Trudy Gold
Palestine, Britain and the Jews, Part 3
Trudy Gold - Palestine, the British and the Jews, Part 3
- Of course, what I’m doing today is continuing with Britain, Palestine and the Jews, hopefully till 1947. And can I just mention, because I’m sure a lot of you are glued to the news about the Nakba Day at United Nations, and today Abbas asked for the suspension of Israel. Well, it won’t happen, but I think it’s quite important to remember that when Abbas was a PhD student in Russia, his PhD was on the collaboration, in inverted commerce, of the Zionist with the Nazis. And what I’ll be looking at starting on Thursday, and I think I’m going to have to have three sessions, is how the anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism of the left begins in the Soviet Union, in the Communist block, and how it later filters out. And I’m going to take Britain as my case study. I think the time is now to do it. And I must admit that it has made me a very, very dark woman. It’s not a good place to be to look at this kind of material, but I think it’s important that we do. And again, a lovely word from lockdown, Dr. Collin Leke was kind enough to send me something that is really special. In 1946, Richard Crossman, who was an MP, and a member of the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry that I’m going to talk about, and Michael Foot, the great guardian of the left, they wrote a pamphlet called, “A Palestine Munich,” which is a criticism of Bevin and his Labour Party policy. Because if you remember what we looked at last time, the Labour Party, of course, Churchill is only in power for about a few weeks after the war. And because of the assassination of Lord Moyne, who was a close friend of hims, he really lost it with the Zionist. However, you now have a labour party in power. And I’ve been studying this document of Dr. Leke’s, which is absolutely extraordinary. And it’s important to remember, and this is what is pointed out by Michael Foot, who later became one of the icons.
I’m just going to give you a few quotes. “He talks about the past, as a nation we were dogged by contradictory promises made to the Jews and Arabs during the last war. It is this tangle of rights and wrongs, the British Labour Party has always adopted a single consistent lie, individually and collectively. The Labour Party support of the national home dates back to December the 17th, 1917, when a special conference met at the Central Hall in Westminster.” And the quote is, “May form a free state under international guarantee to which such of the Jewish people as desire to do may return,” which is much stronger than the Balfour Declaration. And he goes on in the pamphlet, says, “The conference of the party on no less than 11 occasions, the last in May, 1945, reaffirmed its support for the Jewish National home.” And this is a quote in 1935. “They, the party conference have never faulted and never will fault it in their active and sympathetic corporation with a work of the political and economic reconstruction now going forward in Palestine. This work is all the more necessary, indeed, it has become an imperious duty when the German Jews have to bear the burdens of other people’s sins.” And so it goes on. “1938, Herbert Morrison, far from Jewish immigration, having made it impossible for the Arabs to live in Polish Palestine far from having damaged the Arabs politically and socially, Jewish immigration has made possible the existence of a much larger Arab population.” And this is another member of the labour government of the time speaking back then.
“No country on earth has had such opportunities for a large number of immigrants opportunities created and made for them as are available in Palestine. When a national home was promised to the Jews, I presume it was not intended to be a home on shifting stand, a home under canvas that could be blown away by every gust of wind, or that the home was intended to be lodgings in which they would be turned up, but it was to be a home worthy of a great people.” And then the paper talks about how the Tory government of the time reneged on the White Paper, and how it was the duty of the labour party to put it right. But as I discussed with you last week, Bevin is elected into power. He has a group of civil servants around him, and we looked at their personalities, did we not? And of course, they are very much in the Arab block. And another point to make about this, In 1945, the League of Arab states came into being, it had its headquarters in Cairo, in British Egypt. The British sponsored the league because it was anti-communist and anti French. But the Arab members wanted to use it to combat Zionism. The Grand Mufti, now this is fascinating, the man who was wanted as a war criminal, the foreign officer, as an extraordinary memo when- No, sorry, it’s MI5.
They actually say that he’s the only man who controlled the Arabs in Palestine. That Mufti is again in charge of the league’s Palestinian department, and he dispatches agents to London and Washington to pressurise against any alteration of the White Paper. If you remember, he sat the war out with Hitler. Now the other point, one of the reasons that the Arabists in the foreign office were very strong against Jewish immigration, it was they convinced Bevin that a stable near East was vital for Britain’s strategic interest. Britain has is still dreaming of being a colonial power. And even though in the war, the Arabs, many of the Arabs and the Axis, there was great collaboration, it was practical diplomacy to cultivate goodwill, especially because of the importance that three letter word oil. The goodwill, I’m quoting, “The goodwill of five Arab states and 40 million Arab citizens should not be jeopardised.” And Bevin actually said, he says this to survivors of the death camps, “You should not jump to the chop of the clue.” And also he believed that Jews from Poland, Jews from wherever they came from, should go back. Now, bearing in mind that this is a complete renagen of the policy of the White Paper. Now this is another quote, “If the Jews with all their sufferings want to get too much to the head of the queue, you have the danger of another anti-Semitic reaction throughout it all.” So basically he’s warning, but there was another important power on the block, because one thing that was sure at the end of the second World War, who are the big powers in the world today? And can we see the first slide? If you don’t mind, Laura. Who are the big powers? It is America and Russia. And what I’m going to be talking about on Thursday is how in fact Stalin is one of the main sponsors of the Jewish state and how and why he changed his mind. It’s absolutely fascinating. Now, Harry Truman. Harry Truman, of course, had only taken over the presidency quite recently on the death of Roosevelt.
And how was he going to play? Important to remember that the Zionists have very much made America their capital after the White Paper of 1939, even though Weizmann still dreamt that the British could be honourable, real efforts were taken in America. And you’ll recall that we looked at the Biltmore Hotel and how in May, 1942, unequivocably, the Zionist leadership said, “We need a state, and we need a state now.” And also think of the efforts of the Haganah, and particularly the Irgun. The Irgun were particularly active in America. And you will know that characters like Ben Hecht, and that wonderful cartoonist, Ze'ev, who I’m going to be showing you some of his cartoons. Again, I want to thank another one of our lockdown students and a friend of mine, Howard Simpson, for bringing all this to my attention. They were very active in spreading the message of what was going on in Europe. Now, the State Department didn’t really want to play, but Harry Truman was getting a lot of pressure now. American Jewry'which was not particularly galvanised in the war years. Was it fear? Was it the fact that in the ‘20s and '30s there was so much isolationism that, and also there was antisemitism in America? But in 1943, the American Jewish lobby was founded, and gradually American Jewry gets its , and the Zionists are working very heavily in America. And not only that, Harry Truman, even though the State Department isn’t very interested, Weizmann was always useful because he was a brilliant diplomat. And he had befriended the one man who had total access to the White House, a Jewish guy called Jacobson, who back in Truman’s early days when he was in the haberdashery business, Jacobson was his partner and they’d stayed friends. And you know, personal relations, it’s fascinating, the human theories of history, do people make a difference? And it’s going to be Jacobson that gives Weizmann access to the President of America. So you have Truman, who is on the, who’s very much on the fence.
And now a very interesting man called Earl Harrison comes into the story. Can we see him please? Earl Grant Harrison. Now one of the righteous that’s thrown up from town to town, he was an American academic, he was a lawyer, and then he goes into public service. He’d been born in Philadelphia, very, very bright man. He’d become dean of the Pennsylvania Law School, and he served in Truman, in Roosevelt’s administration. He becomes director of Alien registration in the American Department of Justice. And he’s US Commissioner of I immigration, '42 to '44, and the significant reforms under his watch. Roosevelt had appointed him American representative on the intergovernmental Commission on refugees in March '45. And Roosevelt dies, and Truman asked him to inspect the DP camps, because what is happening in Europe, and we’ve already talked about this, there were 11 million people on the move. Think of the Nazi slave labour programmes, think of millions of people displaced, the bomb sites that were Europe, and of course the Jewish community, the survivors. And Truman asked him to inspect the DP camps. Germany is being divided up into four zones. The Russian zone, the French, the British, and the American. And what is happening? The American zone is the zone where you are having the largest number of Jewish DPs. Why? Because, and you will remember, the Jewish brigade have been fighting in Italy when the war is over. They come to Europe to help in the camps, and they are pushing Jews into the American zone with a view to putting pressure on America. Now, so he goes to the DP camps, and he looks at the situation. He is going to resettle. He actually sets a- It’s because of him there’s a special law allowing 400,000 DPs to immigrate to America, of whom 80,000 were Jewish.
His report heavily criticises both the American and British government in their treatment of the DPs. He recommended resettlement of the Jews in Palestine and in America. The US Army, and this is very much the work of Eisenhower, he went to have a look at the camps, he made his offices look at the camps, it hurt him deeply. He moved quickly, Eisenhower, after the Harrison report, he creates separate camps for Jewish DPs. You’ve got to remember some of them were in camps with ex Nazis, it was madness. And not only medical treatment, but he allowed the joint in, the extraordinary American joint to dispense relief. And Harrison’s report, he actually said, “We appear to be treating the Jews as the Nazis did, but we do not exterminate them.” And it had such an impact on Truman, and also on many other characters. And don’t forget, American Jewry is now lobbying. In fact, Harrison went on to have an extraordinary, he had an extraordinary life. His obituary, the University of Penn, there was a wonderful obituary in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. “He was a symbol of hope and friendship throughout the world to the aliens in this nation, to our newly made citizens, to refugees from the scourge of war, and to other victims of social justice. He always had a sturdy independence, which made him responsible for unpopular causes. He possessed an eager expectancy of good, which brought him the huge rewards of a happy home, friendship, and the joys of living at his best.” What a extraordinary man he must have been. And once in a while, we do need heroes. Can we go on please? And what happens is Bevin is refusing to budge on the White Paper. But America is about to pass aid to Britain.
The British cannot do without American support, and America leans heavily. They want an Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry to go into the camps, and to actually investigate the situation of Palestine. And that is exactly what is set up. April, 1946, the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry. Now meanwhile, back in Palestine, the Irgun and the Lehi were already making a lot of trouble for the British. The Haganah and the Yeshuv are playing it much straighter. They want to see what happens. And they’re spending a lot of time running the illegal ships into Palestine. So you’ve got to understand there’s a lot of things happening. These years are so packed with different responses to what is going on. So the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry, there was a fascinating bunch of people on it. There were six Americans and six Brits. Can we go onto the next slide, please? That’s Joseph Chapel Hutcheson. He was a judge from Texas. He was a very stern man. And the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry, they were going to investigate, they were going to talk to Jews in the camps. They went to Palestine, they were going to talk to Jews and Arabs in Palestine, and they were also going to talk to Arab leaders. And there was a terrible mistake made with Hutcheson, an Arab shake offered him his wives, or his concubines, and Hutcheson was absolutely horrified. Can we go on please? James Grover McDonald, another one of my heroes. And we’ve talked about him before, you will remember, he was the high Commissioner for refugees. And he did as much as he possibly could to help re alleviate their suffering. He was the prime mover behind Evian. He appealed to the American government, he appealed to the Vatican, and he becomes incredibly pro-Zionist. And I should mention, I’m sure we’ll talk about him again, because he, later, when he met with Apley, he said, “I thought I was sitting opposite Hitler.” He later became a special representative America to Israel. It was the personal choice of Truman. It was very much resented by the Secretary of State, it was resented by the civil servants.
What he wanted to do was to really promote anything he could for Israel. He helped with loans from America, he helped with all sorts of different things. He later kept a diary, it’s finally been published actually, “James Grover McDonald’s Credo.” And I really suggest you get hold of it. He was absolutely amazing. And he did become the first American ambassador to Israel. He was an incredibly, he was an incredible friend of Israel. And there is a street in, I think it’s, is it Netanya named for him, because he was a very, very special friend. And he is on the commission, and he is very, very pro-Zionist, remember. So can we go on please? Here you have a couple of the Brits. This is Sir John Singleton. Richard Crossman, who’s on the Commission of Inquiry for Britain. He’s a labour MP, but he’s quite pro-Zionist. He said of Singleton, “He’s an anti-Zionist, he favours the disarming of the Haganah, and the curtailment of the functions of the Jewish agency, but he’s intensely loyal to what he conceived to be the interest of the British government.” Can we go on please? Here you have Reginald Manningham Buller, another very righteous English judge. Let’s have a look at Richard Crossman. He was the man who of course co-wrote the report that I read a few extracts from. He was a very, very interesting man. Close, very close friends with W.H Auden. He studied classics at Oxford, he got a double first. He was a philosophy tutor before he switched. He becomes very left wing. He became a lecturer to the Worker’s Educational Association. He became a counsellor on Oxford City Council. He comes from patrician background, but he wants to give to the working classes.
And this is going to be very interesting for next week when we look at the left, and how tragically the anti-racist left that was going to help the people becomes in the end, very anti-Semitic. Now, he was one of the first British officers to enter Dachau, and he actually co-wrote the script for Sidney Bernstein’s film. You will remember we’ve talked about this, a “Night Will Fall” made in 2014 by Andre Singer. And he, remember it’s him who wrote it. He really got to his soul. So he’s appointed by Bevin to the Anglo American Commission. He’d met Heim Weizmann. And he said, “He’s one of the few great men I have ever met. He was always a supporter of Israel, he was a leader of the left, but his slogan was Keep left.” And he becomes a member of the executive '52 to '67, and Chamber of the Labour Party. He was chairman of the New Statesman, he wrote the “Diaries of a Cabinet Minister.” So you can see from the group I’m showing you, there’s one whose picture I didn’t get, another interesting American, a man called Bartley Crum. He wrote a brilliant book called, “Behind The Silken Curtain,” if you can get hold of it. He becomes very pro-Zionist. And after the war, Bartley Crum was a great fighter for civil rights. He was the attorney for some of the Hollywood Ten, originally, evidently they were called the unfriendly 19. He’s very involved with HUAC. He also works with the great Paul Robeson. He was one of those characters who always fought for the rights of humanity.
He was a very, very special guy. So on the commission you have a rather disparate group of people, but in the end they report back to Truman. 'Cause Truman had asked, “I want a hundred thousand Jews in Palestine immediately.” Bevin actually said at the Labour Party conference, that’s because he doesn’t want a hundred thousand Jews in New York. And the Jewish community was incredibly well organised by now, and there were lots of rallies. And there’s one rally, and I can remember one of the placards, it’s fascinating when you think there were rallies outside the White House in favour of commemorating the Nakba. And going back, and what I can’t get out of my head is that in 1975, the UN made Zionism, actually said that Zionism was racism. And you know when they issued that? They issued, that was on November the 10th, the night of Kristallnacht. It was rescinded in 1991. But Daniel Monahan, the American representative at the time, he actually said that, “The UN has now become the cradle of antisemitism.” But as I said, I’ll be talking about that next week. But the point is, there’s a lot of pressure in America, plus of course, the America public as the British public, there was a lot of sympathy for the Jews. The films were being released.
And did Truman want a hundred thousand Jews in Palestine immediately because they were being funnelled into the American zone? And if he didn’t get them into Palestine, they would finish up in New York? Or was it that he genuinely felt sympathy, and that he was touched by Weizmann? People are complicated. All motives, I believe, are mixed. But the point is, he says, “A hundred thousand to Palestine immediately. He says that, the White Paper, because this is the commission reporting, they give him the results he wants. The commission wants the annulment \ of the 1939 White Paper, and the Jewish National Home be allowed to develop. And that the prohibition against Jewish land coaches be abolished. Bevins sticks in his heels and he says, "Nothing is going to happen until all the Jews in Palestine surrender all their arms.” Now, so, and this is, can we see- Before we go on, can we have a look? This is how important the Anglo-American Commission is. They interview people in London, they interview people in Washington. Can you go on please, Lauren? Let’s see the next slides. This is the DP camp in Vienna. This is what the report said, “The vast majority of Jewish DPs believe the only place which offers a prospect is Palestine.” You’ve got to remember the joint is there trying to feed them and give them medical help. These are Holocaust survivors. And can you also imagine the impact of them, of these young Jewish soldiers from the Jewish brigade now coming to help in the camps? And also there were all sorts of other characters who came into help. Some of the partisans, the Jewish partisans, some of them who later created DIN, Abba Kovner’s DIN justice. They spent their time deciding to execute SS personnel.
Never forget that only 10% of those guilty of crimes against humanity got away with it. So the point is, in a way you can say, and this is a very difficult question for you to answer, I wish I knew the answer. In 1933, there were 215,000 Jews in Palestine out of a potential of 18 million worldwide. When does Zionism become a mainstream response of the Jewish people? The huge debate, would Israel have happened without the Shoah? Or to what extent is the Shoah? What happened in the Shoah was it that, that gave the impetus? And that’s a very, very difficult, complicated question that I put before you, for your consideration. Basically, what then happens is another man, that’s the British interview. Can we see his face please? Ibn Suad. Ibn Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia. If you remember, Saudi Arabia was called the Hejaz. It had been part of the Ottoman Empire. In the First World War, the most important man in the Hejaz was the Emir Hussein sheriff of Mecca, descendant of the prophet, 37 generations from the prophet. It was his two sons Faisal with Lawrence of Arabia, who first was in Syria. And then after the double dealing of the French and British, he becomes Emir of Iraq under the British. His brother Abdullah becomes Emir of Transjordan. If you’re not with me on this, we can, I will have lectured it on at length, I’ve just heard confirmation from Lauren, the website will be out by July. And there are so many books on this. And if you weren’t listening when I spoke about it before, get Martin Gilbert’s History Map Atlas, particularly the one on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
You need to see the maps. Now, the point that- There was another tribe in the Hejaz, the Sauds, the British didn’t want to deal with them. They were wahhabi, which is a very extreme sect of Islam. But they then go to war against the Emir Hussein. They murder most of his family. He escapes to Iraq. But there is blood hatred between Ibn Saud who becomes king of Saudi Arabia, named for the Sal Dynasty. But this terrible blood between him and the two brothers, and later on between those dynasties that continue. Now, by 1927, the British recognised him as a ruler, they changed sides. They had supported Emir Hussein, Hussein bin Ali. The Saudis had actually captured Mecca from Hussein, which ended 700 years of hashemite war. That’s why there’s such hostility, the Arab countries were all at war with each other. And another point to remember, the Arab countries were all feudal monarchies at this stage. So when you’re looking at the power play of the Middle East, the Soviets are going to get nowhere. And that’s one of the reasons we’re going to find that the Soviets are going to back the growings, the emergence of the state of Israel. Anyway- He has a meeting. But what happens is oil is discovered in the Hejaz in 1938, and it had been granted to American companies and in '44. So it’s vital to American interests, it’s also vital to British interests. And the whole kingdom had become wahhabi in 1944. He was neutral in World War II. And in fact, in his personal life, he was father to over a 100 children with 45 sons.
He says this, “The English are my friends, but I will walk with them only as far as my religion and honour will allow.” About the Jews he said, “The Jew-” He did speak out against the massacre in 1929, the massacre that had been very much induced by Haj Amin al-Husseini, the mufti, who was also his enemy. You’ve got to know this, they’re all at war with each other. He said, “But the Jews are enemies of Islama Muhammed.” He says, “They are a dangerous and hostile race with an exaggerated love of money, and they cause conflicts between Muslims and Christians.” This also echoes back to a phenomenon of the British mandate, where British officers who were Arabists were very friendly with Muslims and creating Muslim Jewish associations, which were anti-Jewish. And this is another famous statement of his, “The Jews are our enemies everywhere. Wherever they are found, they intrigue against us.” He also had a habit of giving the protocols of the elders of Zion to visiting heads of state. So, and another point, don’t forget the genius of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the mufti. When he had created the Pan Arab Congress back in 1937, he had made the issue of Palestine an issue of the Arabs, and an issue of the whole of the Muslim world. And just bear in mind how much that world is changing at this particular time. Will Britain as a colonial power succeed in the Middle East? Will France as a colonial power succeed in the Middle East? What is the role of America? At this stage the Russians are nowhere. So it’s important in terms of real politic, and now the Arab world is important because of that three letter word, oil. So Bevin sticks his heels in as far as the Americans are concerned. And he says, “They will take no steps until the Jews surrender all their arms.” And it’s at this stage that the Jews come together.
It’s known as the, can we see the next slide, please? The joint Hebrew resistance is going to last from November '45 to June '46. When the haganah is going to attack the British infrastructure, it’s the British aren’t going to help us, we are going to get them out of Palestine. So the Haganah and the Lehi work together. Now, don’t forget the Haganah and its strikeforce the Palmach that has been created by the very pro-Zionist British officer Orde Wingate. He died in Burma in the Chindit campaign in '41. But when he was in Palestine, he had trained the Palmach. Now they are fighting the British infrastructure. The Irgun and the Lehi are taking more extreme actions against the army and the police. There are about 10 serious incidents. Now, to give you a few examples, April the third, and of course I could spend many sessions on this. But I’ve made a very pragmatic decision. A lot of you know an awful lot. And there are so many documentaries. And also I know how emotive this is. And I also know that there is not a lecturer who walks the earth today on the Arab-Israeli conflict who could satisfy every one of you. So you might argue with me in the chat, April the third, '46, there’s an attack on the railway network, which is very much Haganah. There is a series of attacks on railway installations, cutting the line, damaging bridges, to make it impossible- The British have 50,000 troops in Palestine at this time. The night of the 16th of June, they attacked road and rail bridges along 140 mile stretch. They attacked the land frontiers. They are making Palestine into a fortress. In contrast, in the December '45 attack by the Lehi, the CID headquarters, 10 people were killed including five British personnel. And so it goes on. An attack on paratroopers in Tel Aviv, nine soldiers killed. February the 25th, the Irgun and the Lehi coordinated a raid on the Royal Airfields installations.
Now this is from the Jewish Chronicle, “Attacks lasting several hours were carried out by the Jewish Resistance Movement last night against at 14 aircraft reported to be destroyed.” Reporting in the same incident, The Manchester Guardian reported that 14 planes valued at 750,000 pounds were destroyed. So all this is a very much a reaction to what’s going on. The Haganah attack, the British Coast Guards in November '45, because the Coast guards are hunting refugees from particularly the Greek vessel Demetrius, it stopped them. Similarly, the attack of the planes, because the planes were being used to spot the illegal immigrants. You know between '45 and '47, the Haganah, and the Irgun, and the Lehi they brought in 70,000 refugees, only 20,000 actually made it to Palestine, the rest were actually interned on Cyprus not to be released until Israel was established. And also at this time, there was a lot of support for the Jews from the Cyprians, also remember the British colony, in France there’s a lot of support. There’s a lot of support for the Jews at this particular period. You have to ask yourselves, when did world sympathy for the plight of the Jews change? I think it’s quite easy to pinpoint that. I pinpoint it in 1967, June '67, that’s when the West starts becoming strange about the Jews. But much more about that. The Irgun and the Lehi, they also resorted to armed robbery. They stole 35,000 pounds from a male train, and then they stole 40,000 pounds worth of diamonds from a polishing factory, very much to fund their various projects.
Now what is interesting, what’s it like for the Jews of Britain? And I’m going, if we have time, I’m going to look at some of the press reports of the time. At this period, the board of deputies was very strong in its opposition to the White Paper. You’ve got to remember, they’ve had to get through the assassination of Lord Moyne. And in June '46, this is when the United resistant changes tack, because that’s when the British say, “We are not going to implement the White Paper.” Now there were two large attacks on the railway networks. 31 Irgun were arrested and put on trial for carrying arms, then the Irgun kidnapped five officers from the officer club, and announced that they were holding them as ransom. The British then raided the issue of headquarters, and arrested four Jewish agency personnel because they knew at this stage the Haganah was working with Irgun and Lehi. The release of the officers, so they gave in and they released the five officers. But it’s having a huge impact on what’s going on in England. And this is the Anglo Jewish Association, “The AJA views with great concern, the outbreak of violence in Palestine. The AJA is certain that all Jews who care for the welfare of Palestine in the future of the Jewish national home are one in condemning these wicked and senseless outrages.” Now can we go on please? The British go further. They arrest 2000 leading members of the Yishuv on Black Sabbath, 29th of June, 1946. 2000 go to prison. Can we go on please? The Irgun at this stage take independent action, and they decide to blow up the military headquarters of the British in Palestine, the King David Hotel, which led to the death of 91 people.
Begin was in control of the Irgun by this time. And according to the Irgun warnings were given to the, British military were phoned, the French embassy was phoned. In fact, the woman who gave the warning, she was alive and interviewed certainly in the '80s. And she swears the warning was given. The British officer who was meant to have received the warning said he never received it. But in the end, 91 people died. And Begin becomes head of the wanted list in Palestine. Now this is the JC. This is a statement from the Anglo, this is a statement, “The Jewish Resistance Movement is not anti British. We have devoted ourselves to a struggle against the hostile policy pursued by us, by Great Britain. We have no one animosity towards the British people, or the British Commonwealth of Nations.” Earl Winterton, you will have remember him, he was at avian. He demanded that an account of the Jewish Chronicle sympathetic stance towards violence, the newspaper should be prosecuted for seditious libel. July the 12th, 19- So just before the King David, there’s a new editor, because the old editor was considered to be far too pro, what’s going on in Palestine. Tragic rift has grown between the two peoples who in partnership have been steadily creating the Jewish national home. In spite of all that has happened, in spite of the formidable errors which have been committed by both parties, we still believe that the highest Jewish British interests are entwined. The board of deputies believes that the two facets of Anglo Jewry.
Now this is so relevant to everything that we talk about. So let me go very slowly. The board of deputies believes that the two facets of Anglo Jewry, their Jewishness, and their Britishness can be combined, there is nothing inconsistent about them. As loyal citizens of this country, and as good Jews, they could proceed with the policy that will bring safety to the Jewish people, and add to the security and strength of Great Britain, and of the British Empire. Because they believe this, they have no hesitation in declaring their complete solidarity with suffering Israel within the suffering Yishuv, and their conviction that Great Britain would appear once again as the power which understood, sympathised with, and wish to remove the sorrows and sufferings of the Jewish people. Now the rift is growing because of the Black Sabbath. This is even before the King David Hotel. And as I said, they sat to Greenburg because he is too sympathetic. “Within the developing tension of the Jewish position, a growing divergence has manifested itself.” This is Jewish chronicle- “Between the views. My conscience compels me to hold, and those held equally conscientiously by the board directors of the paper in the stern and searching times, honour can no longer tolerate compromise of principles in any of us.” And so this is his resignation speech. “And so with natural regret on my part, which the directors have graciously informed me that they share a relinquish this week the editorship of the Jewish Chronicle.” And the Board of deputies, again, caused with the implementation of the American Anglo-American Commission. And then they, of course, just before the King David, it’s the , the headline in the Jewish Chronicle, “Ritual murder on bridle subentry.”
And again, before the King David on the 7th of July, there’s huge demonstrations in Trafalgar Square. This is the Manchester guardian, which lost its Manchester, it is now the guardian, which today is probably the most with the independent, the most anti-Israel of the nationals. This is what they said then, “A thousands of Jews demonstrated against the actions of the British government in Palestine. Tellingly, the march was the first carried out in London by London’s Jewish community since 1933, when a similar measure of protest was made against Nazi persecution of the Jews in Germany.” Now then we have the King David, the Jewish Chronicle, “Violet and senseless outrage, the AJA universally condemned Clement Apley insane act of terrorism times in sensate fanaticism.” The Irgun statement of July the 25th declared their commitment to war with Britain until freedom is achieved. As far as Begin is concerned, he is at war with the British. “Board of Deputies, horrified by the latest crime, committed by a group of terrorists in Jerusalem, and expresses its strongest and unqualified condemnation of the dastardly act. The board extends its sympathy to the victims and their relatives, and cause upon the Jewish community in Palestine to do all in their power to put an end to terrorist activities.” And this is the new editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Geoffrey. Ah, let me read this carefully. “Nowhere in the world is there a kinder or more tolerant people. And despite undercurrents of anti-Semitism, which we foolish to ignore, but equally unwise to magnify, it still remains true, that nowhere can Jews count more surely on civic equality, but on genuine goodwill and large minded comprehension of their needs and problems.
Nor has that goodwill shown itself only in the relations between British Jews and their fellow citizens. There is a long tradition of British concern for Jewish minorities, wherever they might be.” And then the Manchester guardian. And this is the end of their report, this is fascinating. “And though in this country, we think first of the victims, we should be deceiving ourselves if we did not realise that many humane and moderate Jews in Palestine will think first with pride of the men who struck this blow at the headquarters of the administration. For such as the Gulf, which now divides the British and Jewish people in Palestine. What is to us is a cruel and want of murder is to them a brave and heroic action.” Now of course, the tabloids went crazy, and there were many, many anti-Semitic incidents. One provincial newspaper, why I’m now Anti-Semitic, there were riots in Liverpool when I used to teach at LJCC, students who were adult at that time, they told me what it was like. It was absolutely horrific. The times came on very, very strongly. But the attack on the king David led to a split in the United resistance. The Haganah ceased the arm struggle, and they decided to concentrate on diplomacy and running of the illegals. And also you had a terrible period, which I’m sure some of our students, particularly in Israel will know all about, called the Saison where Haganah was being encouraged to hand Irgun and Lehi over to the British. The Irgun and the Lehi they take the fight abroad.
October '46 the Irgun bomb in the British Embassy in Rome. They issued a statement, “On the night of Thursday, October, the 31st, troops of the Irgun attacked the officer of the British Embassy in Rome, which is one of the centres of anti-Jewish entry, and the principle executor of the operations to strangle the repatriation of Jews. Soldiers of the Irgun, pioneers of the war of liberation of the Jewish people will continue to fight against the British enslaver. The attack against the British Embassy in Rome is a symbol of the Jewish military front in the diaspora. Britain has declared a war of extermination against our people, let then the Britain who occupies our country, know that the armed hand of the eternal people will answer with war everywhere, with all possible means, and until the time when our enslaved country is liberated and our people freed, may God aid us.” You can imagine the frenzy in the British press. They talked about a threat, a real Jewish threat in this country. Kind of headlines, The Sunday Pictorial, “Crisis for British Jewry,” the Journal, “War Against British Jews,” suggesting all Jews in Britain be interned. The News Chronicle, “The Slope of Antisemitism Is Slippery, Let Us Be Warned.” The JC reports, “The Sensationalist Press Campaign on Jewish Terrorism Has Continued Unabated.” And so, and I can go on and on and on. So this is an interesting one from the Manchester Guardian, “The struggle for the conscience of some Jews is now going on. Members of the Irgun were rounded up by 50 members of the Haganah whilst they were holding a meeting. The Irgun was given away by their sisters and their own mothers.” They’re sort of talking now about the infighting. Can we go on please? Next slide, Lauren.
Yeah, what happens is a large group of Hganah and Irgun were actually in the acre jail, that was Napoleon’s old stronghold. And it was stormed, May 1947 and everybody was released. This is a very, very famous incident. There is so much at the time. And let’s have a look. The next slide is Begin. Menachem Begin as a young man, an extraordinary individual. Whether one agrees with Bangorian, Begin, Jabotinsky, Weizmann, I think what we have to agree about all of them is they walked the world. They were huge figures. And I think they were all figures who put the dream of freedom of the Jewish people at the front, front of their lives. They did it in different ways and they hated each other. But that’s not the point. And of course, there were terrible flaws. And some of you will say that Begin was completely wrong. But what the point I’m making is that they were people who had experienced the Shoah, and they were people who were trying to save the Jewish people. So whether you agree with them or disagree with them, my issue has always been that, unfortunately at this particular period in human history in the West, I see very few giants. Then there were lots of them of different- A giant doesn’t have to be all good, but these people are conviction politicians. Anyway, so going on, the illegal ships. Can we see the next slide? And there you see the most famous of them all, the Exodus. And I did a whole session on the Exodus. The Exodus was July, 1947.
And of course, Bevin to punish the Exodus instead of sending the Jews, it was taken by British ships outside Palestine territorial water. And to punish them, they were not sent to Cyprus, they were sent back to Germany. And this was a great PR coup for the Haganah. And in the meantime, Bevin had tried one more. He tried one more shot, the Morrison Grady plan, where they had come up with a partition of Palestine. And I’m going to give you the actual figures. And when I talk about Palestine, I talk about that one third that was left. Now the Morrison Grady plan, I just want to get the figures for you. Yes, Britain would- A new formula, Britain would keep 40%, the Arabs would have 40%, and the Jews 17%, all ruled by British High Commissioner. The Arabs and the Jews turned it down. It’s over, it’s over for the British. Their lives are becoming very, very, very, very difficult. And they handed the whole problem over to the United Nations. And the United Nations set up something called UNSCOP, the United Nations Special Commission On Palestine. And there were some of the commissioners were actually on the dock when the Exodus landed, because they stopped in Haifa, and they saw women running at British soldiers with knitting needles. And one of them said, “This has got to end,” and then it is handed over to the United Nations. And let’s have a look at the partition vote.
That of course is the hanging of the British sergeants. That is the British hanged three. They had captured some Irgun people and they threatened to execute them. So the British, so as a result, two British soldiers were captured. And the Irgun said, “If you execute our people, we’ll execute yours.” And they did. And there you see them hanging in an eucalyptus grove in Netanya. And what makes it even more poignant, is one of them was actually Jewish, part Jewish. And his mother made such an impassioned plea. These, but all these events, there are so many books on it. I just wanted to give you the chronology. And I’m sorry sergeants is spelt wrong, but that’s me being pedantic in the midst of such important events. But let’s have a look at UNSCOP and partition. Here you see the United Nations Special Commission On Palestine. The Arabs make it quite clear that there’s going to be no negotiations, but UNSCOP comes together, and ironically with Russia and America voting together, in fact, America was the first country to recognise the new state of Israel. But Russia was the first country to give it both def facto and de jury. But what happens is the decision is partitioned. 33 in favour, 13 against, and 11 abstentions. The British abstain. And let’s have a look at the partition map of 1947. There you see it. And as the Arabs all said, it can’t happen.
I think you can understand it could only be possible if there’s economic and political cooperation. That is the original partition plan. Now, the original Palestine, of course, as given to the British as a mandate, included that area plus Jordan. But it was Churchill who chopped off two thirds to create Jordan, which he gave to the Emir Abdullah. Of course, I suggest you read as many books as possible on the period '45 to '48, it’s one of the most contentious in history. So I’m going to stop there. I know we could have done a lot more detail over this, but I have in the past. And as I’ve said to you before, it is such, I’m trying to walk a tightrope. But what also interested me as a diaspora Jew living in Britain, what was it like to be a diaspora Jew when the Jews of Palestine were at war with the British Empire? And again, you’ve got that terrible problem, what is a Jew? What does that word mean to every one of you? So thank you Lauren for all your help. And shall we have a look at questions?
Q&A and Comments:
Harry is telling us on free view channel 84, very good series about Israel, “A Twice Promised Land.”
Q: What was the name of the Crossman, Foot paper, asked Jacqueline.
A: It’s called, “A Palestine Munich” by Richard Crossman and Michael Foot, produced by Victor Gollancz in 1946.
Q: Arlene, how do Israelis and other Jews get better press? I see it when Israelis considered apartheid, it has no historical justification to claim the site of the first and second temples. It’s unbelievable to me that Bernie’s Sanders celebrated after in his office with the bigoted squad.
A: Arlene, what can you do? But what can one do about it? I know what my views are on this. I think that, I think it’s the 2000 year old hatred. That’s the tentacle that allowed all the other tentacles to grow. That’s what pushed the Jews into artificial occupation patterns. That also, and also the failure of the European enlightenment. That’s what makes the people like Bernie Sanders. I’m going to be talking about this when I talk about the left, I promise you. I don’t think I’ve ever done so much research as I have for the next three lectures because it is so dark.
Q: Jacobson and Truman were comrades from World War I?
A: Yes, of course. And that’s a very special friendship.
Ziggy. Oh, hi Ziggy, how are you? We attend McDonald’s synagogue in Netanya, and now we know where the name comes from. Nothing to do with . Yeah, he was a fabulous man. Truman and especially his wife’s Bess were basically anti-Semitic. Bess never allowed a Jew into a home, but Truman himself was born again Christian, truly believed Jews to be allowed to learn, to return to their sacred ancestral home. Thank you for that insight Betty.
What does it mean to be an anti-Semite? It’s a very complicated term, isn’t it? As just as the word Jew is. There’s a terribly cynical comment by an Israeli historian. Antisemitism is to dislike Jews more than is natural, whatever that means. I was surprised to read this morning, the UN will commemorate the 1948 Palestinian catastrophe. Why are you so shocked? Look, in 1975, the UN Arafat had been into the UN with his gun and olive branch in '74. In '75, a huge motion was passed saying Zionism is racism. It was not rescinded until 1991.
Daniel Monahan, I said this right at the beginning. Daniel Monahan himself said that the United Nations is a cauldron of anti-Semitism. I promise you we’re going to be spending three sessions discussing this.
Rita, click here, Nakba Day, Adina Hay was the one who called the King David Hotel to give the warning, they did not believe it, she called back. I interviewed her in Toronto before she passed. Thank you for that. Thank you Esther. Yes, and there’s a very good series of documentaries about the history of Israel. What’s it called, it’s in six parts. And she’s interviewed on that. Yeah, she was- Now, as far as I know, the planning to bomb the King David was done by the Haganah, and signed to Etzel to carry over. The night of the bombing, the Haganah wanted to stop it. Yeah, it’s a very, very deep complicated story.
Stuart, a cousin of mine, Aaron Lebro was a member of the crew of the vessel court, Northland, which brought refugees to Palestine on October the third, '47. Apparently the Machal ran the operation. The incident is reported in British intelligence report on the arrival of the Northland. Yeah. Oh, I do love it when it comes into family history. So many of the sailors who went over were in fact Americans, a lot of American Navy people. At the end of the war, they went to help. There were quite a few, the Irgun and the Haganah in particular were recruiting British soldiers from Britain, Jewish soldiers, about 2000 went from Britain.
Oh yes. Aaron and other crew members had been discharged from the Army Air Force and went to Eastern Europe. Yeah, yeah, there were a lot of American soldiers, British soldiers, Jews who had seen what had happened in Europe, and that made them into Zionists. If it wasn’t for Begin the British might never have left. Well, the Haganah said, it was the PR, it was the fact that they wore the British down. And don’t forget, in the end there was incredible diplomacy. The Jews were very good at it, between '46 and '47. You should read Abba Eban on this, he’s brilliant on it. Thank you very much.
Q: What was the of the Palestinian Christians during this time?
A: I’m going to have to do more work on that, Robert. Thank you for the question.
Mervin. Marshall threatened to vote against Truman if Truman recognised Israel. You also threatened Cherta, that if Israel declared independence, don’t come in running to us. Yes, exactly. Melvin, this is what’s so interesting because Truman goes against Marshall. Now did he do it because of a promise? Did he do it because he was an evangelical Christian? Did he do it because he believed it was right?
Oh, this is, somebody gives numbers. Today you touched on my history, I was a Jewish orphan near Krakoff, organised by the Greek in 1946. I have a picture of one of the soldiers with two girls he found in a Polish home. The Jewish soldiers were part of the Jewish brigade were going door to door looking for Jewish children who might have been having Christian homes as orphans and survive. It was my story. Eva Bergstein. Oh, Eva, that’s incredible.
Lauren, we’re keeping all of these, aren’t we? Because one of the things Wendy and I are determined to do, we obviously knew we were permissioned. is, this is going to be a lockdown book.
Ya, so there’s a very strange phenomenon in Poland. There were a lot of deathbed confessions. Parents, elderly parents dying and saying to their middle-aged child, son or daughter, “By the way, you were given to me.” And after the fall of communism, a man called Konstanty Gebert actually set up a hotline. Can you imagine? You see you were found but a lot of them were not given up. The Catholics didn’t want to give them up. These people were hidden. And can you imagine though, on your deathbed of the people that you think is your parents, you find out, in fact, I’m a Jew. You’ve married, you’ve had children, sometimes grandchildren. What do you do with that information?
Arthur Keslen, now that’s interesting, Nigel. And Nigel, thank you for all this stuff. Now Kelsen is a fascinating individual, isn’t he? I’m not sure I’m going to check that out.
Oh, Tony, I can confirm that Rex Bloomstein’s “Auschwitz And The Allies” is held in the BFI National Archive and available to be viewed on their premises. Important, and I have been rather negligent because I promised to go further on this with one of our students, or one of our participants, and unfortunately I’ve got bogged down with work. But we must do more about getting these films. The King David operation was originally a joint operation. Yes, they were working together, but then they stopped. Ben Gurion withdrew but Snare didn’t pass the message to Begin. Oh, the stories, the stories, the stories.
Gloria, my late husband was a member of the . Earl Harrison was a Quaker. Yes, and what an incredible man.
“Pillar of Fire.” Thank you, Linda. “Pillars of Fire, 1981.” It’s a brilliant series. It’s the history of Israel up till 1947. I don’t think they go to '48. Thank you, Ingrid. Did the Drews join the Haganah? I don’t think so. I’ll have to check that out.
Eight, This is Nomi, 800 Jews from South Africa went to assist in the War of immigration as documented by he Harry Katzew, South Africa 800. Yeah, and I know there were a lot of South African Jewish pilots. Yeah, it’s fascinating. The Jews who’d fought in armies, actually so many of them went to help.
Delady. My father and his boss, who was Lee Arabia’s dad started a hunting club to legally own arms during the British mandate. Many British soldiers were pro the Jews and left their arms losing them before leaving Palestine. Yes, that’s a lovely story. I also heard the story of a British soldier who fell in love with an Israeli girl. And he actually had a tank that he was taking to the dock when the British actually pulled out. But he turned it round and took it to the Kibbutz to defend it.
Q: Would I put together a list of films at this time?
A: Yes, I will be, and you’ll have it when we actually issue the website because it’s so complex, the actual, what we’re all up to at the moment. But it will be done. I agree with you all.
Anyway, thank you very, very much. I hope I’ve managed to hold a path just as I hope for the next three sessions. In the middle of the sessions I’m giving, I’m actually, I’m in interview with a fascinating man called Saad Khaldi. His family were Palestinian Arab, but he’s half Jewish and he’s also an accredited educator, Holocaust educator accredited by Yad Vashem. So I’m interviewing him about Holocaust education on next week sometime. And there are lots and lots of extraordinary people who are becoming and joining us on lockdown.
So I wish you all a good evening and take care everyone. God bless. And Lauren again, thank you very much.