One block of a Beverly Hills street will officially honor Theodore Herzl, the man who first envisioned the State of Israel and the founder of modern Zionism. A plaque will be installed later this year, around the time of Herzl’s 150th birthday, according to a spokeswoman for the Israel Consulate in Los Angeles.
The decision to honor Herzl on the block of 300 Clark Drive, in front of Temple Emanuel, was made at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 3 at a Beverly Hills City Council meeting, at the end of a seven hour meeting on other city matters. It was proposed by Vice Mayor Jimmy Delshad, and endorsed by the Consul General of Israel Jacob Dayan.
“It’s truly an honor that the city of Beverly Hills would acknowledge a visionary whose dream of the Jewish statehood came to fruition. Israel is blooming today because of the dream of Theodor Herzl,” Consul General Dayan said in a written statement issued by the consulate. “It gives me tremendous pride to see a piece of Israel’s heritage and culture amidst this beautiful city.” Beverly Hills is the sister city of Herzliya, Israel – which is named after Theodore Herzl.
As for the street address for the synagogue, according to Marina Rozhansky, director of media and communications for the consulate, the issue is being pursued with the post office.
