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Ussishkin
Avraham Menachem-Mendel Ussishkin was born in Russia in 1863. When he was
28 he met Herzl and was impressed by his story of a Jewish country. He was active
in the Zionist Congress and worked hard for the renewed use of Hebrew. When
Herzl's Uganda Project became publicized, Ussishkin stood at the front of the
opposition and worked hard to thwart it. His call, for Jewish settlement in the Land
of Israel alone, was accepted in the end by the Zionist Congress in 1905.
In 1926, the main roads of Rechavia were named after the greats of the Golden Age
of Spanish Jewry. The five streets were named after Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid,
Shlomo Ibn Gvirol, Rabbi Avraham Even Ezra, Ramban, and Rabbi Judah Halevi.
At the edge of the neighborhood stood the Keren Kayemet Building. At that time,
Menachem Ussishkin was the head of the Keren Kayemet. He served as the head of
the Keren Kayemet from 1923 until his death in 1941. He worked hard toward the
purchase of land, establishment of settlements, and planting of forests.
Ussishkin thought it appropriate that the road next to the Keren Kayemet Building
be named after it. He requested that Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid Street, which led to the
building, be renamed Keren Kayemet Street. Shmuel Hanagid was forced to
"move" to a smaller street in the center of the city. In 1933, on his 70th birthday he
decided that the main road perpendicular to Keren Kayemet Street should be named
after him. He sent groups of Keren Kayemet workers to affix attractive ceramic
signs with his name on them and to remove the name of Judah Halevi.
Neighborhood residents tried to protest but Ussishkin's power and influence were
great and in 1936 the new name was officially made permanent, even on maps. As
for Rabbi Judah Halevi, the philosopher and poet whose poetry expresses longing
for Zion, no street in Jerusalem carries his name.
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