President Yitzchak Ben-Zvi, 1955

This photographic collection gives us a peek into the extensive activities of President Yitzchak Ben Zvi and his wife Rachel Yanait, in 1955, while he served as President of the State of Israel. The collection includes photographs from: A visit of Rachel Yanait to the Tel Hashomer Hospital and the Day Care Center in Neve Sha'anan, Haifa; pictures from operational and cultural activities of the Nahal Army Unit (a picture album that was presented to the President and his wife as a gift); the presentation of a candelabra (chanukiah), that was found in Rhodes after the Holocaust, to the President and his wife; the visit of Avril Harriman, the Governor of New York, in the President's residence in Jerusalem; a meeting with new immigrants from Romania as they disembarked from the ship in the Haifa port; a series of meetings, in the President's residence in Jerusalem, with people such as the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, the jazz musician Lionel Futon, actors from the "Haohel" Theater, pictures from official events in which he participated- the military parade on the occasion of the 7th Independence Day of Israel (1954); laying the cornerstone for the memorial project for Yitzhak Sadeh in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak; receiving an honorary degree in the city of Afula; inauguration of the new Peki'in; the President's visit to Kfar Giladi; the Hula Valley project and the inauguration of the Yarkon-Negev water plant in Rosh Ha'ayin and more. In 1955 the couple went on vacation in Europe. They sailed on the boat "Negba" visiting the Jewish communities on the Southern coast of France and Italy. While on board they met new immigrants from the North African countries who were on their way to Israel. Read more