SubscribeWith respect to possible places of resettlement for those who may be stateless or who do not wish to return to their homes, Palestine is definitely and pre-eminently the first choice. Many now have relatives there, while others, having experienced intolerance and persecution in their homelands for years, feel that only in Palestine will they be welcomed and find peace and quiet and be given an opportunity to live and work. In the case of the Polish and the Baltic Jews, the desire to go to Palestine is based in a great majority of the cases on a love for the country and devotion to the Zionist ideal. It is also true however, that there are many who wish to go to Palestine because they realize that their opportunity to be admitted into the United States or into other countries in the Western hemisphere is limited, if not impossible. Whatever the motive which causes them to turn to Palestine, it is undoubtedly true that the great majority of the Jews now in Germany do not wish to return to those countries from which they came.(And yes, I am aware of the irony of the "peace and quiet" phrasing above). Regardless, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is worth debating, but anyone who thinks that there was, at least to the Jews of Europe, an alternative to setting up their homeland is missing a lot of perspective.
On June 19, 1967, the National Unity Government [of Israel] voted unanimously to return the Sinai to Egypt and the Golan Heights to Syria in return for peace agreements. The Golans would have to be demilitarized and special arrangement would be negotiated for the Straits of Tiran. The government also resolved to open negotiations with King Hussein of Jordan regarding the Eastern border.
...On August 16, Truman announced that he would ask Congress to pass legislation allowing an unspecified number of DPs into the United States. While he thought of permission for 300,000 people, he did not disclose the number publicly. His decision to keep silent on the exact figure was wise. When the American public was asked in late August whether they agreed with Truman's proposal to let more Jews and other European refugees into the United States, 72 percent were against it; 16 percent approved; and 12 percent had no opinion...And, again, this whole line of questioning is rather weird. The Zionist movement started in the 1800s as a reaction to anti-Semitism, not as a religious movement. The Zionists were proven exactly right by the Holocaust - it wasn't just the Nazis who attacked Jews, civilians and neighbors of Jews carried out massacres in Romania (see the Iasi pogrom), Hungary, Poland, and many other locations, often without any Nazi help. The French, Italians, and the Low Countries all cooperated with the Nazis. And after the way NOBODY wanted the refugees.
...Between this legislation and the Truman directive, less than 100,000 Jews reached the United States. More might have come to the United States had it not been for Patrick McCarran, senior senator from Nevada. As chairman of the Senate judiciary Committee, McCarran successfully delayed DP legislation so that by the time the DP law was ratified and the Jews were permitted to enter the United States, most had already left for Israel and other countries. McCarran opposed this legislation because he was an isolationist, did not like Jews, and did not get along with his fellow Democrat, President Truman...
« Older "The number of violent crimes... | Despite letters of support fro... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
CNN's Mideast 101: The Six Day War
posted by kirkaracha at 9:10 AM on June 5, 2007