Out of the Shoebox Read Online Free Page B

the
deposit of 15 Israeli lira plus 500 mil for the visa expenses. Their letter
stresses: “After the visa process which takes a few weeks, we must point out
that if your trip is delayed so that you arrive here after Jan 1st, 1933 you
will not be able to begin studying this school year.” It took the letter a week
to reach my father, but he could not buy Israeli lira in Chortkow. He bought
American dollars instead, sending the cash with the following letter:
    Chortkow, 11 Oct 1932
    To: The Hebrew Technion, Haifa
     
    Enclosed is the sum of IL 15 + 500 Israeli mil, guarantee and
expenses as requested. It is impossible to get liras here so I am forced to
send dollars at today’s [exchange] rate of $3.46 . I shall gladly reimburse you
for any unforeseen expenses upon my arrival.
    Kindly expedite the issuance of my visa, so that I don’t miss
the 1.1.1933 deadline and don’t miss a year’s study.
    Kindly confirm receipt of the money.
    My name: Salmon Hersz Finkelman
    Born: 24 March 1908
    Parents’ names: Izak Finkelman, Ryfka Finkelman, Drucker
    Enclosed are a personal certificate and $54
    With greetings to Zion S.Z. Finkelman
     
    Father’s
letter with the cash got delayed in the mail, and on Oct 10, 1932 the Technion
wrote: “This is to inform you that your letter of acceptance as a student has
already been mailed. Since to date we have not received the deposit, we could
not submit your papers for a visa and you will therefore not be able to study
in the academic year 1932/33. As for your intent to come to Israel as a
tourist, we cannot advise you.”  I can just imagine what went through my
father’s mind at the receipt of this letter. The drama at his home must have
continued for about a week until, 8 days later, another letter from the
Technion arrived, confirming receipt of the money. Nonetheless, the Technion
reiterates that time is short, and my father may not be able to start his
studies as planned and may have to postpone his arrival by a year. That same
day, Oct 28, 1932, the director of the Technion wrote to the British Mandate’s
head of the Department of Immigration & Travel in Haifa, with an urgent
request to issue a student visa for my father.
    A
month later the longed-for visa confirmation reached the Technion, which in
turn gave my father the good news by registered mail: “We hereby send you a
certificate with which you can receive the visa to Palestine from the British
Consul in Warsaw. Please inform us directly when you expect to leave, so that
we may determine whether you’ll be able to begin your studies this year or only
in 1933-34.
    My
father arrived in Haifa on Dec 26th 1932, and the next morning presented
himself at the Technion and signed all enrollment and declaration forms
required by the British Mandate authorities. He completed his mission in time:
immigrated legally in 1932, five days before the year's end.
    Ada
gave me my father’s file, comprising all of two sheets of cardboard. One had my
father’s personal details, and the list of subjects and grades for the four
years of study.
    Clearly,
nothing was ever entered on this page. Which – as Ada pointed out – indicated
he never studied after being accepted. The other sheet showed the tuition and
payments made, and is proof that my father made the first three payments,
totaling 12 lira and 300 mil of the IL18 he was to pay for the first year. In
other words, my father indeed did not study at the Technion, but used his
enrollment as a legal way to make aliya.
    The
declaration my father signed at the Technion on 27 December 1932:
    DECLARATION
    I, Shlomo Zvi Finkelman, upon receiving permission to enter the
country as a student of the Hebrew Technion in Haifa, herewith deposit with the
Hebrew Technion in Haifa the sum of fifteen lira as guarantee that should I
wish to leave the country within four years of my arrival, I shall do so
immediately at my own expense; otherwise the Hebrew Technion in Haifa shall be
permitted to use the