THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, April 7,1978
15
Teddy Kollek and Son Amos Create a Father-and-Son Classic
in Fascinating, New 'For Jerusalem a Life' Volume
Teddy Kollek is one of Is-
Always in good spirit,
rael's most interesting and the Kollek humor is re-
most creative personalities. tained in "For
As mayor of Jerusalem he Jerusalem," and it
has also become its should be added that his
beautifier. He labors for the narrative is fascinating
retention of the character of because it is "for
the ancient city and, at the Jerusalem."
same time, strives to
In this lively and infor-
beautify neglected spots,
mative new book, Kollek re-
and for that purpose has . counts his emigration from
been responsible for the Vienna to Palestine in 1935,
planting of many gardens, 24 years of age and penni-
for the establishment of less: "...everything around
parks and recreation areas.
me was just as I pictured it
He is everywhere as an
— the landscape, the work
advocate of assurance that and the pioneer spirit. I was
Jerusalem will remain a un-
home." He vividly describes
ited city, never to be divided
the early days there, where
again, and that she will be
the climate was hot and
the queen of Israel, the capi-
conditions in the Jordan
tal of the Jewish state.
Valley Kibutz were so
Teddy does not hesitate to
primitive that young Kollek
be a bit critical of Golda
contacted typhoid and
Meir, much more so of paratyphoid five times, as
Pinhas Sapir.
well as malaria and sandfly
fever.
Later, in conjunction with
the Jewish Agency, Kollek
traveled to Turkey, Eng-
land, Czechoslovakia and
other European countries to
negotiate the escape ofJews
from Hitler. In the United
States, he worked closely
with American Jews to
raise funds and secure the
arms and planes so desper-
ately needed in Israel.
While the drama of Is-
raeli statehood unfolded in
the United Nations, Kollek
and his people — in cloak-
and-dagger style — dealt
with the FBI, foreign agents
and .diplomats and some-
times with underworld fi-
gures, to ensure Israel's
supply of defense materials.
In the course of his work, he
gained first-hand experi-
ence in both international
Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek and his son Amos.
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and diplomatic politics.
As director general of
David Ben-Gurion's staff,
he came to know such
notable figures as Golda
Meir, Abba Eban, Ruth
and Moshe Dayan, and in
this book he shares many
personal opinions, recol-
lections and anecdotes
about them.
But it wasn't until 1965
that Kollek undertook what
he calls the "tremendous
burden and greatest chal-
lenge" of his life — the
planning and rebuilding of
Jerusalem.
Under Kollek's leader-
ship, new roads, schools and
housing were constructed:
new policies instituted to
meet the demands of a city
unified for the first time.
The Israel Museum, the
mayor's special project, had
its opening and the restora-
tion and clearing of the
areas surrounding the
Western Wall were com-
pleted.
A book just released by
Random House should be
listed in its entirety under
title and byline: "For
Jerusalem, A Life by Teddy
Kollek, With His Son, Amos
Kollek." This is a story in
itself. Teddy does not claim
to be a writer, although he
has already co-authored
books on Jerusalem. It's his
son Amos, who already has
a popular novel, to his cre-
dit, who wrote the story
"For Jerusalem." But the
narrative itself is Teddy's,
and for those who have
watched his rise from an as-
sociate and adviser of David
Ben-Gurion to the mayor-
alty of the Holy City the
story is as tough, as frank,
as realistic as the man who
tells it.
Out of this narrative
emerges the powerful fi-
gure of one of the
present-day distin-
guished Israelis. There
isn't a gathering of visit-
ing dignitaries that isn't
graced by him on a par
with the president and
prime minister and other
officials. And he speaks, -
always, the language of a
builder and protector of
his city, protraying it as
the gem of his nation.
Amos Kollek is the able
recorder of the narrative by
his father, with the result
that it emerges as a
Father-Son Classic.
Teddy Kollek is the
leader who speaks frankly
and does not hesitate to
criticize. The associate and
admirer of Ben-Gurion, he
r
relates his admiration for
him throughout the book.
The pictorial sections add
impressively to "For
Jerusalem"as a volume
with historical significance.
The photographs of Kollek
and dignataries, the
Jerusalem aspects serve to
enhance a book about the
City of Peace towards whose
beautification Kollek con-
tributes immensely.
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