THEODOR COMES ALIVE

Greetings from Toronto. I own the world’s largest collection of Theodor Herzl memorabilia. That fact is well known here, so much so that someone placed in my mailbox the August 30 edition of the Magazine (with its “Theodor Herzl 2019” cover compilation) for my collection. I really enjoyed all of it.

I thought you might find it interesting to read about my collection and how I use the collection to inspire others to complete the dream. Of particular interest to you may be the Herzl School in Chicago. It is a public school in North Lawndale, which 100 years ago was a Jewish neighborhood. The Jewish community has moved to places like Skokie, yet the school is still named after Herzl, even though the neighborhood is now mostly African-American and is economically distressed. It is an inspiring place where the students learn about Herzl as if he were a Martin Luther King Jr. (who lived a few blocks from the school, as did Golda Meir, although not at the same time) and wear uniforms with Herzl on it.

As a result of the school being named for Herzl, members of the Chicago Jewish community “adopted” it and annually bring school supplies in September and Christmas gifts in December. The Herzl students have participated in a bus tour of Jewish sites in the neighborhood, and the next year visited the Holocaust Museum in Skokie. In the spring, the Herzl students will participate in a public speaking contest about Herzl. And so the dream continues. DAVID MATLOW

Toronto