Over 1,000 leaders in the Zionist movement in civic and community affairs participated tonight in a nationwide tribute to Sir Winston Churchill sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America at its annual dinner here.
The dinner highlighted the presentation of the annual Theodor Herzl Award Gold Medallion of the Zionist Organization of America to Sir Winston Churchill in tribute to his historic accomplishments as an architect of the Jewish State and protagonist of Zionism. The Gold Medallion was accepted in behalf of his father by Randolph S. Churchill, only son of Sir Winston.
The Theodor Herzl Award, which was named for the founder of modern Zionism, was created by the ZOA in 1958 to be given to individuals who have rendered outstanding services to the Zionist cause. Previous recipients of the award were Israel President Izhak Ben-Zvi; the Earl of Balfour who received the award posthumously in behalf of his late uncle, the author of the Balfour Declaration; Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, Louis Lipsky and Dr. Emanuel Neumann. The Herzl Medallion is now considered the highest testimonial within the Zionist movement.
The inscription on the gold medallion to Sir Winston Churchill read: “The Rt. Hon. Sir Winston Churchill, Statesman, Leader in War and Peace, Devoted Friend of Zionism and Israel Reborn.” Guests at the dinner included members of the Diplomatic Corps and foreign missions to the United Nations as well as prominent members of both Houses of the U. S. Congress.
Dr. Max Nussbaum, president of the ZOA, presided. Addresses of greetings were delivered by Lord Caradon, permanent representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, and Avraham Harman, Ambassador of Israel to the United States. The presentation of the medallion was made by Jacques Torczyner, chairman of the national executive council of the ZOA.
The annual dinner marked a two-fold anniversary: the 90th birthday of Sir Winston Churchill and the 17th anniversary of the passage on November 29, 1947, of the United Nations resolution for the establishment of the State of Israel. Sir Winston’s birthday occurred on November 30; Messages from President Lyndon B. Johnson and former Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower headed hundreds of messages of greetings from prominent statesmen and leaders from all walks of life from this country and abroad.
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