1958 was a very good year for me.  Not only did I start studying in Columbia University, on Fridays and Saturdays for a Master In History – I chose American History under two wonderful and famous professors Alan Nevins, and Henry Steele Commager, and conducted a very interesting work in our mission to the U.N. but I was also very fortunate to meet Isaac and Vera Stern.  We met and immediately formed a strong life lasting friendship, which brought in its wake, like such friendships usually do, more friendships, and slowly the circle grew and these people became my family away from home, and my greatest support group in New York, till this very day.  

     One day I was invited by The Bonds to give a lecture in Puerto-Rico.

The Jewish Communities in Puerto-Rico and the other islands close by, are comprised mainly by American businessmen who, encouraged by the American Government, established factories and other projects.  They settled in Puerto-Rico and built their community there, as it afforded them an American Standard of Living, in a beautiful, sunny and multi-shored island which the crazy rat race didn’t yet reach.  

     I told my friend Isaac about the coming trip, and he offered to introduce me – over the phone – to the famous Cellist Pablo Cassales, who chose Puerto-Rico to be his home.  The warm weather, the informal dress – open collars over suits – informal invitations, as it is done in Israel , made me very homesick.  I quickly looked for additional activities to fill my day. Right after a fundraising lunch, in which millions of dollars were pledged, the guests and indeed the whole city of San Jose hurried home to enjoy the pleasant Spanish Siesta, a custom adopted all over South America .  I asked my companions to skip the siesta this time, and accompany me to the house of Pablo Cassales.  My companions were delighted at the opportunity to meet such a celebrated personality, as they were not fortunate enough to meet him before.  

     The Cassales home is situated literally at the beach, with the sprinkles of sea water often knocking at the doors, and one gets the feeling of being one with the ocean, sharing the pleasant rhythm of its sound.  Cassales did not rest after lunch.  He was seated at the piano, playing pleasant remembered melodies.  His wife, who received the call from Isaac Stern, welcomed us warmly and introduced us to the Maestro.  He didn’t hesitate for a moment and asked “what is happening in Israel ? I’m following the news daily and I am very concerned.  We the true Spaniards – I am a Catalonian – know what exile means. I feel compassion towards Israel .”  He had met the famous Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir, who had invited him to come to Israel , and he was considering it.  I quickly added my invitation, explaining how important such a visit would be to the moral of his many friends there, and the population as a whole.  He explained that his advanced age prevented him from making such a long trip, in spite of its importance.  It seemed to me that the Answer was not final, and asked his permission to stay and listen to his playing.

     We were lucky to have two hours of a private audience to music and conversation of this celebrated artist,  whose exile from his own country deeply affected him with a sadness that influenced his music.  His eyes were smiling only when he was playing the Catalonian Bird Song – a favourite with him.  He invited me to join him in a walk on the beach.  On returning and before taking my leave from him, I told him of a press conference the Spanish Foreign Minister gave in Cairo just a few days before, in which he declared that the minute the Arabs drew their swords against Israel, they’ll find the Spanish sword along side of them.  I really did not expect such an emotional reaction.  His eyes glittered angrily.  A stream of Spanish words came out, at the end of which he said : “I am going to Israel ” called his wife and right there and then asked her to make all the arrangement.  He embraced me and held my hand for a long time.

HE MADE GOOD HIS PROMISE. 

I had returned from my tour of duty and into my uniform, and joined all his admirers in the series of concert he gave in Israel, the most memorable of them was the one he gave in Ancient Caesarea.  Israel had been seeking for a breakthrough from her political incarceration in many aspects of the modern world, and music, that is shared by all people, is one of the areas where Israel can be proud of her achievements and in which she can prove her independence, her liveliness and her creativity.  

There is no doubt Pablo Cassales’ visits  to Israel were successful in establishing small Israel in the musical world, despite its geographic distance from the main Cultural centers in the World.  

Pablo Cassales was not just a master musician. His personality and his image in the world help our listeners feel that all is not lost; that the human spirit and the power of its creativity will overcome any temporary hardships.