The President of Israel
Dr. Weizmann is a great man ; until little more than a year ago it would have been possible to say a great Englishman, but with the establishment of the State of Israel he has cut the formal links which bound him to his original country of adoption. Now, at the age of 75, he can look back on a career in which thc successes have far outweighed the defeats. For a generation he has been the dominating figure in Zionism, and for most of that period he has been its official spokesman as well as its unofficial conscience. His tact, his oratory and his understanding have been placed unreservedly at the service of a movement which has often been tactless, crude and obtuse. It was fitting that Englishmen of all creeds should have united on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday to pay their respects to a statesman whose sympathies have always been frankly with Britain, though his origins and last home are in the East. It was fitting also that Field Marshal Smuts, who has much in common with Dr. Weizmann besides friendship, should have been present to lead the congratulations. But in all the celebrations there must be one note of reservation. Dr. Wcizmann is President of Israel, and though through age and illness his office is as much honorary as active, he cannot dissociate his reputation from the deeds of the Israeli Government. These have already shown a considerable watering-down from Zionism's pioneering idealism. In the inevitAle days of struggle ahead, when Israel is poised between tough nationalism and moderation, it is to be hoped that Dr. Weizmaiia will still have some influence, and that this will be used to counsel sanity to his fellow citizens.
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