American Jewish Relationship With Israel: Speech by Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Response of Jacob Blaustein
1950
American Jewish Yearbook, Vol. 53. 1952. 64-8.
Over time, world Jewish opinion became splintered not only about the nature of Zionism or the role of Israel in their identity, but the degree to which Diaspora Jews should support or oppose Zionism. For many Jews living in the Diaspora, seeking and protecting a Jewish state became a passion and a necessity. For others, Zionism was not appealing and was even a distressing concept.
Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, believed very strongly in the need for American Jewish support for Israel, an idea he cultivated from the late 1930s forward. He correctly assessed that American Jewish support for the State of Israel was critical in making the case for Israel in the United States. And he passionately believed that Jews, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere, should not only support Israel politically and/or financially, but that they should commit themselves, or their children, to immigrating to Israel and becoming part of the Zionist reality. In advocating Jewish immigration to Palestine, Ben-Gurion hit a raw nerve in some Jews who identified with Israel but who did not feel that immigrating to Israel was their way of supporting Zionism. The Blaustein Letter was a compromise document that pronounced Diaspora Jewish support for Israel but noted that immigration was not a core necessity in support of Zionism.
In the Diaspora, and particularly in America, the creation of Israel rendered obsolete the old categories of Zionists and non-Zionists. The traditional distinction between the Zionists and the non-Zionists had been that the non-Zionists did not work toward the creation of a Jewish state. Anti-Zionists strongly opposed Israel on principle. In 1949, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the largest Jewish communal organization, dropped its longtime policy of refusing to support the nascent Jewish state in favor of a new policy encapsulated in the AJC’s 1949 Statement of Vision, stating: “We hold the establishment of the State of Israel to be an event of historic significance. We applaud its recognition by our own and other governments. … Citizens of the United States are Americans and Citizens of Israel Israelis; this we affirm with all its implications; and just as our government speaks only for its citizens, so Israel speaks only for its citizens. Within the framework of American interests, we shall aid in the up-building of Israel as a vital spiritual and cultural center and in the development of its capacity to provide a free and dignified life for those who desire to make it their home.”
The American Jewish Committee soon found itself engaged in Israeli issues to an unprecedented extent. It was an organization made up of American Jewish elite. Many of its members had made it in America and were not keen to show their loyalty first to Israel and then to the country of their citizenship. The change in the AJC’s attitude toward Israel came in some measure from the change in its leadership. Jacob Blaustein, unlike his predecessor, Joseph Proskauer, lacked a reflexive distrust of the Israeli state and its motives. While Blaustein believed it was crucial to ensure the existence of Israel, he did not want Jewish support of Israel to endanger the place of American Jews in American life. He did not believe these goals were incompatible.
This willingness to find a place for Israel within the national life of American Jewry was a significant change of outlook for the AJC. Still, Ben-Gurion had a habit of issuing statements for domestic Israeli consumption, implying that American Jews owed loyalty to the Jewish state before their own or questioning the morality of choosing to live in the Diaspora. Blaustein and the AJC were not pleased by Ben-Gurion’s statements. Ben-Gurion’s call for American Jewish immigration to Israel caused a furor: “We appeal to the parents to help us bring their children here. Even if they decline to help, we will bring the youth to Israel, but I hope that this will not be necessary.”4 The problem was that these statements were normal within a Zionist context. It was unremarkable for a Zionist living in Israel to say that recruiting American Jewish immigrants was a goal.
However, to American Jews who did not want to immigrate to Israel, such talk was distressing at best, no matter how well they might be disposed toward the Israeli state.
The challenge that confronted both Israeli and American Jews was finding language capable of supporting the Zionist dream while not actually immigrating to Israel. Solving this tricky problem became a major concern for Blaustein. He wished to support Israel but would only be able to do so if it was made clear that American Jews owed no special allegiance to the State of Israel. The eventual solution became known as the Blaustein Letter of Understanding, drawn up by Blaustein and Ben-Gurion.
Ben-Gurion assured Blaustein that American Jews “owed no political allegiance to Israel” and that Israel could speak “on behalf of its own citizens and in no way presumes to represent or speak in the name of the Jews who are citizens of any other country.” Blaustein responded that the creation of Israel for Jews “had inspired pride and admiration, even though in some instances it has created passing headaches. Israel’s rebirth and progress, coming after the tragedy of European Jewry in the 1930s and in World War II, has done much to raise Jewish morale. Jews in America and everywhere can be [prouder] than ever of their Jewishness.”6
Although the understanding did not prevent occasional flare-ups, it produced a basis on which to build the relationship between Israel and American Jewry, which would allow Israel to eventually draw on the financial and political support of large sections of the American Jewish community. The Blaustein Letter set a standard through which American Jews would interact with Israeli leaders; that interaction resulted in an enormous outpouring of support for Israel in times of crisis, such as during and after the June 1967 and October 1973 wars.
— Ken Stein, April 2024
Address of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion
We are very happy to welcome you here in our midst as a representative of the great Jewry of the United States to whom Israel owes so much. No other community abroad has so great a stake in what has been achieved in this country during the present generation as have the Jews of America. Their material and political support, their warm-hearted and practical idealism, has been one of the principal sources of our strength and our success. In supporting our effort, American Jewry has developed, on a new plane, the noble conception, maintained for more than half a century, of extending its help for the protection of Jewish rights throughout the world and of rendering economic aid wherever it was needed. We are deeply conscious of the help which America has given to us here in our great effort of reconstruction and during our struggle for independence. This great tradition has been continued since the establishment of the State of Israel. You, Mr. Blaustein, are one of the finest examples of that tradition, and as an American and as a Jew, you have made many and significant contributions to the Jewish cause and to the cause of democracy. We are therefore happy on this occasion of your visit here as our guest, to discuss with you matters of mutual interest and to clarify some of the problems which have arisen in regard to the relationship between the people of Israel and the Jewish communities abroad, in particular the Jewish community of the United States.
It is our great pride that our newly gained independence has enabled us in this small country to undertake the major share of the great and urgent task of providing permanent homes under conditions of full equality to hundreds of thousands of our brethren who cannot remain where they are and whose heart is set on rebuilding their lives in Israel. In this great task you and we are engaged in a close partnership. Without the readiness for sacrifice of the people of Israel and without the help of America this urgent task can hardly be achieved.
It is most unfortunate that since our State came into being some confusion and misunderstanding should have arisen as regards the relationship between Israel and the Jewish communities abroad, in particular that of the United States. These misunderstandings are likely to alienate sympathies and create disharmony where friendship and close understanding are of vital necessity. To my mind, the position is perfectly clear. The Jews of the United States, as a community and as individuals, have only one political attachment and that is to the United States of America. They owe no political allegiance to Israel. In the first statement which the representative of Israel made before the United Nations after her admission to that international organization, he clearly stated, without any reservation, that the State of Israel represents and speaks only on behalf of its own citizens and in no way presumes to represent or speak in the name of the Jews who are citizens of any other country. We, the people of Israel, have no desire and no intention to interfere in any way with the internal affairs of Jewish communities abroad. The Government and the people of Israel fully respect the right and integrity of the indigenous social, economic and cultural institutions in accordance with their own needs and aspirations. Any weakening of American Jewry, any disruption of its communal life, any lowering of its sense of security, any diminution of its status, is a definite loss to Jews everywhere and to Israel in particular.
We are happy to know of the deep and growing interest which American Jews of all shades and convictions take in what it has fallen to us to achieve in this country. Were we, God forbid, to fail in what we have undertaken on our own behalf and on behalf of our suffering brethren, that failure would cause grievous pain to Jews everywhere and nowhere more than in your community. Our success or failure depends in a large measure on our cooperation with, and on the strength of, the great Jewish community of the United States, and, we, therefore, are anxious that nothing should be said or done which could in the slightest degree undermine the sense of security and stability of American Jewry.
In this connection let me say a word about immigration. We should like to see American Jews come and take part in our effort. We need their technical knowledge, their unrivalled experience, their spirit of enterprise, their bold vision, their “know-how.” We need engineers, chemists, builders, work managers and technicians. The tasks which face us in this country are eminently such as would appeal to the American genius for technical development and social progress. But the decision as to whether they wish to come – permanently or temporarily – rests with the free discretion of each American Jew himself. It is entirely a matter of his own volition. We need halutzim, pioneers too. Halutzim have come to us – and we believe more will come, not only from those countries where the Jews are oppressed and in “exile” but also from countries where the Jews live a life of freedom and are equal in status to all other citizens in their country. But the essence of halutziuth is free choice. They will come from among those who believe their aspirations as human beings and as Jews can best be fulfilled by life and work in Israel.
I believe I know something of the spirit of American Jewry among whom I lived for some years. I am convinced that it will continue to make a major contribution towards our great effort of reconstruction, and I hope that the talks we have had with you during these last few days will make for even closer cooperation between our two communities.
Response of Jacob Blaustein
I am very happy, Mr. Prime Minister, to have come here at your invitation and to have discussed with you and other leaders of Israel the various important problems of mutual interest.
This year is the second time I have been here since the State of Israel was created. A year and a half ago my colleagues and I, of the American Jewish Committee, saw evidence of the valor that had been displayed, and felt the hopes and aspirations that had inspired the people to win a war against terrific odds. This time, I have witnessed the great achievements that have taken place in the interval and have discussed the plans which point the road upon which the present-day Israel intends to travel.
I find that tremendous progress has been made under your great leadership; but also, as you well know, tremendous problems loom ahead. The nation is confronted with gigantic tasks of reconstruction and rehabilitation, and with large economic and other problems, as is to be expected in so young a state.
I am sure that with your rare combination of idealism and realism, you will continue to tackle these matters vigorously; and that with your usual energy, resourcefulness and common sense, you will be able to overcome them.
Travelling over the country and visiting both old and newly established settlements, it has been a thrill to observe how you are conquering the desert of the Negev and the rocks of Galilee and are thus displaying the same pioneering spirit that opened up the great West and my own country. It has been satisfying to see right on the scene, how well and to what good advantage you are utilizing the support from the American Jewish community. I am sure, too, that the American tractors and other machinery and equipment acquired through the loan granted by the Export-Import Bank will further contribute to the technological development of your country.
But more than that, what you are doing and creating in this corner of the Middle East is of vital importance not only to you and to Jews, but to humanity in general. For I believe that the free and peace-loving peoples in the world can look upon Israel as a stronghold for democracy in an area where liberal democracy is practically unknown and where the prevailing social and political conditions may be potential dangers to the security and stability of the world. What President Truman is intending to do under his Four Point Program, in assisting under-developed peoples to improve their conditions and raise their standards of living, you here to a large extent have been doing right along under most difficult conditions and at great sacrifice.
Important to your future, as you recognize, is the United States of America and American Jewry. Israel, of course, is also important to them.
In this connection, I am pleased that Mr. Elath has been here during our stay. As your Ambassador to the United States, he has rendered invaluable service in bringing our two countries and communities closer together.
I thought I knew it even before I came to this country on this trip, but my visit has made it still more clear to me – and as an American citizen and a Jew I am gratified – that the Israeli people want democracy and, in my opinion will not accept any dictatorship or totalitarianism from within or from without.
Democracy, like all other human institutions, has its faults; and abuses are possible. But the strength of a democratic regime is that these faults and these abuses are possible. But the strength of a democratic regime is that these faults and these abuses can be corrected without the destruction of human rights and freedoms which alone make life worth living.
There is no question in my mind that a Jew who wants to remain loyal to the fundamental basis of Judaism and his cultural heritage, will be in the forefront of the struggle for democracy against totalitarianism.
The American Jewish community sees its fortunes tied to the fate of liberal democracy in the United States, sustained by its heritage, as Americans and as Jews. We seek to strengthen both of these vital links to the past and to all humanity by enhancing the American democratic and political system, American cultural diversity and American well-being.
As to Israel, the vast majority of American Jewry recognizes the necessity and desirability of helping to make it a strong, viab e, self-supporting state. This, for the sake of Israel itself, and the good of the world.
The American Jewish Committee has been active, as have other Jewish organizations in the United States, in rendering, within the framework of their American citizenship, every possible support to Israel; and I am sure that this support will continue and that we shall do all we can to increase further our share in the great historic task of helping Israel to solve its problems and develop as a free, independent and flourishing democracy.
While Israel has naturally placed some burdens on Jews elsewhere, particularly in America, it has, in turn, meant much to Jews throughout the world. For hundreds of thousands in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East it has provided a home in which they can attain their full stature of human dignity for the first time. In all Jews, it has inspired pride and admiration, even though in some instances, it has created passing headaches.
Israel’s rebirth and progress, coming after the tragedy of European Jewry in the 1930s and in World War II, has done much to raise Jewish morale. Jews in America and everywhere can be more proud than ever of their Jewishness.
But we must, in a true spirit of friendliness, sound a note of caution to Israel and its leaders. Now that the birth pains are over, and even though Israel is undergoing growing pains, it must recognize that the matter of good-will between its citizens and those of other countries is a two-way street: that Israel also has a responsibility in this situation – a responsibility in terms of not affecting adversely the sensibilities of Jews who are citizens of other states by what it says or does.
In this connection, you are realists and want facts and I would be less than frank if I did not point out to you that American Jews vigorously repudiate any suggestion or implication that they are in exile. American Jews – young and old alike, Zionists and non-Zionists alike – are profoundly attached to America. America welcomed their immigrant parents in their need. Under America’s free institutions, they and their children have achieved that freedom and sense of security unknown for long centuries of travail. American Jews have truly become Americans; just as have all other oppressed groups that have ever come to America’s shores.
To American Jews, America is home. There, exist their thriving roots; there, is the country which they have helped to build; and there, they share its fruits and its destiny. They believe in the future of a democratic society in the United States under which all citizens, irrespective of creed or race, can live on terms of equality. They further believe that, if democracy should fail in American, there would be no future for democracy anywhere in the world, and that the very existence of an independent State of Israel would be problematic. Further, they feel that a world in which it would be possible for Jews to be driven by persecution from America would not be a world safe for Israel either; indeed it is hard to conceive how it would be a world safe for any human being.
The American Jewish community, as you, Mr. Prime Minister, have so eloquently pointed out, has assumed a major part of the responsibility of securing equality of rights and providing generous material help to Jews in other countries. American Jews feel themselves bound to Jews the world over by ties of religion, common historical traditions and in certain respects, by a sense of common destiny. We fully realize that persecution and discrimination against Jews in any country will sooner or later have its impact on the situations of the Jews in other countries, but these problems must be dealt with by each Jewish community itself in accordance with its own wishes, traditions, needs and aspirations.
Jewish communities, particularly American Jewry in view of its influence and its strength, can offer advice, cooperation and help, but should not attempt to speak in the name of other communities or in any way interfere in their internal affairs.
I am happy to note from your statement, Mr. Prime Minister, that the State of Israel takes a similar position. Any other position on the part of the State of Israel would only weaken the American and other Jewish communities of the free, democratic countries and be contrary to the basic needs of Israel itself. The future development of Israel, spiritual, social as well as economic, will largely depend upon a strong and healthy Jewish community in the United States and other free democracies.
We have been greatly distressed that at the very hour when so much has been achieved, harmful and futile discussions and misunderstandings have arisen as to the relations between the people and the State of Israel and the Jews in other countries, particularly in the United States. Harm has been done to the morale and to some extent the sense of security of the American Jewish community through unwise and unwarranted statements and appeals which ignore the feelings and aspirations of American Jewry.
Even greater harm has been done to the State of Israel itself by weakening the readiness of American Jews to do their full share in the rebuilding of Israel which faces such enormous political, social and economic problems.
Your statement today, Mr. Prime Minister, will, I trust, be following by unmistakable evidence the responsible leaders of Israel, and the organizations connected with it, fully understand that future relations between the American Jewish community and the State of Israel must be based on mutual respect for one another’s feelings and needs, and on the preservation of the integrity of the two communities and their institutions.
I believe that in your statement today, you have taken a fundamental and historic position which will redound to the best interest not only of Israel, but of the Jews of America and of the world. I am confident that this statement and the spirit in which it has been made, by eliminating the misunderstandings and futile discussions between our two communities, will strengthen them both and will lay the foundation for even closer cooperation.
In closing, permit me to express my deep gratitude for the magnificent reception you and your colleagues have afforded my colleague and me during our stay in this country.