The Zalman Aranne Central Library recently received fourteen cartons of books from the collection of the late Sylvia Kedourie, a renowned British historian of the Middle East. They will be added to the extensive collection of her late husband, Eli, which is already at the library.
What makes this donation so special is the special lady behind it. Sylvia decided to ship the books to the library, and soon after died at the age of 92 – while she was still working as editor of Middle Eastern Studies, one of the world’s pre-eminent English-language academic journals on the Middle East.
Jeremy Kelly, Chief Executive of the Ben-Gurion University Foundation (BGUF) in the UK, collected the cartons from Sylvia's home, without realizing it was the last time he would see her. He received photos of the books lovingly being placed on our library shelves, and wanted to show them to Sylvia – but then heard the sad news of her passing.
Jeremy notes: "I spent two afternoons at Sylvia’s home this past summer, schlepping the books from her home to our office before shipping! I spent some time with Sylvia discussing her donation and her life’s work. She was a remarkable lady and passionate supporter of BGU since its establishment. My only regret is that I didn’t accept her invitation to stay for tea on my last visit. I’d planned to return to accept her invite once the books had arrived, but sadly she passed before this could happen."
A friend of Sylvia's (a young 91 years old!) and a big fan of the Aranne Library, sponsored the cost of the shipping to Israel. The BGUF continues to support our efforts and to enrich the library for the benefit of students and researchers. Todah!
