“A New Years Card From Israel” is a 1966 short film about the development of the state of Israel and its settlements and the country’s dependency on skilled trades to support its economy and future. Produced in the U.S. and presented by Hadassah, a Jewish Zionist women’s volunteer organization. Written by Marc Miegel and produced and directed by Lasar Dunner.
(0:47) Boys work in a printing factory and vocational training center making cards for the new year. Vocational training helps support the industrialization of Israel (4:27) The Hadassah Vocational Institute helped people in Israel choose a line of work as early as 1944. Vocational guidance includes tests for dexterity and interests and counseling. Various individuals sit through tests with Institute staff (7:47) An Arab village in the Arab Triangle (8:15) Hadassah’s rural vocational center, Hadassah Neurim. Youth sit on the grass and walk around the center and learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and various skilled trades from welding, agriculture, hairstyling, to architecture (13:05) Children are born in a hospital. The population grows 5% a year, one of the highest rates in the world (13:21) The streets of Israel are filled with individuals who immigrate from all over the world. People cross the street, sit on the sidewalk and talk, and buses drive across wide roads (14:45) Teddy Kollek, Mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, speaks to the camera at his desk about the importance of vocational training. Children in uniform at a school stand in a courtyard at Hadassah’s Alice L. Seligsberg Vocational High School in Jerusalem, a vocational center for girls established in 1942 and named after Seligsberg who served as Hadassah’s president from 1921 to 1923. Girls sit at looms to make rugs, learn dressmaking, sit in classrooms, and play basketball (18:40) The secretarial needs of the country grows as commerce develops and Seligsberg trains women how to use a typewriter (19:45) Women at Seligsburg serve guests at a dining hall, a skill that also helps support Israel’s tourism. Newly constructed hotels host guests visiting through Hadassah’s tourist program (21:09) The streets at night with neon signs in Hebrew. Close-ups of storefront windows and mannequin displays (21:41) The Brandeis Vocational Training Center in Jerusalem, established in 1944. Boys learn skilled mechanical and tool-based trades, including tool and mold-making. Kollek speaks at his desk about the Center (23:40) Dr. Scheneider explains the strengths of Brandeis. Students make microscopes for future researchers to use (25:47) Three strengths of Hadassah’s vocational programs: 1. The quality and dedication of its teachers 2. It’s ability to meet students’ needs 3. The sensitivity with which training is geared toward Israel’s needs. Close-up sequences of male and female students as they learn various tasks.
Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women’s organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with nearly 300,000 members in the United States. Hadassah fundraises for community programs and health initiatives in Israel, including the Hadassah Medical Organization, two leading research hospitals in Jerusalem. In the US, the organization advocates on behalf of women’s rights, religious autonomy and US–Israel diplomacy. In Israel, Hadassah supports health education and research, women’s initiatives, schools and programs for underprivileged youth.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
