by Philip Greenspan
(Swans - April 11, 2005) The state of Israel, in existence for almost 57 years, is relatively new among major states. In that short period of time it has accomplished a great deal. It has hoisted itself to the ranks of a major power and seems to be a phenomenal success. So they claim.
But has it achieved the goals that its sponsors proclaimed for it?
Theodore Herzl, upset by the anti-Semitism that pervaded the Dreyfus trial, sought to solve the problem of anti-Semitism. He endeavored to create a homeland for all the world's Jews and thus he became the founding father of modern Zionism.
What took place at the Dreyfus trial, however, was not indicative of the Western world's attitude toward Jews. Virulent anti-Semitism existed only amongst a small segment of the people. Although the French military was influential, other forces reacted and discredited their bigoted actions.
Most Jews did not feel threatened by anti-Semitism and therefore did not buy into the Zionist dream of a state. Many, content in their adopted country, were either opposed to it, disinterested or at best just sympathetic to the idea.
Religious Jews, including Zionists who lived peacefully with their Arab neighbors in the Holy Land, were strongly opposed to Herzl and his political Zionism because it desecrated their beliefs. He in turn disliked them because they did not subscribe to his nationalist vision.
Only a tiny fraction was committed to Herzl's dream and they became pioneers in a Jewish homeland.
During the early years of political Zionism a substantial number of Jews emigrated from Russia and Eastern Europe but only a small percentage chose Palestine as their destination of choice. Anti-Semitism existed in the Western world but it was not a deterrent in the minds of most Jews.
Since an insufficient number were committed to build the new state it became necessary to devise and implement plans that would augment those numbers and bring young, strong and dedicated Jews to undertake the hard tasks that lay ahead.
Ruling elites will frequently resort to deceit to achieve their goals even if it does not benefit and may actually hurt their constituents. An example is the fraudulent justifications for the Iraq war that is causing harm to all except the military-industrial complex.
Similarly, the Zionist elite employed devious tactics to create and expand their state.
The allies of the Zionists in their quest for a Jewish state were the anti-Semites! Yes, that's right, the anti-Semites. They wanted their lands free of Jews and the Zionists wanted the Diaspora in those lands to move to their new state. It seemed to be a perfect fit.
How do you let such villains become a partner in your scheme? Certainly such facts can not be disclosed. Accordingly, myths are devised to overshadow the truth. Lies like the Iraq war justifications were used and continue to be used by the Zionists.
The anti-Semites readily accepted the Zionists' proposal. The most notorious example is how well they worked with the Nazis. The Nazis were very anxious to rid Jews from Germany and the areas that they occupied.
Unfortunately, few areas of the world were willing to accept those unwanted individuals. Not even the homeland that the British provided under their Balfour Declaration was available for all the desperate Jews who hoped to emigrate. Because of the violent objections of the Palestinians only a fraction were permitted entrance.
Even if there were no restrictions, the Zionists would not have accepted all the refugees. Only the young, able-bodied and devoted, the pioneers and patriots who would build the state were sought. Those likely to become a burden or drag on their enterprise were rejected. Ideal candidates in countries where Jews were in no danger were recruited instead of refugees who were not likely pioneers.
Were Zionists concerned about the closed doors that faced German Jews? Did they strive to remove or at least ease immigration restrictions in countries throughout the world?
The Evian Conference was an international attempt to save the refugees. Rather than support that effort the Zionists worried that if it were successful, potential immigrants to the Holy Land might flock to other countries.
The world-wide depression combined with a Germany already heavily in debt had the newly installed Nazi regime apprehensive about their ability to resolve their economic problems.
Thus, the Zionists were able to work out a mutually profitable arrangement with the Nazis known as the Transfer Agreement. Jews admitted to Palestine would deposit money in Germany. Upon arriving at their destination they would receive some of it. The remainder financed an international trade between the Reich and the Zionists in Palestine.
To protect this profitable arrangement and to please their Nazi partners, the Zionists thwarted the efforts of Jews who organized boycotts of German goods. Those efforts were having an effect by recruiting many who were already disgusted with the Nazis.
Not all Zionists agreed with the tactics employed by those in control. There were various factions that differed in how best to achieve results. But all were quite willing to sacrifice Jewish lives in furtherance of the ultimate goal -- a Jewish state.
The most outrageous scheme was a proposal for a military alliance with the Nazis by a breakaway faction of right wing Zionists known as the Stern Gang. One of its leaders was Yitzhak Shamir, who later became a prime minister of Israel.
After the Nazis resorted to the "final solution," opportunities to save many who were in danger were unheeded.
One courageous rabbi, Michael Dov-Ber Weissmandel was able to negotiate a deal in 1943 to save all the Jews in Western Europe and the Balkans for two million American dollars. He was appalled when he read the letter of rejection from the Zionist who responded to the offer. It stated that since the Allies were spilling blood to win the war it would be imprudent to permit money to be sent to their enemy. Only by sacrificing Jewish refugees could they appeal after the war for the land they sought. But he unctuously sent money so that Weissmandel and his close friends could save themselves.
In the early 1950s, Israelis were horrified when it was revealed in a well publicized trial that Israel Rudolph Kastner, a highly regarded Zionist, collaborated with the Nazis. Six hundred thousand Hungarian Jews were sent to the death camps by his betrayal. He did save members of his family and some favored Zionists. Additionally, they learned that after the war Kastner's testimony gained freedom for a Nazi official who was implicated in the deaths of those Hungarian Jews.
As the Zionists had expected, pity for the millions of innocent Jewish victims of the Nazis was the catalyst for the UN to create a Jewish state. However, the UN abused the rights of long time residents of the area whose consent was not sought.
The Zionist duplicity against fellow Jews did not cease once they had obtained the goal of a Jewish state. They were dissatisfied with the partition plan but accepted it as a foot in the door. By creating new myths they planned to expand the borders, increase the Jewish population and surmount the demographics over the resident Palestinians.
All surviving displaced European Jews were urged to go to Israel even though many had other destinations in mind. After spending time there they moved on to their actual choice.
When the Soviet Union collapsed those Jews desirous of leaving were also pressured to move to Israel. Two of three subsequently left for other countries -- in most instances, surprisingly, it was Germany!
Like Diaspora Jews throughout the world, Jews in the Arab counties of the Middle East accepted and obeyed the customs and laws of their adopted country. For centuries they lived peacefully with their Arab neighbors. In contrast, the political Zionists did not observe the same practices. They were a law unto themselves and it was not long before they antagonized the Palestinians.
But the tolerant Arabs did not ascribe the actions of the political Zionists to the Jews who had lived with them for years -- and thus those Jews still lived peacefully in the Middle East.
With the war's end and no anti-Semitic country to assist them, what strategy could they employ to augment the population? Why not frighten Diaspora Jews with terrorist attacks!
And so the situation changed as Zionists clandestinely fomented troubles in various Middle East countries.
The Lavon affair surfaced when a plan, purporting to show that Nasser's Egypt was a radical nation, went awry. Jewish recruits of the Israelis were caught bombing Western-owned properties. Subsequent unprovoked border attacks by Israel against Egypt provides further evidence of how little it regarded the Egyptian Jews who could have suffered for what was done by the Jewish state.
For 2500 years Jews prospered within the borders of today's Iraq. However, bombings in Jewish neighborhoods, attributed to anti-Semitic Arabs at the time, frightened them. Long after a wholesale migration of the Iraqi Jews to Israel, the truth became known. Those bombings were the work of Zionists.
Some Middle Eastern, Sephardic Jews did not panic and leave. The popular television program 60 Minutes investigated the status of Syrian Jews on two separate occasions and found that they were quite content to remain there.
Sephardic Jews who emigrated soon learned that the land they chose to live in had relegated them to do the dirty work -- work Palestinians had done before they were driven out of the country in the War of Independence.
Diaspora Jews have been overly loyal and supportive of Israel. They generously send contributions and back bond drives. They avert the truth and blindly defend criminal exploits. Yet they are not willing to abandon their adopted countries in any sizeable numbers. Of those relatively few from the U.S. who have tried aliyah ("ascension" or "going up;" Diaspora Jews emigrating to Israel) about 60 percent have returned.
The Zionists are so hard-pressed to bolster the Jewish population that non-Jews from the former Soviet Union have been able to make aliyah. The Soviet source has now dried up but Israel is still desperate for immigrants.
In recent years declassification of archives in the U.S., Britain and Israel have allowed young revisionist historians to uncover truths that were shrouded in myth. They learned of ample opportunities to achieve peaceful settlements. Israel's failure to respond favorably is further proof that they continually sought to get rid of the Palestinians and take over all their lands.
Through the years the media has overlooked many Israeli transgressions and has been overly tolerant in reporting scandals that have come to light. But the truth has been leaking out and the good will that Israel enjoyed is rapidly eroding.
Many Israeli and Diaspora Jews have become concerned. They are aware that dozens of UN resolutions have condemned Israel for years. They are aware of the abusive tactics that are employed against innocent Palestinians. They are so concerned that they have taken up the Palestinian cause.
It is well over a hundred years since Herzl had his dream. Have any of his hopes and predictions been fulfilled?
Has Israel become the homeland of the Jewish people? After all the scheming and coercive tactics over the years only about a quarter of the world's Jews live in Israel; and emigration yerida, an unmentioned but ever present problem, sometimes exceeds aliyah. Rather than being a safe haven, it is the most dangerous place for Jews. Rather than being a protector of Diaspora Jews, it is their substantial contributions and political influence that maintains the state.
Has it eliminated anti-Semitism? No, but it has been reduced -- no thanks to the Israelis. Diaspera Jews as loyal and productive citizens of their adopted countries have been the major factor in eliminating anti-Semitism. The criticisms of Israel's abominable activities have caused it to defensively claim that anti-Semitism is on the rise again. No, it is not. The world is aware that it is the illegal deeds of that nation and not world Jewry that deserves condemnation. Anti-Israel is not synonymous with anti-Semitism.
Yes, Israel is a major power but it exists because it's the West's strategic base in the oil-rich Middle East.
No, it did not fulfill it promises. It has failed world Jewry and the world at large.