August 12

— Touring Mount Zion
— The “Hall of Destruction” Holocaust memorial exhibit
— King David’s Tomb
— Conversations with Christian pilgrims and priests
— Pro-American opinions of Israelis despite hatred of State Dept

The upper outside area of the “Hall of Destruction” on Mt Zion, 1957

August 12, 1957 Monday night
Dear Mom, Dad and Alan,

Hope you are all feeling well, but sorry the car is giving so much trouble. The last few days have been especially interesting. To Dad – the “we” in letters means whoever is with me at the time. It varies. Today I visited the Hall of Destruction on Mt. Zion and saw a few of the signs of what the Nazis had done. I cried like a baby (again). I also visited King David’s Tomb. The rest of the adventures I keep in a diary.

It is all so impressive and stimulating. It is a great thrill. I was about 50 feet from the Wailing Wall but that was it, no closer. Barbed wire & Arab guns forced you. Not a weapon is visible on Israel’s side. Even the police are unarmed.

Believe it or not, I think Jerusalem has more priests than NY. Another amazing thing; when I was in the observation tower looking down on the New City, I saw dozens of huge crosses on tops of buildings but not even one Star of David. I got into a crowd of Christian Pilgrims & visited some of the churches with them. Naturally the Priests spoke freely. I was surprised how loyal they are to Israel. They could shame many Jews.

The American tourists were as surprised as I that the missionaries actually got Israeli gov’t support. The American Missionary showed me out of his window looking into Jordan where a huge Anti-American sign was visible. This was disgusting in view of everything our gov’t has done to help the Arabs.

Also, surprising is how pro-American Israel’s people are despite their hatred for the State Departments present policies of arming the Arabs.

No more room so hope everything is okay.
Love, Bob

A unique display in the Hall of Destruction: A Nazi officer forced a Jewish tailor to sew him a shirt using a Torah scroll

Comments:

August 12, 1957 Monday night

“Today I visited the Hall of Destruction on Mt. Zion and saw a few of the signs of what the Nazis had done. I cried like a baby.”
Prior to Yad Vashem, Jerusalem’s Chamber of the Holocaust memorial was called the “Hall of Destruction” also known as the “Chamber of the Holocaust”. It was established in 1949 on Mount Zion, which is near David’s Tomb adjacent to the Old City. Yad Vashem on Mt. Herzl is now the official Holocaust Center but the Chamber of the Holocaust on Mt. Zion is still open to visitors.   
 
“I was about 50 feet from the Wailing Wall but that was it, no closer.”
In the 1950’s most Jews, even Israelis, had little idea where the Kotel was actually located in the Old City. My father was at Mt. Zion and assumed the Kotel was just over the other side of the wall – only “50 feet”. However today, we know that the distance is quite a few hundred yards.

“Believe it or not, I think Jerusalem has more priests than NY…I saw dozens of huge crosses on tops of buildings but not even one Star of David… I was surprised how loyal they are to Israel. They could shame many Jews…The American tourists were as surprised as I that the missionaries actually got Israeli gov’t support.”
Many Christians are loyal to the State of Israel, even more than some Jews. However, my father was concerned that some of the Christians visiting Israel were acting as missionaries, trying to convert Jews to Christianity. Despite this known fact, they still received support from the Israeli government, and that is what surprised my father.

“Also, surprising is how pro-American Israel’s people are despite their hatred for the State Departments present policies of arming the Arabs.”
In 1957 my father viewed U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles as Israel’s greatest enemy. Dulles was clearly siding with the Arabs, and was pressuring Israel to withdraw from the entire Sinai which Israel had captured from Egypt in October 1956. My father protested against Secretary of State Dulles when he came to “Floyd Benet Field” in Brooklyn, where my father was serving as a member of the US National Guard.
Throughout his life, my father was a strong activist for the State of Israel, and protested against several hostile U. S. Secretaries of State besides Dulles . They included Henry Kissinger, John Foster, Cyrus Vance, Jim Baker, and John Kerry. All these secretaries of State, from the 1950’s to the 1990’s asserted pressure on Israel to make territorial concessions.