Fr. 9 AM 30 Oct. 1953
Dearest love: The days are passing slowly. Yesterday I visited the laboratories some more. There is some interesting work going on. Gerhard Schmidt, who had worked with Dorothy, has some nice crystal structure determinations. He wants one of our new PhD's for a year- the Rockefeller Foundation will send him.
I had lunch with Mazur + his wife, whom he married after leaving our lab, 3 years ago. Do you remember him?- a young man with a hearing aid, who spoke English poorly- he worked with Kirkwood.
At 4 PM we went to the first ceremony, the opening of the gate + new road to the Weimann Memorial Region. The President of Israel, Itsaac Ben-Zvi, was there, also Mrs Weimann, the British Ambassador, etc. We five scientific guests sat in a row in front- Berenblum (whose two daughters were with Linda in Oxford High School), Peyton Rous, Chain [?], Mark, + I. We signed a scroll, with the President etc., which was then put in a niche, under covered with mortar (it was put in a metal case), and then topped with the cornerstone. Then we went to Weimann's grave, walking between rows of little boys + girls holding torches (it had just become dark). The President spoke, then an old jew, wearing his hat, who was very emotional (all of course, in Hebrew)- he wept + wailed, with accompanying cries from the people around, and then a cantor, for several minutes- the pentatonic scale, of course- very interesting and impressive. Then we went to a cocktail party in the Director's house (My Weisgal), and then Schmidt, Hilda Brand (Weisgal's secretary) and I drove to Tel-Aviv and had an Arab meal and looked about the town. Mark + I are staying in Miss Brand's house- I had misunderstood, + thought she was Mrs Schmidt. I had invited
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her and Schmidt to dinner, but did not succeed in being host. The dinner was coumous (bean past + olive oil), beer, a kind of muffin, shashlik + kabib, potatoes, pastry, thick coffee. Tel-Aviv contains much rubble from the '48 war.
Today we have another cermony, at 11 AM. Then after lunch I start of with Samuel + Joffe. Samuel is the tall Balhol boy who came to our house. He is the grandson of Viscount Samuel. We shall drive up to Haifa, + then
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(tomorrow) over to the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias, Nazareth, the Jordan River, etc. We are about 25 mi. West of Jerusalem, but I don't know yet when I shall go there. Cars are very scarce here.
Yesterday morning I gave an informal seminar on ferromagnetism [?]- well received.
My neck and shoulders seem a bit better. I hope that your back is well- if not, please go to the doctor.
Love from Paddy
Love to Crelly.