JOE SALEM – A MEMORY

 

Leon Zeldis, 33°

Past Sovereign Grand Commander

Supreme Council AASR of Israel

 

          I first met Joseph E. A. Salem, or simply Joe, as he preferred to be addressed, while he served as Grand Secretary General of the Supreme Council.

          Some of the Spanish-speaking brethren, members holding various degrees of the Scottish Rite, decided the time had come to found a Lodge of Perfection to work in Spanish. The reason was that many of the members of the three Spanish-speaking Craft lodges in Israel: La Fraternidad, La Esperanza and Theodor Herzl, were poor Hebrew speakers, and many knew no other language than Spanish.

          Although none of us had reached the 33rd Degree, two had the 32nd: Brother Isaac Missistrano and myself. It was our belief – which time proved correct – that establishing a Lodge of Perfection in Spanish would open the doors for many Master Masons to join the Scottish Rite; Spanish-speaking Masons who otherwise would have remained outside.

          Our first step in order to materialize our project was to ask an appointment with Joe. He received us courteously, heard our arguments, received our written request, and promised to present it to the Administrative Committee for discussion.

          Joe impressed me, from the very first moment, as a true British Gentleman. His demeanor, his way of speaking, and most of all, his sincere interest in the other person's words, made on me an unforgettable impression.

          The Administrative Committee rejected our application, claiming our Lodge of Perfection would weaken the existing ones, especially the French one.

          We persisted, explaining that the purpose was not to "steal" members from other Lodges, but to attract new members. Joe, however, understood the logic of our argument, and pushed forward our project.

          Finally, after further meetings and pleadings, we got the approval with the active help of Joe, who sent us a letter with not only the formal approval, which would have required a couple of lines, but enclosed three pages of explanations about what was expected from us from the administrative point of view. In fact, he made sure we felt confident that his experience and guidance would be available to us at all times.

          The lodge, Unión Fraternal Number 10, was duly consecrated and it works normally to this day.

          Not long after that I was elevated to the 33rd Degree, and coinciding with my retirement I started working in the offices of the Supreme Council as assistant Grand Secretary. At the time, Joe was already the Sovereign Grand Commander.

          My main task was to operate a computer, purchased at my urging, and start transferring our archives to the digital world.

          It was then that I really got to know and appreciate Joe's qualities, his drive, energy, devotion to our craft, his open mindedness regarding new developments and his vision for the future.

          After less than a year, our Grand Secretary, Meir Tabak, z"l, expressed his wish to retire, and I took his place.

          We developed a comfortable relationship with Joe, based on mutual trust. He relied on me, knowing that the office work would be done on time, and I was assured that he would back me up on any decision I made.

          Joe had a special quality, rare in persons who hold high office, which I call integrity. I shall give one example.

          During one of his visits to Edinburgh on Masonic business, the First Grand Principal of the Supreme Gran Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland came to see Joe in his hotel and informed him of happy news: he had proposed Joe's name to be inducted into the Royal Order of Scotland, and Joe's name had been approved without question. The ceremony would take place the next day.

          Joe, of course, was humbled and honored by this distinction. The Royal Order of Scotland is the most prestigious and select body in the world of Freemasonry, and very few can be counted among its members.

          That very evening, however, Joe received the visit of the Grand Secretary of the Royal Order of Scotland, who wished to discuss with him a delicate matter. Once in his room, the Grand Secretary handed to Joe the complete rituals of the Order and asked Joe to take a look.

          Joe knew that this was a Christian order, but when he read the ritual itself, he realized that the candidate had to commit himself to protect, promote and defend the Christian religion above all others. This, Joe was unwilling to accept. He handed back the ritual book to the Grand Secretary and explained his position.

          After hesitating a moment, the Grand Secretary offered Joe a compromise. They would eliminate that oath, so Joe could take the degree without violating his conscience.

          "I still have a question," said Joe. "Will that change be done only for me or for all candidates in the future?"

          "Only for you," confessed the Grand Secretary.

          "In that case," said Joe, "I must regretfully decline the honor. I cannot be an exception while you continue to discriminate on the grounds of religion."

          This is what Joe himself related to me, and this is what I call integrity.

          For four years I was his secretary, working three days of the week in the office, attending the meetings of the Supreme Council and of various Lodges of Perfection. Those were happy days for both of us, based on trust and mutual respect.  

          I also joined him a couple of times in his visits to international meetings of Supreme Councils of Europe, until I was elected Sovereign Grand Commander in 1996.

          During those years we started discussing the need for an English-speaking Lodge of Perfection. I discussed the matter with some of the brethren in the area of Tel Aviv-Sharon, but nothing was finalized. Talks with Haifa brethren also started, and in the end you were more diligent and won the race, founding this Lodge of Perfection before the brethren in the south got organized.

          From the beginning, you wanted to name your lodge Joseph Salem, but it was clear that such a move would run against our traditions, and a compromise was reached, using the name Salem, but nothing else. However, it was our understanding that when the time came and our dear Joe was called to serve in a higher level, the Lodge would assume its rightful name, as it has happened in fact.

          I am very happy to be present tonight at this event, closing the circle, as it were. It is an honor to have been participant in the creation of this Lodge, and I feel truly happy to be able to be present when the Lodge of Perfection Joseph Salem number 12 takes its place in the roll of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Israel.

 

Haifa, 24 February 2009.