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Creation of the State of Israel, 1948
Torah Scroll
On May 25, 1948, Israeli President Dr. Chaim Weizmann visited
the White House and gave President Truman a Torah Scroll and blue velvet
mantle embellished with the Star of David. The gift was a symbol of Israel's
gratitude for American recognition of and support for the new nation.
The Torah, or Scroll of the Laws, was prepared by hand by a modern scribe in accordance with Jewish tradition. It was originally prepared in honor of a Jewish Bar Mitzvah in 1940, and it belonged to the Synagogue at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. After the war the Torah was returned to the Jewish Theological Seminary
until it was presented to President Truman.
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During the Second World War the scroll was loaned to a chaplain
of the North American Division of the Air Transport Command, who used it
in religious services throughout the North Atlantic from Iceland to Scotland.
