Simon says: "Let's discover the connection between the Israeli City of Netanya, & Macy's, in New York City
Most people only know Macy's for amazing shopping, & the Thanksgiving Parade (pictured) - until a few years ago I didn't know about the Netanya connection.
But the story of Nathan Straus who helped build Macy's, is one of the most remarkable philanthropic journeys in American history.
Straus wasn't the founder of Macy's - Rowland Hussey Macy started the store in 1858. But in 1896, Nathan & his brother Isidor became co-owners, eventually turning it into the retail empire we know today.
What happened next is where the story gets extraordinary & of particular interest to those of us who know & love the beautiful coastal city of Netanya...including my 93-year old mother-in-law who went hang gliding along the coast for her 90th birthday treat to herself!
When in 1904 Straus visited Ottoman Syria (also known as Ottoman-controlled Palestine) with his wife Lina, as part of a planned Mediterranean tour, he developed an unexpected spiritual connection to the Land which stirred "a strange & intense desire to return". He was so taken by his visit that he cancelled the remainder of his planned tour.
The experience transformed him & his wife into "ideologically-committed Zionists", sparking a deep belief "that there absolutely had to be a safe refuge for Jews".
They were both deeply affected by the "desperate needs & poverty they encountered," including widespread disease & suffering. Straus was immediately driven to action.
With his own money, Straus built:
Pasteurized milk stations that dramatically reduced infant mortality
A health centre in Jerusalem with words carved in Hebrew, Arabic & English: "For the benefit of all inhabitants of the land" 
Soup kitchens feeding the hungry in Jerusalem's Old City
TB preventoriums & public health clinicsNathan & Lina returned for a visit in 1912 (during which he broke his leg).
His brother Isidor & sister-in-law Ida sailed home ahead of them - on the Titanic. Both perished.
Nathan took it as a sign he'd been spared for a purpose.
The couple continued with their philanthropic efforts, & travelled here again in 1927 to lay the cornerstone for the Nathan & Lina Straus Health Centre in Jerusalem. He gave roughly two-thirds of his personal fortune to Zionist causes & public health initiatives.
When asked why he gave so much while still alive, he said:
"Give at death, it is lead. Give in sickness, it is silver. Give in health, it is gold."
In 1929 Oved Ben Ami & Itamar Ben Avi founded the city of Netanya (Natan = Nathan) in his honour
A quarter of a million people now live in the city that bears the name of a man who bet on a dream... before it was a country!
Images show the Nathan & Lina Straus Health Centre, & in the montage, Top left: Lord Balfour. Top right: Lord Melchett. Middle left: Oskar Wasserman. Centre: Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Middle right: Nathan Straus. Bottom left: Felix Warburg.
Want to walk in the steps of a great philanthropist? Let’s 'Imagine Israel' together!
Comments
Post a Comment