Bowling team 1953: L to R:  Top: Percy Manheim,Wellsely Aron; Bottom: Jack Raphael, Max Spitz

How small is the world.

My story relates to two different episodes converging to a common point of interest.

The first part commences way back in 1948/49 during Israel's War of Independence. I was here as a Machalnik serving in Israel's army. I had brought with me an 8mm camera with which I had filmed the start of my journey carrying through to Israel's first Independence day (המצעד שלא צעד) with many varied scenes of army actions and events.

On army vacation days I would pay visits to Kibbutz Timorim in its original location up in the hills overlooking Nahalal. (Today Timorim is in the south). The kibbutz had then been recently started by members of the Bnei-Zion movement in South Africa, where I had been an active member, and so found many former friends there.

I filmed much of the activity on the kibbutz. On one particular visit I was excited to be present to film the wedding of Chaim and Rochi Goldblatt. The couple later changed their name to Zahavi, and are still active in the "new" Timorim. In 2009 they celebrated their 60^th anniversary, and I was delighted to visit them and see them for the first time after 60 years, and of course to show them the film with treasured memories.

 A year later I was at a function in Cape Town's Zionist hall in South Africa.  During the evening films were being shown, and imagine my surprise when appearing on the screen was the wedding of the same couple – the Goldblatts. This film was in beautiful color  - mine was in black and white. Projecting this film was the guest of the evening, none other than Norman Lourie, the founder of the Habonim movement in South Africa.  I congratulated him on the excellent professional production of the  "re-production" mock wedding of the Goldblatts. He was in utter amazement to face up with me, the producer of the film of the original event. Subsequently I learned that Norman Lourie was part of a film company, Palestine Films, which had produced many films of Israel's struggle for independence, today of historical value to be found in archives in Israel.  My film has been shown on the Nana television channel 10 (www.theboydem.nana10.com) .and Nana was more than keen to find the copied film and to create a broader story of the two films combined.

So the search starts for Lourie's film. First port of call was to the Goldblatts themselves, but after much searching they found no trace of the film. I then went further afield and traced two members of the kibbutz who had been present both at the original wedding and at the mock wedding. The photographer, I was told, was none other than Robert Krasker who had done the filming of Orson Wells the Third Man and also the filming of Stewart Granger The Odd Man Out, one of the top film photographers at the time, and had been awarded and an Oscar for his Orson Welles' film. In his early days Krasker had been engaged professionally to film the wedding.

I am still on the search checking with archives both here and overseas.

The second episode starts off with my continued search. I decided to check whether there was anybody still around who had been associated with Norman Lourie both here and in South Africa.

From the internet I learned that Lourie had been inspired and encouraged by Wellesley Aron, originator of the World Movement of Habonim.

I recognized the name immediately. With my long association with lawn bowls in Israel, I have written the history of the game with records from the very beginning 60 years ago (see www.lawnbowls-israelrecords.com). There is a photograph of Israel's very first bowls team to play in the 1953 Maccabi, with Wellesley Aron together with ex-South Africans Max Spitz, Percy Manheim and Jack Raphael. Another photograph I have is of Wellesley together with Max Spitz at a Ramat Gan bowling club function in 1982 honoring Spitz, the founder of bowls in Israel. Their association went back to the early 1950s via business connections and also Rotary in which Aron had played a leading part. Hence, Wellesley's appearance at Max's function 30 years later - "an invitation he couldn't refuse".   I have preserved a full tape recording of the function that evening and with varied comments made by the participants which included Wellesley, who in good humor recalled his association with Max Spitz. In the photograph Wellesley is showing his 1953 Maccabi medal to Max. He pointed out that there was a “3” inscribed on the medal representing the three countries which participated—South Africa, Rhodesia, Israel which finished third in the competition.

Amongst his achievements, Wellseley had received the MBE award from the Queen, for his efforts to promote peaceful ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors including the founding of Neve Shalom. 

Wellesley’s grandson here in Israel is none other than the renowned guitarist and folklore singer David Broza. I have invited Broza to meet me at the Ramat Gan  bowling club, where I will have him roll a bowl from the very spot from where his grandad had delivered his bowls as a member of Israel's very first bowling team in 1953.

So my story ends from the green grass to the golden guitar.