אוסף חנה פרקש הימזלי לבית אהרוני (אהרונוביץ)

Chana (1917-1994) was born in Moscow, during the Communist revolution. Her parents were Ben-Zion Aharoni (Aharonovitch) and Sarah Lifschitz. She was the youngest of the children: Masha (1989-1904), Klara-later Yemima Yoffe (1909-1997), Shlomit (Buba) later Kahana (1913-2006) and a brother Moshe (Mieshe 1912-1983). The Aharonovitch family lived in Vilnus, Lithuania until the First World War. Their four children were born there. In 1916 they moved to Moscow, after having received special permission due to the fact that Ben-Zion was a merchant and importer of dyes and chemicals to Russia. It seems that Ben-Zion was a Zionist from his youth, and after his marriage to Sarah Lifschitz from Antopal, the couple visited Israel and purchased land (including some in Kfar Sava).As did many others, Ben-Zion discovered the potential of planting citrus orchards on the land of the Moshava and planted over 100 dunam of orchards. After the war, in 1921, Ben-Zion succeeded in attaining an exit permit for himself and his family from Communist Russia. The family moved to the Sopot near the free city Danzig in Germany, as did many other Jews. Ben-Zion and Sarah visited the land of Israel a second time in 1924. Their 15 year old daughter, Ruchama, joined them and she decided to stay in Israel. She lived with her aunt in Tel-Aviv (See album YBZ.0049). In 1926 Ben-Zion, Sarah and their two daughters came to live in Israel. Their son Moshe came on his own in 1925 after his bar-mitzvah. The oldest daughter, Masha, who in the mean-time had married, remained in Berlin to continue her studies. The family settled in Tel-Aviv. Ben-Zion Aharoni imported medicines and chemicals, as he did in Russia. In addition he worked as a land realtor. Ben-Zion built two buildings in Tel-Aviv (Sderot Rothschild 117 & 119). The girls were photographers and they documented their life. In 1927-28 Ben-Zion built a summer house in Kfar Saba. The house was nicknamed the 'Palace'. It was on the highest spot in the Moshava. It was built in an eclectic style with pointed, oriental style windows. In the front was a relief that read, "Those who sow in tears, will harvest in joy". The house was set in an orchard and had a beautifully landscaped garden in the front with a row of palm trees, trees that were brought from around the world and an irrigation pool that served also as a swimming pool. Chana was 9 when she moved to Israel and started studying in 'Gymnasia Herziliyah'. She graduated in 1935. She joined the Scouts Youth Movement and learned to ride a motorcycle and play tennis. Chana wanted to study medicine abroad, however due to their financial situation it was not possible. Therefore, she began studying "Bacteriology and Hygiene" and later specialized in Microbiology, at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. At the University Chana met a young professor Ledislaus (Bobi) Farkash (1904-1948) born in Donaserdahe, Slovakia (today, Donska Strada). Farkash was a chemist who was asked to come to Israel in 1935 to establish a Department of Physical Chemistry at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Farkash studied chemistry in the Higher Technical School in Vienna. He lived and studied in Berlin between the years 1925-1933 where he received his certification as a chemical engineer. He completed his doctorate at the age of 24, in 1928. With the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933 he was fired from his position in the Wilhelm Kaiser Institute. He moved to Cambridge, Britain. In 1935 he moved to Israel from Hungary after the Hebrew University assisted him to receive a 'certificat'- a permit to come to Israel. In addition to theoretical research, Farkash also worked on technological developments for the British army, advanced the industry of Israel and served as an advisor to the phosphate company (later the Dead Sea Works). In July 1940, after completing her MsC., Chana married Prof. Farkash. In 1946 she completed her doctorate. The couple had two daughters: Liora (1944) later Kroyanker and Ruth (1948) later Geva. In the winter of 1947 the couple went to the US for research and to participate in academic conferences. They stayed there for about 9 months. Their daughter Liora stayed in Jerusalem with the Berger family. In 1948, towards the end of the War of Independence, Farkash was appointed as a senior scientific advisor the Research Department of the Air Force and even met with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in order to discuss the formation of a Scientific Council in Israel. At the end of December 1948 Farkash was sent on a secret mission by the Prime Minister, the Air Force and the University to the United States. On the way his plane crashed near Rome and he, along with five other flight attendants and seven passengers from Israel were killed. Prof. Farkash was buried in Jerusalem on March 6, 1949. He was survived by his wife Chana and his two daughters, Liora (5) and the baby Ruth, who was only 9 months old. After the death of her husband, Chana continued working at the newly established Medical School at Hebrew University. In 1953 she was sent as the scientific attaché at the Israeli Embassy in London for two years. At first her two daughters studied at a public school and later attended a Jewish boarding school in Brighton. In Britain, Chana established an exhibition that displayed the scientific achievements of Israel in the first five years of its existence. Chana and her daughters returned to Israel in 1955 on the ship "Theodore Herzl" and she continued teaching at the medical school at the Hebrew University. In 1957 Chana married Alexander (Alex) Hemsley (1916-1987), a British chemist and engineer who specialized in water purification. Hemsley was sent to Canada to work and after their marriage they moved to Canada. Chana worked at the University of Toronto where she developed and directed courses in the area of bacteriology and the prevention of disease, primarily for educating doctors of third world countries. In 1971 she travelled to the Far East to lecture. For many years Chana studied the field of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the use of substances secreted from bacteria as an active substance in reducing the growth of cancer cells. In this album there are personal pictures of the family during different periods, including historic photographs from the days of the War of Independence in Jerusalem that were taken by Ledislaus Farkash and his wife Chana, of the grave site of Dr. Binyamiin Ze'ev Herzl and more. The album also includes photographs from the childhood of the architect David Kroyanker, Liora's husband. The pictures were given to the archives at Yad Ben-Zvi by the daughters of Chana Farkash-Hemsley nee Aharoni, Liora Kroyanker and Ruth Geva. A collection of home movies, from the years 1945-1980, mostly filmed by Chana Farkash-Hemsley, can be found in the Israeli Movie Archives at the Cinematheque in Jerusalem. You can watch the movie that Ruth Geva filmed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Chana Farkash-Hemsley death on the internet at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gH74NDcQcc as well as the movie filmed by Liora Kroyanker and Ruth Geva about their father, " The Journey That Hasn't Ended" at: https://vimeo.com/58931388 . اقرأ أكثر