| Notes |
Last but certainly not least there is Lord Rothschild’s work with Yad Hanadiv, the Rothschild charities in Israel Founded by Edmond De Rothschild, who purchased more than 125,000 acres in Palestine in the late 19th Century, some as part of the settlement of Rishon Lezion. Edmond’s son James served in Palestine during WW I as part of British Army’s “Jewish Legion.” James donated the funds for the construction of the Knesset Building in Jerusalem. Upon his death, Mrs James dedicated herself to continuing his work, commencing the construction of Israel’s Supreme Court building. She also took Lord Rothschild, as he says, “under her wing.” His first trip to Israel was in 1962 accompanied by Sir Isaiah Berlin, Nicolas Nabokov and Isaac Stern (beat that, David Lonner!).
Lord Rothschild has continued her work, overseeing the completion of the Supreme Court building, and taking on the project of planning a 21st Century National Library which Rothschild says, “is important and wonderful to be in a position to [support] a National library in the land of the book and best of all if it could be in Jerusalem.” He has also expanded the work of Yad Hanadiv to focus on education, the environment, and creating equal opportunities for the Arab citizens of Israel. |