Scenes from the View-Master packet Modern Israel (B224).
Packet Cover
Booklet Cover
From the 16-page booklet:
A NEW NATION IN AN ANCIENT LAND
Israel, tiny in area, large in significance, is a land where the oldest of yesterdays coexists with tomorrow.
Shaped like a arrowhead with a bite out of it, this strip of ancient earth bears the scars of 4,000 years of man’s past, along with the bright new symbols of his future.
Israel was born 2,000 years before Christ, when Abraham settled in Canaan. It was reborn nearly 2,000 years after Christ—May 14, 1948, when David Ben-Gurion broadcast the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
“Thou Hast Scattered Us”
During the intervening 4,000 years this land beside the Mediterranean, only slightly larger than New Jersey, has been one of history’s bloodiest battlegrounds.
The Romans in A.D. 70 destroyed Jerusalem and drove most of the Jews from the country. During the next 18 centuries the Jews were scattered far and wide, while many conquerors took turns ruling the ancient Jewish homeland.
“Behold, I Will Bring Them into Their Own Land”
In the 1180’s, driven by pogroms, the Jews began to return. At the end of World War I, the League of Nations named Palestine a “home for Jewish people” and placed it under British mandate. During years of Arab unrest and guerrilla warfare, the Jews defended their struggling collective farms, joined by smuggled-in refugees from Europe.
When the U.N. ended the British mandate, Israel declared its independence. The Arabs attacked. Israel defeated them and became a free nation.
Israel opened its arms to Jews everywhere in the world, and from 72 countries they poured in. From an original 650,000, the population doubled in the first five years, has now redoubled. The population includes 200,000 Arabs who chose to remain on their ancestral land. Israel is unifying these diverse elements, encouraging each to preserve its culture.
“The Desert Shall Blossom as the Rose”
Seldom, if ever, have people worked with such energy and zeal to reclaim a land that had grown barren through centuries of neglect. Today Israel is the Middle East’s leading nation, both agriculturally and industrially.
Ringed by four hostile Arab states, Israel keeps constant watch on its borders. Its informal but efficient army includes both men and women.
In our View-Master Guided Picture Tour, we will see evidences of Israel’s spirit, summed up in the saying: “He who does not believe in miracles in Israel is no realist!”
Scene 1
Tel Aviv and Mediterranean
Tel Aviv and Mediterranean—Jaffa in background
From the 16-page booklet:
TEL AVIV AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
Our El Al Israel Airlines plane lands at Lod Airport, near Tel Aviv. An attractive hostess welcomes us to Israel with a spoken greeting in Hebrew, from the bible: “Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and when thou goest out.”
Tel Aviv, Israel’s No. 1 boom town, is the first all-Jewish metropolis since Biblical times. Founded in 1909 on bare sand dunes as a suburb of ancient Jaffa (the Joppa of the Bible), it is now a vital, noisy, colorful city of 400,000.
This view shows the Mediterranean coast, the dramatically curving auto road, and the many new hotels including the Sheraton-Tel Aviv. The rocky peninsula in the background is Jaffa, which Tel Aviv absorbed in 1949. The beach front is a Coney Island on the Mediterranean; booths sell corn on the cob, watermelon, or falaffel (“the Israeli hot dog”).
Tel Aviv stands as a symbol of modern energetic Israel. The country’s spirit is personified in its new generation. The native-born Sabra—Hebrew word for cactus (tough outside, sweet inside)—is tall, healthy, sun-tanned, and confident, with the swagger of an adventurer.
Scene 3
Mann Auditorium
Mann Auditorium is Example of Modern Israeli Architecture
From the 16-page booklet:
MODERN F. R. MANN AUDITORIUM
The Frederick R. Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv, designed by Yaacov Rechter, seats 2.900 and is notable for its clean 20th century beauty. Cultural standards are high in Israel, especially in regard to music. Mann Auditorium is the home of the Israel Philharmonic, renowned all over the world. When not traveling, it must give 18 concerts a month here, 10 months of the year, to meet the demand. Israel also has six regular theater groups and a national opera.
Scene 5
Jaffa, the Biblical Joppa
Ancient Jaffa (Biblical Joppa) is now a Suburb of Tel Aviv
From the 16-page booklet:
JAFFA, THE BIBLICAL JOPPA
Tel Avivians flock to Jaffa’s beach, Bat Yam, on Sabbaths and holidays. Jaffa, now part of Tel Aviv—one of the world’s newest cities—is itself older than written history.
For centuries it was Jerusalem’s seaport. Solomon’s ships unloaded here the logs of the cedars of Lebanon for the construction of his Temple. Here the prophet Jonah began his sea journey that ended in the stomach of a “great fish.”
It was at Jaffa that St. Peter saw his vision telling him that the Gospel was for Gentiles as well as Jews.
Scene 9
YMCA and Jesus Tower
Jerusalem YMCA and 152-foot Jesus Tower
From the 16-page booklet:
JERUSALEM Y.M.C.A. AND JESUS TOWER
The Young Men’s Christian Assn. building with its 152-foot Jesus Tower, tallest structure in Jerusalem, is a familiar landmark. It is the only “Y” in the world with a 95% Jewish membership. From its tower, organ music rolls out over its rose gardens and athletic field, and across the boulevard to the King David Hotel.
Scene 18
Village Street of Cana
Village Street of Cana in Galilee
From the 16-page booklet:
VILLAGE STREET OF CANA
Four miles from Nazareth is Cana, an Arab village—the site of the wedding feast where Jesus changed water into wine. Its picturesque streets wind past grape arbors and pomegranate trees. For the Arab woman, life is changing, though she may keep many old customs. Because she lives in Israel, she has the unrestricted right to vote. The little Arab girls wading in the cool water have the same opportunity as their brothers for eight years’ free education in Arab-language schools.
Scene 19
Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee
Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee
From the 16-page booklet:
TIBERIAS AND THE SEA OF GALILEE
The Sea of Galilee, a startling blue, suddenly comes into sight as we descend into the Jordan River valley. Actually a fresh-water lake, it is nearly 700 feet below sea level—400 feet lower than Death Valley, California.
Tiberias, built by King Herod as a winter resort because of its hot springs, later became one of the sacred cities of Judaism. The springs still flow, and Tiberias today, with its tropical climate, is again a popular tourist resort.
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