The Beginnings of Classics in Israel: Two Documents

Abstract

The official opening of the University took place in 1925, though its first component, the Institute for Jewish Studies, had been inaugurated already in 1924. Greek and Latin, initially conceived as ancillaries to Jewish Studies, were among the first subjects taught at the new institution. In the event the Department of Classics became an early, and important, part of the emerging Faculty of Humanities. Our first document is a letter written by Moshe Schwabe, the founder of Classics in this country, to a friend and colleague in Germany in 1925.  It gives a first-hand account of these beginnings; incidentally it also presents interesting insights into the situation in Palestine by a perceptive new immigrant of strong Zionist convictions and socialist leanings. Our second document, a memorandum on Classics written by Moshe Schwabe in 1927, presents, again at first hand, his clear vision and purposeful work at a very early stage. Those working in the field of Classics have made by any reckoning important and lasting contributions to scholarship.