Page 18 - Kol Bogrei Habonim - June 13
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Late in 1929, when Wellesley really was English-born children in that faith. Wellesley, the
interviewed by the J.C., he also wrote articles for fifth child, was born in 1901 to a second Jewish
them about the new Non-Zionist Jewish Youth wife, but he received virtually no Jewish
Movement, which unlike the Scouting upbringing. As a young man Wellesley was a
Movement taught Hebrew with songs and keen and successful sportsman and he was active
dances from Palestine, as well as camp-craft, in the Scouting Movement with distinction,
map-reading, etc. He left the London based having qualified for the famous “Wood Badge”
Zionist Federation in December 1930 after in Baden-Powell’s troop at Gilwell Park. Before
Weizmann found that they no longer needed to or during the First World War, Wellesley and his
employ him. He gradually passed the Movement mother moved to Bayswater, London, but during
leadership over to Joe Gilbert. Wellesley was wartime his elderly German father had to live in
always seeking more activity and he returned to Switzerland, where he died. Wellesley just
Palestine in 1931. By 1932 there were 21 missed serving in the War, where one of his
Gedudim in London, with many more in the older brothers was killed.
provinces, Scotland and abroad.
In 1923 Wellesley went to study at Cambridge
In spite of providing help, Basil Henriques was University. He joined the various sports clubs
anti-Zionist and regarded Judaism as being just a there and fully participated, but never received
religion. Later he opposed Habonim, obliquely the “blue” which normally was awarded to
mentioning it during a public A.J.Y. meeting. He university sportsmen. This was the first time he
was one of the anti-Zionists who stopped encountered anti-Semitism, having met and
Habonim meetings at the L.C.C. School, even associated with the local Jewish society,
though the Movement then was non-Zionist. In including some Zionists. As a result, in about
common with His Majesty’s Government’s 1925 he discovered his Hebrew roots and
‘Balfour Declaration’ (of 1917), the Movement obligations, in what he described as a personal
also “viewed with favour the establishment in flash-revelation!
Palestine of a Jewish National Home,” but at that Having graduated in 1926 he broke away from
time it went no further than teaching about Eretz his almost fully-assimilated English family, by
Yisrael.
going to Palestine to see how the Jews were
Brief Biography of Wellesley managing there. Wellesley gained a limited
Wellesley’s background is interesting. We get it knowledge of Zionism, married, fathered a
from a tape-recorded interview with Tony daughter, and taught English and sports, first in
Lerman in 1977, which was later written out. Haifa at the Reali School and then in Tel Aviv at
Wellesley’s Jewish father was of German the Gymnasia Herzliya. In 1927 Chaim
nationality. Wellesley’s name was due to his Weizmann asked Wellesley for a second time, to
birthday (18th June) being the anniversary of the assist with the political work in the Zionist
Battle of Waterloo, when Field Marshal Arthur Federation Office in London and in March of the
Wellesley, later named the First Duke of following year Wellesley returned to England
Wellington, finally beat Napoleon’s forces. with his young family to begin this job.
Many years later, Moshe Sharett persuaded However, Leonard Stein, his boss was unwilling
Wellesley to change his name to Pinkas, in to share the work (with anyone) and Wellesley
memory of his maternal grandfather.
found himself without much to do. In the
The Aron family lived in Devon and were summer of 1928 he was invited to visit the
somewhat aristocratic. Wellesley’s father’s first Jewish Youth Clubs in Stepney and he enquired
wife being Christian, had raised their older there if any teaching of Jewish history (and
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