KKL-JNF Displays Weizmann Golden Book of Honor at Book Fair

The Chaim Weizmann Volume of the KKL-JNF Golden Books of Honor, is on display at the KKL-JNF booth at the Jerusalem International Book Fair, which is taking place during February 10-15 at the Jerusalem International Convention Center. 

Inscriptions in the Books of Honor began at the Fifth Zionist Congress as a way of raising money immediately after the Jewish National Fund was created. The first donation in the first book is in honor of Professor Zvi Hermann Shapira, who was inscribed in the book by his friend, Yonah Kreminitsky. The second person inscribed in the book is none other than Theodor Herzl himself. 

Many of the visitors to the fair stopped at the KKL-JNF booth, which was extremely colorful and attractive thanks to the expert touch of KKL-JNF's Efrat Benbenisti, the person responsible for KKL-JNF's Golden Books. They admired the impressive book and its cover design, which depicts the central idea of Weizmann's pragmatic Zionist vision: dunam after dunam, the land will be restored. "People see the Golden Book and tell us their stories," Efrat said. "For example, yesterday there was an older gentleman from Poland who told us that his mother inscribed him in the Children's Book before the war began. The memory moved him to tears. 

"Today, there are already twenty-six Books of Honor and six special volumes, each boasting a unique design and concept. There is a computerized data base so that people can find the names of members of their families that were inscribed in the books. In the near future, KKL-JNF will be renovating the Books of Honor Hall at its main headquarters in Jerusalem. In the current volume, the theme of which is Negev development, there are already close to 4,000 inscriptions. The books touch a nostalgic place in people, where they allow themselves not to be cynical about Zionism and the love of Israel."