History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology was Ahad Ha-Am, the distinguished Zionist philosopher. Ahad Ha-Am was able to recruit Wissotsky’s son David to the Technikum plan, and a first contribution of 100,000 rubles was made. In 1908, the American philanthropist Jacob Schiff was visiting the "holy land". Schiff was affected by the poverty and destitution he found among many of the Jews of Palestine and was inspired by the idea of an institution that would provide technical training. Back in Europe, interest in the new Technikum was kept high. In 1909 Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who would later become President of the State of Israel, reported to
Chaim Weizmann was breaking off the relationship with Getzowa until 1903. His behavior was seen as dishonorable, creating fractures with others in the Zionist movement. His fellow students held a mock-court proceeding and ruled that Weizmann, should uphold his commitment and marry Getzowa, even if he later divorced her. Weizmann ignored their advice. In 1904, he moved to the United Kingdom after receiving a job offer from the Chemistry Department of the University of Manchester. He was appointed senior lecturer. In 1910, he became a British citizen, and held his British nationality until 1948, when he renounced it to assume his position