Looking Back to Rotary Year 1976/77 with Past President Werner Loval

An Historical Perspective – Rotary Year 1976/77
[This article is part of our 80th Anniversary celebration of service in Jerusalem, Israel and around the world – thanks to P/P Werner Loval who served as president that year.]

In 1976 women were not yet members of Rotary and the Ladies Night for the Club was held on July 4, 1976- a backdrop for the IDF daring rescue operation at Entebbe, Uganda and the bi-centennial of the USA. That year Ronald Reagan won the US elections. 1977 marked the election of Menachem Begin as Israeli Prime Minister – the first time the Mapai Party had lost a national election.

There was a significant supportive response by Rotarians worldwide to the Entebbe affair demonstrated by messages of sympathy and a 9,000 Shekel contribution by the Rotary Club of Luneburg, West Germany, that our Club directed to Magen David Adom. During the Israeli election campaign we had the opportunity to invite as guest speakers some of the candidates including Ezer Weizmann, Arik Sharon and Yigal Yadin.

The Club a wonderful year of membership growth. The goal of the Board was to bring in new, younger members who would be active on committees and broaden the variety of professions and classifications represented in the Club.

The first new member inducted was James Rhoades. The Club aimed to induct at least one new member per month. Thanks to the cooperation of all members, the Club inducted 14 members bringing the total membership to 80.

The Club mourned the lost of P/P Emanuel Propper. He was a co-founder of the Club, Past President and Past District Administrative Adviser.

In January 1977, the President of Rotary International, Robert Manchester, visited our District. During his stay in Jerusalem the arranged a dinner for him at the Knesset and a meeting with the President, Ephraim Katzir.

Our Club was represented at the 68th Annual Rotary International Convention in San Francisco by P/P Mordechai Maron and Joachim Meisler.

Our own PDG Lucien Harris was appointed by the incoming President of RI, Jack Davis, to serve on the Advisory Group of the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa Region.

Our Rotary Foundation, founded by P/P Ernest Siedner in 1963, celebrated its bar Mitzvah year with a balance of 250,000 Shekels in the bank. Special recognition for the financial health of the fund went to P/P Siedner, P/P Moron, President Elect Emanuel Glassman and P/P Moshe Raz. The Foundation awarded 60 scholarships to students from 16 schools in Jerusalem in addition to a special scholarship award on the 10 anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem at Beit HaNassi and a grant to the YMCA summer camp. The Foundation was recognized for helping Jerusalem youngsters of all religions and nationalities in pursuit of their secondary and vocational education. The municipality of Jerusalem has recognized this by matching our contributions with an allocation from the city’s budget.

One of the fellowship pillars of our Club are Fireside social gatherings. Dr. Alexander Broido and Hiram Danin chaired 25 firesides during the winter thus enabling members to get to know one another a bit better and to meet new members.

During our summer of 1976 the Youth Exchange program hosted visiting boys and girls from Europe. Honorary Secretary Dick Fain, P/P Eleasar Weissbrot , Yitzhak Rogow, Abraham Taubenhouse, simcha Pratt and Dr. Broido led the way. Yossi Cassuto organized the recruitment and sending of Israeli youth of youth exchanges in Europe.

Our Community Services Committee Chair, Shalom Daron organized a special summer camp (kaitana) and Shavuot camp for underprivileged children. Other activities included parties for senior citizens in old age homes in Jerusalem. Thanks to the initiative of Barney Kaplan, our club sent two handicapped youngsters from the Alyn Orthopedic Hospital to a Rotary Summer Camp in Norway along with to healthy youngsters.

P/P Shabtai Petrushka continued his work with Ilan and the “March of Prutot” Campaign.

During the Werner Loval administration, our Club had a tremendous record of support to Rotary International. Thanks to the excellent budgeting of our Honorary Treasurer, David Vardi, the Club achieved the “500% Level” where the amount allocated was greater then $50/member. This was only achieved by the Rotary Club of Haifa and the three Clubs in Tel Aviv.

At the Changeover Dinner , outgoing President Loval gave special recognition of P/P Nathan Fischer the very productive Membership Chair and P/P Douglas Young and his wife Georgie, for hosting a special get together for all new members at their lovely home.

President Loval placed special emphasis on the importance on interesting and informative Club meetings. The outstanding chairs of the Program Committee were Murrel Kohn and David Efrima who throughout the year helped to provide interesting speakers on topical subjects.

Loval: “The importance of good programs cannot be over-emphasized, for although our service activities are really what counts, the interest of the members could not be maintained for long without stimulating and informative luncheon meetings every Wednesday. I might add here that our programs are, to a considerable extent, responsible for attracting new members.”

Others who made significant contributions during the year included Bulletin Editor Max Wittman and assistant editors Jack Waltuch, Irvin Schermeer and Julian Melzer; Public Relations and Publicity Committee Co-sChair Yitzhak Rogow and Alex Zvielli; Attendance Committee Chair Joe Cohen; and Rotary Information, Dan Nastoff and P/P shabtai Petrushka.

The roster of members by the end of the Rotary Year included: Abraham Angel, Shimon Bein, Dr. Raphael Ben-Dor, Dr. Heinz Chaim Berendt, Dr. Charles Boasson, Dr. Alexander Broido, Dr. Yehuda Brott, Yossi cassuto, Professor Guidobaldi Cevidalli, Anshel Citron, Aron Cogan, Dr. Joseph Cohen, Benjamin Cohen-Harounoff, Hiram Danin, Dr. Wilfred De Pauw, Jacoy Daron, Shalom Daron, David Efrima, Oded Eliashar, Hermann Ellern, Simantov Eskenazi, Richard Fain, Dr. Paul Farkas, Nathan Fischer, Heinz Freudenthal, Jarvis Friedman, Lajos Yehuda Friedman, Professor Shalev Friedman, Emanuel Glassman, Dr. Samuel Goldfeld, Erich Gottfetreu, PDG Lucien Harris, Richard Hellman, Dr. Jacob Ilany (Feigenbaum), Dr. Barney Jacob Kaplan, Dr. Moshe Kelman, Professor Aviezer Kertes, Peter Kirchner, Ephraim Fredrick Kittner, Michael Jack Klein, Murrel Leo Kohn, Franklyn Landes, Werner Loval, Mordechai Maron, Dr. Amram Miller, Joachim Meisler, Julian Meltzer, dr. Bertold Moch, Dan Nastoff, Alexander Pell, Shabtai Petrushka, Emil MIchel Pikovsky, Simcha Pratt, Moshe Hugo Ranon, Moshe Raz, James L. Rhoades, Yitzhak Rogow, Bernhard Rosenblum, Michael Rosner, Shimon T. Samuels, Irwin Edward Schermer, Abraham Shabtay, Joshua N. Shai, Dr. Miron Sheskin, Dr. Zvi Shwarz, Ernest H. Siedner, Dr. Moshe siskin, Dr. Ernst Steinitz, Abraham Taubenhouse, David Vardi, Moshe Vardi, Jack Waltuch, Arieh Warshavsky, Eleasar L. Weissbrot, Max Wittman, Dr. David Yarom, Dr. G. Douglas Young, Moshe Ziegel and Alexander Zvielli.

[Source: "The Jerusalem Rotary Club in 1976/77, The President's Report", presented to the club membership at the end of year Ladies Night - Jerusalem Hilton Hotel, June 29, 1977]