(Physicist and Noble Prize winner. 1879-1955). Typed Letter Signed, in German to President Chaim Weizmann, congratulations open the opening of Weizmann Institute of Science, in Rechovoth, Israel

EINSTEIN, ALBERT

20th October

Princeton

1949

There is a touching simplicity to the address at the top of the letter: “A. Einstein / 112, Mercer Street / Princeton, New Jersey.” No mention of titles such as “Professor” or that Einstein was associated with the Insititue for Advanced Studies at Princeton University. Besides being the discoverer of the theory of relativity, and a Nobel Prize winner in physics, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a proud Jew, who took a keen interest in and worked for the establishment of the State of Israel. His friendship with the chemist and Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann went back to the early 1920s when he agreed to accompany Weizmann on a fund-raising tour of the United State to purchase land in Palestine and seek aid for Hebrew University. After Weizmann’s death in 1952, Ben-Gurion approached Einstein to become the second president of the State of Israel, an honor he declined. EJ, Vol. VI, cols. 535-538. Today, the Weizmann Institute is at the forefront of scientific research