Page 324 - ISRAEL'S CRADLE

Joseph Minor (1885-1966)
Joseph Minor was born in Russia and worked in Germany. He began working in the Land of Israel from the early Twenties, and the most famous of the houses he planned was that of the poet Hayim Nahman Bialik on Bialik Street in Tel Aviv, near the old municipality building. Minor was a fan of the combination of eastern motifs in the planning of his time, which is clearly apparent in Bialik House. He was about to plan Bialik's house in Ramat Gan as well, but that plan was cancelled due to the poet's sudden death.
Benjamin Orell (Faivelsohn) was born in Lithuania and had demonstrated artistic talent already in his childhood. In 1908, he was sent by his family to study in a yeshiva in Jerusalem, but left it and enrolled in "Bezalel", where he completed his studies and continued as a teacher. He aspired to study architecture, but at the time there was no institution for it in the Land of Israel. Orell went abroad and worked in the architectural firms in Berlin and Paris. Upon returning to the Land of Israel, he entered into a partnership with the architect Yehezkel Zohar. Orell was among those who planned the power plant in Naharayim, and is considered to have made the largest contribution among the architectural planners – Orell & Zohar, Mendelssohn and Suresky (the Chief Engineer of the Planning Department at the Electric Corporation). Over the years, Orell & Zohar planned dozens of houses in Haifa, many of which are on the Conservation List of the Municipality of Haifa. The two also planned structures throughout Israel – From Nahariya to Rehovot. His sons Dror and Aluf Or-el wrote a book about him titled: "Binyamin Orel: An Architect without a Diploma" (2008).
Richard Pasovsky was born in Bohemia, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and today in the Czech Republic. He made Aliya in 1920 and settled in Tel Aviv. He was associated with the Histadrut (General Organization of Workers) from its inception and was appointed the Chief Engineer of the "Solel Boneh" Company. Together with the architect Joseph Berlin (see above), he established the architectural firm that was involved in the construction of many houses, particularly in Tel Aviv. Among other things, the two built in Tel Aviv the Moghrabi Theatre Building, Beit Ha'Am, the Sephardi Synagogue "Ohel Moed" as well as the convalescent home in Motza, where some see a similarity to the White House in Washington DC. Pasovsky was the first President of the Association of Engineers and Architects, was one of the heads of Maccabi World Union, the City Engineer of Ramat Gan and one of the planners of Nahariyya. After the establishment of the state, he joined the civil service and worked in the Planning Bureau of the Labor and Housing Ministry. His son Yossef Milo was a renowned director, who established the Cameri Theater.
Benjamin Orell (1889-1968)
Richard Pasovsky (1888-1981)
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