Thomas O'Connor

Albert Einstein and Hannah Arendt's 1948 letter to the New York Times: They saw the creation of a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine at the expense of its indigenous Muslim and Christian population as a profound injustice and moral catastrophe. Einstein and the other signatories explicitly compared Begin’s Herut (Freedom Party), born from the Irgun, to Nazis and Fascists, warning that their ideology of racial superiority and violent ethnic nationalism posed a grave danger to the moral and political future of the new state. - - - Full text of Einstein and Hannah Arendt's letter to the New York Times: TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES December 2, 1948 Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our time is the emergence in the newly created State of Israel of the “Freedom Party” (Tnuat Haherut), a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy, and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine. The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this party, to the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli elections and to cement political ties with Zionist elements in the United States. Several Americans of national repute have lent their names to welcome his visit. It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world could condone, even by silence, the appearance of such a party in Israel. Within the Jewish community they have preached an admixture of ultra-nationalism, religious mysticism, and racial superiority. Like other fascist parties, they have been used to break strikes, and they have encouraged demoralization among labor. In their actions they have been marked by cruelty and contempt for human life. During the recent past, they have systematically terrorized the Arab population, attacked Jewish settlements, and sabotaged the rescue of displaced Jews from Europe. A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war and had even fought off Arab bands that wanted to use it as their base. On April 9 (1948), terrorist bands attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants — 240 men, women, and children — and kept a few of them alive to parade through the streets of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish community was horrified at the deed, and the Jewish Agency sent an apology to King Abdullah of Transjordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of it, widely publicized it, and invited foreign correspondents to view the corpses and the ravaged village. The Deir Yassin incident exemplifies the character and actions of the Freedom Party. Within the Jewish community they have attempted to institute a reign of terror, have beaten up Jews who opposed them, and have, by gangster methods, terrorized the population. It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world could condone, even by silence, the appearance of such a party in Israel. The undersigned therefore take this means of publicly presenting a warning to the American people concerning a danger to be found in the Freedom Party in Israel, a danger to which the leadership of Menachem Begin gives the greatest emphasis. (Signed): Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Sidney Hook, Rabbi Jessurun Cardozo, Irma Lindheim, and 22 other Jewish scholars, writers, and public figures. (Published December 4, 1948, in The New York Times.)