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429.   

Thurs. March 31

Herzl Memorial   Memorial Park for the soldiers of Israel

with a bouquet of flowers to greet me. He took me at once to El-Al to confirm my ticket to Istanbul & to the Turkish Consulate for my visa. Then, we drove to the Hadassah school (estab. by Amer. Women's Ort) which is only 2 yrs. old. Impressive modern building splendidly installed with up to date machinery & well administered. Saw the young men at work - all making parts for microscopes and then saw the printing division which prints books and papers of all sorts. Good work is done here. The proof is that the school income is 70,000 lbs. yearly which goes into the school budget. Following this visit, we drove to the Herzl Memorial, beautifully landscaped, situated so - on top of a hill, which commands an encircling view of the land. He rests well & fittingly. Then, on to the memorial park for the fallen soldiers & heroes of Israel. Also, on [[strikethrough]] the [[/strikethrough]] a summit, overlooking the city, beautifully terraced in stone - terrace above terrace, they lie in peace, the heroes, with due honor accorded them. Again, symbolically, it happened that a burial of a soldier took place. Some 25 soldiers,


430  

Thurs - March 31 '

[[strikethrough]] stood at [[/strikethrough]] followed the coffin, decorated with flowers, while a rabbi (in uniform) chanted the prayers. They stood at attention while the coffin was lowered into the grave & covered. The chief officer spoke, the prayers for the dead sung, all this against the beautiful hills & sky of Israel - while the Eisners' & I stood & wept. Here, in the park, too, is the memorial for the refugees who were drowned off the boat while trying to land. For them, a pool, [[strikethrough]] of water, [[/strikethrough]] their names inscribed on stone, resting under the water, the memorial shaped like a prow of a boat, garlands of flowers floating on the water.

We drove back through the old quarter, the market places, to see the sights I love, the earthy life of the poor, the color & smells of it. The city is endlessly picturesque. (I am beginning to abuse the word, others fail me)

Stopped at a café for tea with the Eisners & met there David Zak, Israeli painter. He insisted on my coming to his home for dinner & to show me about the city. I was so tired, however, I had to refuse. Had dinner alone, rather, at the hotel & nearly fell asleep in a movie nearby. - French -  "Le Grand Jeu" - pretty [[?]].