July 23, 1957 – Night

”On the way back from the Great Crater we viewed the other side of Beer Sheva.“
The Great Crater (today known as the Ramon Crater) is about 85 kilometers (52 miles) south of Beer Sheva. You can see the most beautiful desert scenery – especially during sunrise and sunset.

“The buses are now manufactured in Israel.”
Two companies, Merkavim and Ha-Argaz, manufactured and assembled buses in Israel in 1957. Both these companies were founded before the establishment of the State of Israel: Merkavim in 1946 and Ha-Argaz in 1932. Both companies have expanded, and today,
even export buses abroad. Merkavim is headquartered in Caesaria and Ha-Argaz in Kiryat Malachi. Anyone who would like to see the actual old buses can visit the Egged Museum in Holon.

“However the most popular type of transportation is the light motorcycle and motor scooter which is Israeli produced and called a Vespa. It gets about 100 miles to a gallon & 2 seats.”
See, “Vespa Scooters in Israel 1957” in the “Topics” section.



“Today I got up & walked though Jerusalem on a Hadassah tour. I saw the hospitals including the new medical center”
The group was touring the site in Ein Kerem, where the new Hadassah Medical Center was under construction in 1957. Hadassah Ein Kerem was built after Hadassah Mt. Scopus was forced to close after 78 Jews including 23 women were killed by Arabs on April 13, 1948.
Hadassah Ein Kerem opened in 1961 and was under construction in 1957. The group was shown where Hadassah would be building the Ein Kerem Campus. Israel recaptured Mt. Scopus in 1967 but it was not until 1975 when Hadassah Hospital on Mt Scopus was reopened to Jews. They started with only 100 beds.

“The type of construction is similar to that on Cropsey Avenue and Bay Parkway without any steel.”
My dad took pictures of the construction of Hadassah Hospital that was going on in 1957 and compared it to the construction methods near his house in Brooklyn. It seems he had an interest in construction as he later went into the home construction business.

“The kids speak Hebrew”
The kids came from all different countries and were absorbed into the newly established State of Israel and learned Hebrew almost immediately. Today many of the new immigrants move into communities with the same ethnicity and continue to speak their native tongue. For example Americans move into a place like Efrat, Hashmonaim, Bet Shemesh or Raanana with other Americans and continue to speak English. Russians move into communities with other Russians and continue to speak Russain. In 1957 the new immigrants absorbed into Israeli society and spoke Hebrew immediately.

“I can converse with anyone and had long talks with many children”
My father randomly spoke to anybody when we would go on trips. He thought the best way to learn about the area was is to speak to the people living there. My mom is the same. Their knowledge of Hebrew while in Israel helped a great deal, as many of the local Israelis, including the new immigrants, did not speak English.

“In the afternoon we went to a beautiful swimming pool in the Judean Hills.”
The “beautiful” swimming pool referred to in the letter was nothing more than a concrete encased pool of water. Today, the “beautiful” cement pond of 1957 looks a bit different.

“There was a large group of kids of NAHAL (something like a pre training course of the army) I spoke with them. They came from about 10 countries in the last 5 years. Now they also are learning to become an asset to the nation. “
My father was probably referring to the Gadna program which trained under commanders serving with the Nachal infantry brigade. The “10 countries” they came from is a prime example of “kibbutz galuyot” (ingathering of the Exiles) and how the Nachal Brigade became the vehicle for settling the Land.

“On returning we passed through the farms and village of Kastel which changed hands 7 times in 1948. It must have been murder to take.”

“We then passed a Maaraba which houses new refugees. I’m sorry to say that once again as in 48 there just aren’t enough homes to accommodate the flood from all over the world.”
Maabarah – Houses new immigrants during the 1950’s. In the 1990’s, my father invested in an Israeli factory that built modular houses for the new immigrants from the Soviet Union and Ethiopia in the 1990’s.

“Alan don’t worry if the Arabs would start they would get a welcome I didn’t believe could exist. The Jews could wipe them right off the map.”
Bob didn’t want his little brother or parents to be scared. He also wanted to teach his little brother to take pride in the Jewish army.

Jewish Army.