Two of the four student parts in the commencement exercises of Harvard University were taken by Jews.
The commencement part in Latin was by Leon Medoff of Philadelphia. There were three English parts and of these one was taken by Franklin S. Pollak of 123, of New York City.
Franklin Pollak is the son of Justice Pollak, and author and publicist of distinction. On his mother’s side, Franklin Pollak is descended from Michael Heilprin, distinguished Jewish scientist, who also took an active interest in Jewish affairs. Heilprin was the author of “The Historical Poet of the Ancient Hebrews” and of many works of a scientific nature. He is credited with having been the inspirer of Emma Lazarus in her latter years.
The fact that half of the honors of Commencement Day were awarded to Jews is causing considerable comment in view of the recent efforts at Harvard to limit the number of Jewish students.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
