Former Israeli Pres. Speaks

From both "a worm's-eye view and a bird's-eye view" is how Chaim Herzog, former Israeli president and United Nations ambassador, described, during a book-signing ceremony at The Coop yesterday, his unique perspective on international events.

About 100 people attended Herzog's book-signing of his newly-published memoirs Living History as part of The Harvard Coop Bookstore's "Author Series."

Herzog, a British soldier during World War II, was one of the first to witness the atrocities of the Holocaust in their liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Herzog's book describes his experiences fighting for Israeli independence as a member of the Jewish underground as well as his rise to the rank of general and the role he played in the creation of Israel's renowned intelligence agencies.

Herzog spoke briefly prior to the signing about his birth during the turbulent Irish revolution to Ireland's Chief Rabbi and of growing up in Dublin's Irish-Jewish ghetto.

Susan D. Glazer '98, who attended the ceremony, said of Herzog: "[He] seems like a man who has lived history."

"I think people of our generation or even people of our parents' generation have no idea of this experience, of...fighting during World War II, of seeing the horrors of the Holocaust, and having been inspired by these images to go on to fight for a Jewish nation," she said.

Responding to a question from the audience on Jerusalem's status as the Israeli capital, Herzog said, "No government that would give up on Jerusalem would last a day in office."

Herzog also said that, through the millennia that Jerusalem has been considered by Jews to be their capital, no other nation has regarded it with the same importance.

Audrey J. Marcus, a first-year Divinity School said, "[Chaim Herzog] has played a major part in many of the crucial moments of Israel's history. It was interesting to hear him speak during this especially tense period."

Herzog also spoke about the new system of direct election of the Israeli prime minister, saying that he had hoped the reforms would have been accompanied by greater constituent representation.

In an interview, he voiced hope that both Israeli and Palestinian youth would learn to respect each other and be "guided by the dictates of democracy."

Herzog praised the work of Israeli youth groups seeking to bridge gaps in Israeli society and between Arabs and Jews, saying "by and large, if there is an element that is aware of the problems we have today, it is the youth movements."

Herzog said that he sees Iran as a major problem, not only for Israel, but for the entire free world, because of it is "linking Islamic fundamentalism to weapons of mass destruction."

Noah Ben Artzi Palosof, the granddaughter of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was invited by organizers of the "Author Series" earlier this year.