credit and banking system in Israel.” Aug. 25, 1918: Leonard Bernstein, one of the most prolific composers and conductors in American history, is born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to UkrainianJewish parents. His music is deeply influenced by his Boston synagogue, where he is introduced to Zionism. He makes the first of several trips to Israel to conduct what becomes the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1947. His appearances include the famous Mount Scopus concert after the June 1967 war. The philharmonic names him conductor laureate in 1988. Aug. 26, 1903: “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” the most widely distributed anti-Semitic publication in history, is first published in Znamya, a Russian newspaper. Plagiarizing the dialogue from an 1864 French political satire by
ded in ash — likely resulting from the conflict — and were announced Aug. 11 by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The date marked Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the 586/587 destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem by Babylon. “It’s the kind of jumble that you would expect to find in a ruined household following a raid or battle,” said UNC-Charlotte history professor Shimon Gibson, who co-directs the Mount Zion Archaeological Project. “Household objects, lamps, broken bits from pottery which had been overturned and shattered, … arrowheads, and a piece of jewelry which might have been lost and buried in the destruction.” He added that while ash could signify many things, including remnants from ovens or burned trash, the arrowheads make it especially likely that the devastation occurred in the violence. “Nobody abandons golden jewelry and nobody has arrowheads in their domestic refuse,” he summarized.
Omri Casspi Rebounding in Israel
Israeli forward Omri Casspi is returning to play basketball in his home nation, joining the powerhouse Maccabi Maurice Joly, “Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu,” the pamphlet most likely was written in the late 19th century in Paris. It gains attention and is widely distributed after World War I. The Times of London proves it is a fraud in 1921. Aug. 27, 1892: The first passenger train arrives in Jerusalem from Jaffa as part of the first railroad project in the Ottoman-controlled Levant, the JaffaJerusalem railway line. The 53-mile rail route reduces travel time from the port to Jerusalem from two days to four hours, contributing to economic and social development in Palestine. The difficult construction relies on Belgian rails and English coal. Aug. 28, 1898: The Second Zionist Congress convenes in Basel, Switzerland, with 400 delegates, nearly double the size of the First Zionist Congress a year earlier. The new participants include Theodor Herzl’s father, Jakob, and Chaim Weizmann, the future first president of Israel. Herzl speaks out against religious Jewish opposition to Zionism, and the congress lays the foundation for the Jewish Colo-
Maccabi Tel Aviv // Omri Caspi announcing his return to Israeli basketball after 10 years in the NBA.
Tel Aviv team. Announced Aug. 13, his return follows a decade-long NBA career in which he played for seven teams. Casspi, 31, was the first Israeli to play in the NBA, marking Israel’s first-ever ascent to the highest levels of competition in the sport. He was on the 2018 Golden State Warriors team that captured an NBA title, albeit, without him. “The truth is that I am very excited. I did not believe I would be this excited,” Casspi told Maccabi’s official website. “I am returning home, returning to Maccabi Tel Aviv. I got here for the first time when I was 13 years old. I am proud and excited to be wearing the Maccabi jersey with the Star of David on the back. This is a very big privilege.” Casspi’s contract is reported to be $3.2 million over a three-year period, making between $1.2 million and $1.3 million in the first year, and he has already been named the team’s captain. ■ nial Trust, the main financial institution for the development of Palestine.
National leaders attend the Arab League Summit in Khartoum, Sudan, in August 1967.
Aug. 29, 1967: The Fourth Arab League Summit convenes in Khartoum, Sudan, and runs until Sept. 1, mostly under the leadership of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Participants agree that all measures should be taken to regain lands controlled by Israel after the Six-Day War and that the oil-rich countries will finance an increased Arab military presence in the region. The summit ends with the famous three nos: no peace, no recognition and no negotiations with Israel. ■ Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details.