Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

54 | JUNE 1 • 2023 

A

s our readers 
know, the JN is 
celebrating 75 years 
of independence for modern 
Israel. One of the salient points 
of our coverage in recent issues 
has been the connections 
between Detroit and Israel. 
Suffice it to say 
that many Jewish 
Detroiters have 
supported Israel 
and the Yishuv 
(pre-state Jewish 
areas) long 
before the birth 
of Israel in 1948.
As I did a bit of research 
— OK, a LOT of research 
— about the development of 
Israel in the William Davidson 
Digital Archive of Jewish 
Detroit History, I found great 
stories about the Yishuv and 
Israel. Many of them are about 
Jewish Detroiters traveling 
there. And I wondered — did 
Israeli leaders visit Detroit? 
The short answer is yes, 
indeed. Many of them came to 
the Motor City, and often.
With the extensive coverage 
of the Yishuv and Israel over 
the years in the Detroit Jewish 
Chronicle and the JN, it would 
take me a few years to read all 
of the stories in the 340,000+ 
pages of the Davidson 
Archive. I did, however, find 
some highlights.
Perhaps the Israeli leader 
who most often visited Detroit 
was Golda Meir, who was in 
Detroit numerous times from 
the 1920s to the 1970s. As 
an immigrant from Ukraine, 
raised in Milwaukee, Meir 
was an early and effective 

fundraiser for the Yishuv/
Israel. She began traveling 
across America as Golda 
Myerson (nee Mabovitch) 
before changing her name to 
Meir (see May 11, 1951, and 
Nov. 26, 1956, issues of the JN, 
for two examples). Meir was 
also the first — and thus far 
only — female prime minister 
of Israel (1969-74).
Speaking of Israeli prime 
ministers, several visited 
Detroit over the years. The 
legendary first PM, David 
Ben-Gurion (1948-53, 1955-
63), made a quick visit to 
Detroit on May 21, 1951. 
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin 
(1974-77, 1992-95) and his 
wife, Leah, made a one-day 
trip to Detroit, when he spoke 
at the Detroit Economic Club 
on Feb. 2, 1976. That same 
year, future prime minister 
of Israel Menachem Begin 
(1977-83) spoke on March 
6 for B’nai B’rith to promote 
Israeli Bonds at Adat Shalom. 
The Detroit Economic Club 
also hosted Israeli Foreign 
Minister Shimon Peres in 
1986. Peres had already served 
as prime minister (1984-86) 
and would serve again as PM 
for a brief term, 1995-1996.

Although not prime 
ministers, other important 
Israelis visited Detroit. Max 
Fisher hosted a dinner for 
Abba Eban, Israeli minister 
of education and future 
foreign minister, on Nov. 
26, 1962. Moshe Dayan, 
globally recognized former 
IDF soldier, Israeli defense 
minister and foreign minister, 
spoke at Adat Shalom on 

March 26, 1980.
Finally, Chaim Weizmann, a 
pioneer of Zionism along with 
Theodor Herzl and David 
Ben-Gurion, made a visit 
to Detroit in 1928, 20 years 
before the founding of Israel. 
As reported in the Detroit 
Jewish Chronicle, Detroit’s 
Jewish community welcomed 
Weizmann with open arms. In 
fact, I found excellent reports 
about his visit, so much so 
that I will continue this story 

about his time in Detroit in a 
future Looking Back column.
The moral of the story 
is that Detroit-Israel 
connections have been 
extremely strong over the 
years. The close relationship 
continues to this day as 
Detroiters visit Israel, and 
Israelis visit Detroit. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, available for 
free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

Israeli Leaders in Detroit

