Trudy Gold
Palestine, Britain and the Jews, Part 1

Trudy Gold - Palestine, Britain, and the Jews, Part 1

- Good afternoon, everyone, or morning, wherever you are. And of course, today is a very, very tricky subject. I’m looking at Britain, the Jews in Palestine. And I want you to take you back now to Britain towards the late 1930s. The first World War, even though Britain had been on the right side, the first World War was absolutely devastating to every country, and so many people had died. It had changed the face of British society and there was an absolute terror of another war. And consequently, appeasement was very strong, particularly in certain upper class circles. I’m going to quote now from Edward the Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII, but thank goodness was never crowned. This is what he wrote to a German relative in 1933. “It’s no business of ours to interfere in Germany’s internal affairs, re the Jews or anything else. Dictators are very popular these days. We might want one in England before long.” And don’t forget, also, he developed a very close relationship with Wallis Simpson, the twice divorced American who he later married and she was close to Ribbentrop, who was Germany’s ambassador to London. He used to send her a big bunch of roses every week. And there were rumours that they might have been lovers, but who knows? But what I do know is that Ribbentrop was finally executed at Nuremberg. When he finally married her in October, 1937, four months after the wedding, then despite the opposition from the government, the Duke and Duchess travelled to Nazi Germany and gave the Nazi salute.

He dined with Goring and Goebbels and even visited a training school for the SS. On October the 22nd, he travelled to the Berghof in the Bavarian Alps for a meeting with Hitler. And it led to the scuffering of a trip to America because there was so much protests from liberal organisations in America and Jewish organisations. So that was the man who might have been king. And also the American ambassador to Britain in the late 30s was Joseph Patrick Kennedy, the father of course, of Jack Kennedy and Robert. And he’d been born into a political family in East Boston, Mass. He had made an absolute fortune on the stock market. He had huge property business, wide ranges of businesses all over America. World War I, he was the assistant general manager of Bethlehem Steel. He met Roosevelt and he made a fortune reorganising and refinancing several Hollywood studios, and of course, having affairs with many of the actresses. Many, many acquisitions. He increased his fortune with distributing rights for scotch whiskey. He also owned the largest, it was the largest privately owned building in the country, Chicago Merchandise Mart. He was the leader of the Irish Catholic community. He was very pessimistic about Britain’s ability to fight Nazi Germany. And even during the Battle of Britain, he said, “Democracy is finished in England.” And that’s the controversy that forced his resignation. In London he was very friendly with Viscountess Nancy Astor.

And they both shared, and I’m going to be this strong, both a profound antisemitism and anti-communism. They saw Hitler as a welcomed solution. They were the Cliveden set. She wrote to Kennedy. “This is Nancy Astor, the hostess of Cliveden. Hitler would have to do more than just give a rough time to the killers of Christ before she would be in favour of launching Armageddon to save them. The wheel of history strings round, as the world would have it. Who are we to stand in the way of the future?” And this is how Kennedy replied to her. “Jew media in America could be a problem. And that Jewish pundits in New York and LA were already making noises contrived to set a match to the fuse of the world.” May, 1938, extensive discussions with the German ambassador and advised him that Roosevelt was a victim of Jewish influence. And the ambassador, this is the ambassador before Ribbentrop, he told his superiors, quote, “Kennedy was Germany’s best friend in London.” His son Joe Jr. who was killed in World War II, this is what he wrote. “Jews were at the head of big business in law, et cetera. It is to their credit to get so far, but their methods have been unscrupulous. The lawyers and the judges were Jews and if you had a case against a Jew, you were always sure to lose it. As far as brutality is concerned, it must,” he’s talking about Germany, “it must have been necessary to use it.” And also although you had Churchill and you had many MPs in Parliament, you had the Quakers, you had Kara, that campaign that was of course saving Jewish scientists.

There were also a very important group of right wingers, including the Right Club under the control of a Scottish unionist MP called Archibald Maule Ramsay. He was a former Army officer. And this is a speech his wife gave to a business club. It hit the national press. “The press is largely under Jewish control, and that an international group of Jews were behind every world revolution in every single country and that Hitler must have his reasons for what he had done.” The head of the Hebrew Jewish congregation, Dr. Salis Daiches, wrote to the Scotsman challenging her to produce proof. And not only that, it was repudiated by members of the Scottish Conservative Association and 11 ministers of the Church of Scotland. So you must see it as a balance. But on the 27th of April, they spoke to a branch of the Nordic League in Kilburn and claimed that the conservative party is now relying on Jewish money. The Nordic League, which existed until 1939, once war starts, all these organisations are outlawed. They were the coordinating body for the various extreme movements to promote Nazism, private organisation. It actually originated in 1935 when Alfred Rosenberg, remember him, he wrote “The Foundations of the 20th Century.” He was the really, the guru, the racial guru of the Nazi party. He sent agents to London of Nordic beliefs to establish the British version of the movement. And Ron Ramsay chaired a 14 man leadership council and it was called the Association of Race Conscious Britains. And they tried to coordinate all the fascist organisations.

So the point is, there were quite a lot of them. And this is Robert Skidelsky. “Extreme right wing groups with a disproportionate number of generals and admirals dedicated to unrelenting struggle against the power of evil, Bolshevism.” That was him in his book, talking about this absolute love affair that many of the right wing military had with fascism. And of course you have the British Union of Fascists and Mosley with the black shirts. So a National Socialist Workers’ Party led by Lieutenant Colonel Graham Sefton. He’d been a great hero of World War I. He’d won the DSO. He’d served in South Africa before World War I. And also another important organisation of the right was something called the Right Club. There were 135 names on the men’s list, 100 on the separate ladies list. At the early meetings, the Duke of Wellington took the chair and he spoke at a meeting of the Nordic League at Wigmore Hall. You know, today it’s a wonderful music venue. “Daily Worker,” the left wing, the communist paper reported that what he said, he said, “We need to end Jewish control and if we don’t do it constitutionally, we’ll do it with steel.” The popular magazines picked it up. On the second day of the war he was actually in the library of the House of Commons writing a parody of land and hope and glory, calling it “Land of Dope and Jewry.”

Basically though, on the 5th of July, the “New York Times” publishes an article on Britain’s fifth column. And what happens is when war breaks out, all these groups are dismantled and some of them went to jail. But I think it’s important that you know, there was the appeasement lobby. There were people again who were swallowing this insane idea of Jewish world conspiracy. Now what about the Jewish organisations and how did they feel about Palestine? Because don’t forget about against the backdrop of all of this, in May, 1939, the British government issued the white paper on Palestine. Just to go back one step, something we have already covered. In 1936, after the muftis inspired riots and strikes, the British government issued the Appeal Commission. And it took a year to report. And you will remember of course, that both Weitzman and Jabotinsky gave heart-rending appeals to it. They decided to partition Palestine. And remember that when we talk about Palestine at this stage we talk about one third of it, because the other two thirds that was granted to the British in the mandate had been chopped off and given to Jordan. So you’re only dealing with one third now. And the decision was to partition it into an Arab enclave and a Jewish enclave. However, the British government, mainly because of Arab threats led by the mufti… The mufti had said that the Pan-Arab Congress, because he had managed to create the issue of Palestine into a Pan-Arab and a Pan-Muslim problem. And he said, “In any future war, the British will have no cause but to side with us. So therefore it’s going to be in our interests to support the Arabs.” So consequently, the British decide that from now on they are going to run policy from London.

The Appeal Commission report comes to nothing. And then what happens is in May, 1939, four months before the war, they issue the white paper on Palestine, which restricts Jewish immigration to 15,000 a year for five years. And then whoever has the majority has the state, which is the death nail to Zionism. So consequently, and it’s at that stage that already the Irgun have realised that the British will never accommodate and they start bombing British targets. In fact, in 1938, an Irgun member, Shlomo Ben-Yosef was executed by the British for shooting in an Arab bus. He was the first Jew in Palestine to be hanged, the first Palestinian Jew to be hanged by the village. July, 1938, a bomb in Haifa market killed 21 Arabs. So basically the Irgun is on the attack. In 19, when war breaks out the Irgun and the Haganah, the Haganah is much bigger, they decide that they are going to try and work with the British. They’re not allowed to for a while. And certain members of the Irgun breakaway and they create Lechi. So the Haganah was always the main group. And also out of the Haganah had come the Palmach, which was the fighting force of the Haganah, which had been created really by the Great British officer, Orde Wingate. So I’m trying to give you the balance. There were some British officers who were incredibly supportive of Zionism. There were others who were very anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic. So this is the balance. When the Jews find themselves in probably the most difficult situation that any people have ever faced. Now what about the Anglo Jewish community?

So can we see the first slide? Now, this is Neville Laski. Now Neville Laski was a fascinating man. He was the chairman of the Board of Deputies, and it’s a real story of Anglo-Jewry. His father, Nathan was of Lithuanian Jewish origin. He came from Manchester, he’d become a wealthy merchant. And the father’s very much a leader of Anglo-Jewry. And by the way, his younger brother Harold was a political theorist and a politician. He was actually chairman of the Labour Party from ‘45 to '46. He was a professor at the London School of Economics. He actually preached violent revolution. The Labour Party disavowed him, and yet he was a Zionist. So interesting. You see, Jews could rise very high too, so you’ve got to get the balance. But his brother, he was a barrister, he was a judge. He married Moses Gaster’s daughter and of course we covered him way back in the course. He was a very important Zionist. He’s president of the board between 1932 and '39. In the toughest period that any Anglo Jewish community ever had to face, how on earth did they deal with the threat of Nazism? How did they deal with the problems at home, like the black shirts and the poverty? They were the transition. They had to deal also between the cousin hood and the old elites and the new immigrant Jews. How do we make them into English gentlemen? It’s something that I’m going to be talking about because after we have finished this series of lectures, we are turning to England, to Victorian England. So I hope you’ll find that very, very interesting.

And Neville Laski, he’s not a Zionist. And in fact, he finally resigns in November '39. He refuses to criticise the British over the white paper. That’s the problem. Anglo-Jewry is now being tested. England, how do we deal? And it’s at this stage that Selig Brodetsky comes to the fore. Selig Brodetsky, who is a mathematician and he’s got much more support, he’s an Eastern European, he’s got far more support from the Eastern European Jewish immigrants. And can we see his face please? He is a great Zionist and very important in the Zionist movement. And he takes over as the leader of the Board of Deputies. Can we see the next slide please? Even the Anglo-Jewish Association shifted its position. The Anglo-Jewish Association had been very anti-Zionist. In fact, they had been behind a conjoint letter in 1917 criticising the Balfour Declaration. They didn’t want it. They said, we are first and foremost Englishmen. In fact, the major critics of the Balfour declaration in England were actually Anglo-Jews. But more about that when I turn to England. So the AJA at this stage alters its position and appoints Leonard Stein, who was Weitzman’s colleague. And he presented a memo to the government stating, “We need a settlement doing justice to Jewish rights in Palestine.” Now, he was a fascinating man. He’d had a very interesting education because he was one of the bright young Jewish boys. He went to St. Paul’s School, the same school that the great Isaiah Berlin went to. Then he was at Balliol College, Oxford. He was president of the Oxford Uni. Important to realise that Jews can take these kind of positions. He became a barrister.

He was in the British Army. He was a staff captain in the Palestine, in the military administration. He was on the political staff in Jerusalem and in Cairo, 1918 to 1920. He was also, and he saw no contradiction, the political secretary to the World Zionist Organisation, very close to Hyam Weitzman. He wrote a biography of his. And he was also the honorary legal advisor to the Jewish Agency between '29 and '39. And he’s going to be president of the Anglo Jewish Association for 10 years. He’s also president of the Jewish Historical Society. And he’s a member of the British Liberal Party. He tried for parliament unsuccessfully four times. I’m just going briefly back to Brodetsky. Can we see his face again? Because he was very, very strong in fighting Jewish rights. So, he was Eastern European born. He was born in the Ukraine. He witnessed the murder of much of his family in a pogrom. He was a JFS scholarship boy. And he won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge. He became the senior wrangler, which is the top mathematics undergraduate student at Cambridge, which is quote, unquote, “The greatest intellectual achievement obtainable at a British university.” There was great distress in the press about it. In fact, quote, “That a Jewish son of an immigrant have achieved this award.” He won the Newton Scholarship. He did his doctorate at Leipzig. He married the daughter of an Antwerp diamond dealer. And he became, as I said, a lecturer at Leads University, later a professor of applied maths. He becomes the second president of the Hebrew University. He was proceeded by Sir Leon Simon. And then of course, he was chairman of the Board of Deputies. So very, very interesting characters. But then war breaks out. Now let me, can we go on please?

War has broken out and we have a scare. What about those German and Austrian and Czech Jews that made it? Jews were now enemy aliens. A hundred tribunes were established to determine categories. They were moved from settling on the south coast. They couldn’t travel more than five miles without police permission. London was the exception. But from May 5th, 1940, after the fall of Holland, Belgium, and France, they were seen by some, remember they are German as a fifth column. Already, you see in Holland, thousands of Germans had already living there. And by prior agreement they helped the German Army. Colonel Henry Barton said, “In turn the lot.” And the House of Commons was divided. The protests were led by Eleanor Rathbone and Josiah Wedgwood. And I’m going to talk about Eleanor Rathbone soon. Now, this is what the “Daily Mail” wrote in 1940. “The rounding up of enemy aliens must be taken out of the fumbling hands of local tribunals. All refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, men and women alike, should be drafted without delay to a remote part of the country and kept under strict supervision. As the head of a Balkan state said to me last month, in Britain you fail to realise that every German is an agent. All of them have the will and the means and the duty to communicate information to Berlin. All males between 16 and 60 should be rounded up for temporary internment. Approximately a thousand prior to the kinder transplant in this category.” Now 7,000 men and 4,000 women were interned. Some were deported to Canada and to Australia. By the 10th of July there’s a terrible scandal in parliament. But there were two absolutely bizarre incidents.

I’m showing you Hampstead Library. Now, any of you know northwest London, Hampstead was the centre of middle European immigration. It’s one of the loveliest parts of London and it’s one of the most wealthy, very beautiful. 13th of July, 1940 several detectives surrounded Hampstead Library at around 1:30 and took all German and Austrian Jews there into custody and there was another roundup in Heath Street. And many of you who know Hampstead will know that is the main shopping centre in Hampstead. Now what happened, they were interned on the Isle of Man in the white mills, which has derelict cotton mills at very appalling conditions. Enheighten 3,000 on an unfurnished housing estate. 1,500 were sent to Canada on the 2nd of July, 1940. Tragically a U-boat sunk and many of them died. Now this is what led to huge pressure in parliament. There’s an irony though. The Isle of Man becomes almost a university. The Great Klaus Mosa was bored so he learned statistics from a group of statisticians. You’ve got to remember all these German and Austrian intellectuals are now interned. So what are they going to do? The Amadeus String Quartet was founded there. So ironically they became kind of universities.

And I’ve already spoken about, and we will speak about in more depth later on, just the contribution, and I know Patrick’s very keen to do this, they were going to make to British and American society. Also, so on the 22nd of August, the in turn the lot motion was defeated. There was also the realisation that many of the refugees, particularly scientists, could be very, very useful. So many of them later joined specific forces like the London Cage, Trent Park, brave missions into Germany, which I’ve already talked about. So it’s important to remember that you’ve got this backdrop in Britain itself to what’s going on in Palestine. So now let’s turn to Palestine. And the high commissioner in 1938 was Sir Harold MacMichael. See the next slide. Now he also was a Cambridge educated man. He’d passed the civil service exam. He served in Egypt and the Sudan. He was running the Blue Nile Province until 1915. Then he was the senior inspector in Khartoum province. Don’t forget that the area of trouble we’re talking about today was once one of the centres of the British Empire. 1933, he is the governor of Tanganyika until '37. And then he becomes high commissioner in Palestine between 1938 and '44. There’re going to be seven attempts by the Lehi, that’s the Stern Group to assassinate him. What happens is that Abraham Stern, he continues the war against the British because he says that the British are as bad as the Nazis because they are preventing saving Jews.

He dies in police custody. And later on it is finally taken over by Yellin-Mor and later on by Shamir. There were seven attempts by the Lehi to assassinate him. The last was on the 8th of August '44, when he gives up being high commissioner and he narrowly escapes death then. Now this is his letter of the 17th of July, 1944 to the British government. And it’s addressed to Lord Moyne, who I’m going to come onto. “Whilst I am not devoid of sympathy for Jews or Arabs, I hold the primary criterion, the good name and security of our empire.” You always have to ask yourselves why on earth were the British in Palestine? I’d like you to come to your own conclusion. “Is immigration conducive to our imperial interests more than a closed system of control? What is better for Britain? It’s disastrous bringing them into an undivided Palestine.” Now this is interesting. He writes, “I see no alternative but partition. It may be possible to prevent our name being blackened from India to Egypt, Aden to Cairo.” Because he’s well aware now that the issue of Palestine and the Arabs and the Muslims is an issue of the whole of the Arab Muslim world. He says, “Either holt immigration,” I’m quoting from his letter, “Or confine it to a determined area. As we come to the end of the war,” remember he writes this in July 44, “Jews and Arabs are preparing for days of reckoning.” And this letter was sent not just to Lord Moyne, but to ambassadors in Cairo and in Baghdad. So, meanwhile, can we have the next slide please? Meanwhile, the Jews of Palestine, the British had begun to issue quotas after 1930.

So what had happened was the Aliyah Bet, the organisation of illegal immigration, in Israel it’s called Ha'apala. The Jews called it clandestine. They didn’t like the word illegal. And between 1934 and 1942, all the organisations were involved. After World War II, mainly Haganah, but the revisionists were also particularly active. And after World War II, the journeys actually began in the DP camps, which I’ve already talked about. And of course, they were sent to collection points in the American Zone. More again about that next week. Now over half the ships are going to be stopped by the Royal Navy and there’s going to be some terrible incidents. For example, the Patria was sunk on the 25th of November, 1940. Now, what is terribly ironic is the Nazis cooperated with Jewish immigration. They cooperated with Zionists to attempts to bring Jews from Europe in violation of the white paper because at this stage they hadn’t really formed their policy on the Arab world, and they haven’t yet decided on the final solution. Please never forget. Eichmann had an immigration bureau both in Vienna and in Berlin. Humiliate the Jews, rob them blind, but get them out. In September, 1940, 3 ships, the Pacific, the S.S. Milos, the S.S. Atlantic, taking refugees from the Romanian port. 3,800 people from Vienna, Danzig and Prague. The Pacific reached Palestine on the 1st of November, 1940. Milos a few days later. The Royal Navy, remember there’s a war on, but the Royal Navy intercepted the boats, took them to Haifa. The British High Commissioner, MacMichael issued a deportation order to take them to Mauritius and Trinidad.

The refugees transferred to the Patria for the voyage, completely ill-equipped. The Zionists tried to threaten the plan. The Haganah decided to place a bomb on board to disable the ship. They miscalculated the size and the ship sunk in 16 minutes carrying 1,770 refugees. Most were rescued, but 209 bodies were recovered. So this gives you a notion of the horror of it all, the helplessness of the Zionists, the helplessness of Jewish refugees. They were then taken to the Atlit Detention camp. International campaign survivors of Palestine were permitted to stay. However, other Atlantic passengers were deported to Mauritius. And after the war, 80% of them did immigrate to Palestine. And the Haganah finally admitted its role in 1957. So what a terrible thing to have to admit to. They did it for the best will but 209 people died. And obviously, this is a subject I could spend a whole lecture on so I’m just giving you examples. On the 27th of July, 1939, the Colorado with the Panamanian flag, 378 refugees intercepted and arrested. 19th of August on a ship called the Agios Nicholas, 840 immigrants make it onto the shore. The 23rd of August, the Parita, 700 refugees beached at Tel Aviv. 2nd of September, Tiger Hill fired on by the Royal Navy. Two were killed. 1,200 on board. 19th of November, Noemijulia. 1,130 on board. Intercepted by a warship. Sent to detention camp. And so it goes on. So it goes on. And many of the ships were later named for heroes after '45. Hanna Senesh, Enzo Sereni, Wingate, Tail High, Max Lauder, Hai Maloserof, Ben Hertzel.

And of course the situation, and one of the worst catastrophes was the 24th of February, 1942. The ship trying to take 800 refugees from Axis Allied Romania and of course that was the Struma. The engine failed between her departure for Constanza and Istanbul. It was inoperable. The Turkish authorities towed her from Istanbul through the Bosphorus and the ship sunk. It becomes a rallying point. As the ship was being towed away, signs over the side, save us. In fact, there was only one survivor. We now know. I’m going to tell you a really bizarre incident. When I was on the British delegation to the task force, I worked with the Foreign Office and I had a phone call from a member of the foreign office. This is back in the early 2000s. And he said, “Should we apologise for the Struma?” I nearly fell off the phone. But we now know it was actually sunk by the Russians. But nevertheless, it led to a huge debate in Parliament. The Great Josiah Wedgwood, who I’m going to be talking about separately, he opened the debate in the House of Lords. He said, “I hope yet to live to see those who sent the Struma cargo back to the Nazis hung as high as Haman. Cheat by jowl with their prototype, Adolf Hitler.” So of those killed, 70 children, 269 women, and 428 men. Ironically, the Turks said they would allow the passengers to land if they could produce British entry permits.

The Jewish agency in London begged, but the British refused. And the Struma actually remained off Istanbul for 10 weeks. Despite the captain’s protest, that’s when the Turks actually towed the boat out and it’s blown up six miles off shore. And against the backdrop of this, of course, more and more evidence of what’s going on in Europe. On November the 16th, 1942, 116 Palestinian subjects exchanged for German internees, they reached the Yeshu. 69 were Jewish. They’d been eyewitnesses to the Nazi brutality. They talked about deportations and mass murder. By November the 23, 1942, a headline in the Palestine posts, slaughter of European Jewry. The subheading, annihilation of whole community. And it’s at this stage that the Jewish Agency decided on days of mourning. And in the House of Commons, there were incredible people like Eleanor Rathbone. Let’s see her picture. She was a wonderful fighter for rights and for the Jewish people. And she said after the war, “Neither we nor the United States have shown a shining example to the world in this matter.” Ironically, the attitude in Britain towards Jews was changing. There was a huge survey and it put the question in March, 1943, but the public was beginning to turn against the British government for not taking action to help Jews. And Sydney Silverman, can we see his photo please? Sydney Silverman, another great lion who I’ll be talking about later. Jewish, of course.

He said, “Many of us are afraid but by the time the Allied nations have made plans, there will be nobody left to save.” And then of course in London, can we see the next slide please? You have the Allied Declaration. The allies finally, so much evidence comes through that they have to actually, nine countries come together. And because of Silverman, there is a minute silence in the House of Commons for the murdered Jews of Europe. And the next slide please. It leads to Szmul Zygelbojm, who was the only member of the… He was the, no sorry, there were two Jewish members of the Polish government in exile. He’d been born in a Polish village, but from 1920 he’d lived in Warsaw. He was actually a Bundist. He was involved in left-wing politics and in both Jewish and non-Jewish trade union movements. He was a member of both Lodge when he was there for a while and then Warsaw City Councils. And when the Germans invaded the mayor of the Warsaw was forced to hand over 12 public figures and he volunteered. He was a very, very brave man. He was ordered to join the Judenrat, but said the Judenrat should not obey German orders. If the Germans want to set up a ghetto, they must do it. But of course they had no power. In January, 1940, he manages to get out of Poland to attend an international socialist meeting in Brussels. This is before the invasion of Belgium. You can just imagine the horror. He manages to get to London where he becomes a member of the Polish government in exile and he receives information.

It’s the Polish government in exile, which of course we’ve already covered it in Rex Bloomstein’s brilliant film, “Auschwitz and the Allies.” And he knows about the Warsaw ghetto uprising and he decides to commit suicide. And I’m going to read you his letter. “I cannot be silent. I cannot live by the remnants of the Jewish people. The population of Poland, of which I am a representative, are perishing. Not my destiny to die together with them but I belong to them in their mass graves.” Remember this is May, 1943. “By my death, I wish to make my final protest against the passivity with which the world is looking on in permitting the extermination of the Jewish people. I know how little human life is worth today, but as I was unable to do anything during my life, perhaps by my death I shall contribute to breaking down the indifference of those who may now at the last moment rescue a few Polish Jews still alive. I bid farewell to everybody and to everything that was dear to me and that I have loved.” So the evidence, some people in parliament asking for help, but Palestine is not changing its mind. And it’s at this stage that the Zionists meet together. Can we see the next slide please? Obviously they can’t rely on the British, so they turn their attention to America. And this is the Biltmore Hotel. And in May, 1942, 600 Zionist leaders come together and this is what they ask. “The conference urges that the gates of Palestine be opened, that the Jewish agency be vested with control of immigration into Palestine and the necessary authority for upbuilding the country, including the development of its unoccupied and uncultivated lands.

And that Palestine be established as a Jewish commonwealth integrated into the structure of the new democratic world.” It’s unequivocable now. There’s a real tragedy in all of this because the division amongst the Zionists, Weitzman’s heart was broken, I will use that because his son died fighting for the British. He couldn’t believe that his friends in Britain had let him down. Bangorian was much more realistic. Begging, of course had completely turned against Weitzman. So in the end you have a situation but all of the Zionists now are saying that we need to have a Jewish state now. You see, this is Weitzman when war breaks out. I wish to confirm in the most explicit way why the declaration, which I and my colleagues have made during the last month, especially in the last week, that the Jews stand by Great Britain and will fight on the side of the democracies. And in the war he was advisor to the Ministry of Supply. Gradually his influence is waning and the Policy of Unrestrained Immigration is now the Policy of the Zionist Organisation. And the other figure who was so important at the Biltmore Hotel was of course, Abba Hillel Silver, who was an important American Jew. Again, a Litvak. He was the son of rabbis. He was brought to America, aged nine. He made his first speech at a Zionist meeting. Can we see his face please? He made his first speech when he was 14. He went to school in New York. He went to Hebrew Union College, the University of Cincinnati. He was a brilliant student. He was a valedictorian of his class. He served as rabbi.

And in 1917 became rabbi of the temple in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the nation’s largest and best known reform congregations. He served it for 46 years. Early champion of civil rights and rights for labour. But a huge Zionist. He often met with Truman. But there’s going to be problems between the two of them. More of him later. Can we turn to Ben-Gurion? Ben-Gurion, the leader of the Yishuv and really viceman, the great diplomat, the great man, and I’ll be talking more about him when I talk about England. He is losing his place. He becomes president of Israel but never has real political power. Mainly because of his stand. He did believe Britain was honourable and would come through. But this is a speech that Ben-Gurion made on November the 29th, 1942. And it gives you the agony of the Zionist. It doesn’t matter whether they’re to the right or to the left. “We do not know exactly what goes on in the Nazi valley of death or how many Jews have already been slaughtered, murdered, burnt, and buried alive. And how many others are doomed to annihilation. Only from time to time does news of atrocities break through to us. The screams of women and children mutilated and crushed. But we do know what Hitler has in store for our people and what he wrote in mine camp and what he has done and what he’s doing to us before the war, during the war. We do not know that the victory of democracy and freedom of justice will not find Europe a vast Jewish cemetery in which the bones of our people are scattered. And our bleeding nation caused the conscious of humanity to trial before the judgement of history.” This is such an important statement.

And I think it sums up Israel. “We do not know that victory of democracy and freedom and justice will not find you a vast Jewish cemetery in which the bones of our people are scattered and our bleeding nation cause the conscience of humanity to trial before the judgement of history. We are the only people in the world whose blood as a nation is allowed to be shed. Only our children, our women, our brothers and the aged are set apart for special treatment. To be buried alive in graves dug by them, to be cremated in crematoriums, to be strangled, to be murdered by machine guns, but for one sin. Because Jews have no state, no army, no independence and no homeland. We demand the right to our homeland and independence. What happened to us in Poland, what God forbid will happen to us in the future? All our innocent victims, all the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of millions are the sacrifices of a people without a homeland. Let us tell our dear brothers, martyred and tortured in the Nazi ghettos, your tragedy is our tragedy. Your blood is our blood. We shall have no rest until we redeem you both from the Nazi hell and from this debilitating exile and bring you to the land we are building and redeeming in our land.” And of course begging takes over the Irgun and begins again the war against the British. “We are in the last stage of the World War.” This is his pamphlet to the Hebrew nation in Zion.

“Each and every nation is now conducting its national reckoning. What are the triumphs and what are the losses? What road must it take to achieve its goal and fulfil its mission? Who are its friends? Who are its enemies? Who is the true ally and who is the traitor and who is proceeding towards the decisive battle. Sons of Israel, Hebrew youth, we stand at the final stage of war. We face a historic decision on our future destiny. The truths proclaimed were more broke out as being violated by the British authorities. The rulers of the country have taken into account neither loyalty nor concession nor sacrifice. They have continued to implement their aim, the liquidation of sovereign Zionism. We must draw the necessary conclusions without wavering. There can no longer be a truce between the Hebrew nation and youth and the British administration of the land of Israel, which is betraying our brethren to Hitler. Our nation will fight this regime right to the end. Rule over Eretz Israel must immediately be handed over to a provisional Hebrew government. The Hebrew government of Eretz Israel, the sole legal representative of the Jewish people must immediately after its establishment begin the implementation of the following principles and established a Jewish army. Conduct negotiations with authorised bodies on the organisation of the mass evacuation of European Jewry to the land of Israel.

The establishment of the Hebrew government and the implementation of its plans, this is the sole way of rescuing our people, salvaging our existence and our honour. We will follow this path for is no other, we will fight. Every Jew in our homeland would fight. Jews, our fighting youth will not be deterred by victims’ blood and suffering. They will not surrender. We will not rest until they restore our past glory, until they ensure our people of a homeland, freedom, honour, bread, justice and law. And if you help them, then your own eyes will soon behold the return to Zion and the rebirth of Israel. May God be with us and aid us.” And here you see, these are the various organisations and I’ll be talking much more about them. The Hagana and it’s fighting on the Palmach, the woman of the Hagana and there you see the Irgun. That is the original British mandate on Palestine. Two-thirds of it have been chopped off in 1921 by Churchill. Created trans Jordan, no Jewish settlement there. And that is the signal of the Irgun. So, and now Begin has said that we have to rejoin the fight against the British. Okay. Can we go on please? Because the next stage is going to be the assassination by the Lechi, not the Irgun, by the Lechi of Lord Moyne, who is close friend of Churchill and is in charge of the Middle East. And I’m going to stop there because I think it’s important I spend more time, this is very important, all of this information. I know it’s tough and I think it’s probably tough to receive as well, but it does if you like, give you a notion of exactly what is going on.

Q&A and Comments:

Oh, you are good. You are good. You always pick me up, don’t you? So Edward VIII, of course Edward VIII. Edward VII was actually very friendly to Jews and had lots of Jewish advisors. Arlene Goldmark, it’s ironic, the long-term mistress of Kennedy Senior was Gloria Swanson, who was Jewish. I think Edward VII was married to Alex and died in 819. Yes, of course he was. I misspoke. Edward VII was married to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. And her sister Marie was married to Tsar Alexander III. So, George V and the last of the Tsars were first cousins.

Yes, it was Edward VIII. Yes. You’re all picking me up. Yes. Esther Moss.

Q: Why weren’t his father’s prejudices made public during his campaign for president?

A: Esther, I’m sure you can work the answer out, I’m sure we can work that answer out.

Isn’t it interesting says Robert, that a Jewess would be intimate with a Jew hater. Look, history is full of strangeness.

Q: Is it true that the father of Wallis Simpson was a ship builder who built the vessel, which ended up at Sny as the ship exes?

A: Oh, something’s at the back of my mind. I’ll have to check that for you, Steven. What I do know is that Mr. Simpson was in fact Jewish. It’s funny because his grandfather endowed, he went off to America and made a fortune and he actually endowed his former congregation, the Jewish community in Plymouth in the west country. Hi again from Hindi. I feel that had the English not won in Egypt, North Africa, the Nazis had plans for 700,000 Jews in the Ashu. They had a Einsatzgruppen eager to kill them. These European Jews were there because England let them in until 1936. Well, yes, all these ironies of history.

Yes, we know that the Einsatzgruppen, and you’re totally correct, was to follow Romel’s army. And we know that the Hishu have called it the days of dread. And of course if they had made it to Palestine, they would’ve liquidated the community. Of course they would.

Oh this is Jeremy. My grandfather, Frank Renton served on the Board of Deputies with Nick Nevalasky. John Norman, curious and ironic that Palestinians are never called for the return of the Jordanian portion of Palestine and still do not, nor do their allies of war. Many of them consumed by cultural and political hypocrisy. The only way to deal with this whole situation is slowly, slowly going through it all. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t such a thing as Palestinian nationalism today. So let’s be very careful. Considering German Austrian Jews, Emory aliens, when Jews are being persecuted by Hitler makes no sense except for the underlying anti-Semitism of the British. Look, what can I say to you? There was a war on, I’m not going to make excuses. I don’t think it was the underlying antisemitism of some of the British, but also fear. A lot of fear. Nobody bothered to investigate. There’d be many times in history when this sort of thing has happened.

Carol, I had a colleague who managed to escape from Germany. He was then deported to Australia in the camps. Then wonder of wonders he’s recruited to infiltrate to Germany on the British side. Yes, German Jews were incredibly useful to the Germans, to the British Army. Of course they were. They had perfect German and some of them were incredibly brave. I know that one, yeah, some of them have some extraordinary stories.

Michael, the British depended to a large extent on mid Eastern oil to supply its war effort. Oil was more important than anything else. The Brits were not going to upset the allies and jeopardise their oil supplies. During the war, the allies had to hold onto Suez and keep the Nazis from getting. Yes, of course. It’s always economics, isn’t it? Yeah, sure. Yeah. You see what you’re looking at is a whole, Michael, I think you’re looking at a whole confluence of ideas that all come together. They don’t do it for one reason alone. People are not straightforward in their motivation either. And we’re going to see that Lord Moyne wasn’t straightforward in his view. In fact, in some ways he was considered by many English, a real English adventurer. So, and also a relative of Churchill’s wife and a very close friend of Churchill.

Q: Were the Lechi right to assassinate him is a huge question?

A: Depends what side of the fence you’re going to be on. But sure oil was important. Look, in the end, I think we’ve got to say the British were there for their own interests. And I don’t believe that every Brit was an antisemite. Not at all and there were many who were very sympathetic.

To John Norma, I’ve been saying what you have said for many years. Never forget that Black September, the terrorist group of whom Leila Khalid was a prominent member takes its name from the exultion of Palestine from Jordan by the Hashemite King.

Sure, exactly, Harry, you know it’s a complicated story this. I have lectured on the divisions of Palestine and I believe that the website is going to be finished by the end of June. So you’ll be able, and of course there are so many books. May I advise you because obviously Harry and John have got a lot of information. May I advise you, those of you who aren’t completely familiar with the geography, Martin Gilbert’s MacBook on the Arab Israeli conflict is brilliant because it’s so clear.

This is Susan. Hello Susan. Coming down soon. It’s all right. Susan’s a friend from Cornwall. My mother was a Vietnamese Jew who came to England in 1938. She was initially regarded as an enemy alien and had to report to a police station fortnightly and appear before a tribunal. On the 30th of October ‘39 she was declared exempted from internment as she was a genuine refugee from Nazi oppression. Father dead, mother and sister in Paris. No relatives in Germany. Has no sympathy with Nazis and no desire to return to Germany, no danger to this country. You’ve done amazing research, Susan, to have these documents.

Q: Why were the British so intent to occupy Palestine?

A: Aha. Look at the end of the first World War, you’ve got to remember it was still the age of empire. And the British dreamt of an empire that stretched from Suez to India and also they wanted to control the oil. They wanted to stop the French building empires. And after the first World War, because the Americans hated colonies, they created mandates. And the French had a mandate. There was no map of the Middle East as you know it today, Madeleine. Get hold of an Atlas, get hold of the Arab Israeli conflict in maps. It was all divided up. It was all part of the Ottoman Empire. And what happens is new countries are born, but they have very old histories. Damascus goes back to being the centre of one of the greatest Arab dynasties as does Baghdad, the omiad and the abesit. What happens is the French are given Syria by the League of Nations at the end of the first World War, the British Palestine in Iraq. In 1921, Churchill to try and solve the problem chops off one third of the mandate and gives two thirds to the Hashemite Abdullah who had done the British huge favours in the war. But I’ve lectured at this at length and there are so many books on it.

This is for Marty. I hope that satisfies, Madeline. But really try and get hold of Martin Gilbert’s book 'cause it’s so clear. One of the boats carrying Jews to Palestine during the time was named after my great uncle, Uncle Berl Katznelson, an early socialist and Golda Meirs mentor. Wow, he was quite a hero, wasn’t he, Marty? That’s Yukos.

Adrian. In 1938, the British government pressurises Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey to disallow Jewish refugees from passing through their territories. Exactly Adrian. Adrian has so much knowledge. And those of you when you go to Israel, he’s a brilliant guide. The Mid East had oil for British industry. Yeah. BBC Radio 4, 1:45 every day.

This is from Adrian. Oyneg Shabbat about the hidden archives of the Warsaw ghetto. A very important story. Very important. Thank you for that.

This is from Michelle. Ziegelbaum’s tragic suicide note only confirms the obvious uncomfortable truth that evil only succeeds if the majority remain passive silent. You said in one of your lectures that 230,000 Jews that survived the war in Europe from 6 million, that is unbelievable. No, it’s more, it’s actually more than that. I said in Eastern Europe, Thelmine, and it’s actually more than that. A third of all Jews were murdered. Out of a pre-war total of 18 million 12 million survived. But of course you have the Jews of America, the Jews of Palestine, the Jews of South Africa, the Jews of England, but some did survive in Europe, either in hiding or sometimes because of righteous people. I’m going to be talking about rescuers because we don’t give enough time to the good of the world. I’m going to look up rescuers and I’m going to look at the righteous ones. Try and let’s see if we can work out their DNA.

Yehuda, Brodetsky’s legacy was still in evidence leads math department in the late 70’s. Yes, he was a brilliant man. Leon, please provide date and reference to Ben-Gurion’s statement. Yes, I think I can do that. It’s his address to the Issue of National Council. November the 29th, 1942. Cited in, can’t read my own writing. Oh Ben-Gurion, the running ground, all right. Hope that solves that problem.

Carol, nine. No, not just from the counts Carol, it’s also from the people who’d fled into Russia. The ship was named after Wallis’s relative warfield. I need more information on that please. Michael, the date of the last Ben-Gurion speech. 29th of November, 1942. This is before the Warsaw ghetto uprising and just before the Allied Declaration. Remember the Allied Declaration was December the 17th, 1942 for the murdered Jews of Europe. And that’s when Sydney Silverman demanded a minutes silence. And of course Zygelbojm was in London. He was a Bundus but part of the Polish government in exile. It was the Polish government. You see some of the members of the Polish government in London were very righteous. Jan Karski was working for them and he smuggled himself into the Warsaw ghetto bringing back evidence.

Yes, exactly, Jonathan. Lord Moyne was a member of the Guinness family and was a first cousin of Clementine Churchill. Those of you who live in Hampstead and visit Kenwood House, it was given as a gift to the British by Lord Moyne’s father. It’s wonderful, fascinating to go to Kenwood House. Beautiful spot. There’s a Vermeer there and a Rembrandt. It’s believed that Hajamine was to build a concentration camp at Lubus. Well he was up, as I’ve already said, he was up to his neck with the Nazis, wasn’t he? Wasn’t it so embarrassing, perhaps for the British to have to leave Palestine as no funds or the will left to say.

Q: Is consequent lack of support from British government and media for Israel a consequence of having to leave the territory?

A: Selena, you have asked me an incredibly complicated question and I will be answering it in a lecture because I have to talk about that in a lecture. It’s too big a subject.

My question, Fanny was on this Struma. Her death has haunted me all my adult life, especially when we visited the Bosphorus. I think you mean your cousin, Fanny? Why did the Russians sink the ship? They sunk the ship because they believed it was to do with the enemy. They didn’t do it to murder Jews. But what a terrible, terrible story.

Monti says if you visit Aker you could see the gallows where the British hanged Irgun fighters, yes. All the British Jewish legion wore a shoulder patch in Palestine. Yes, I showed you the insignia. Yes, but the British Jewish Legion didn’t fight until '44. They weren’t allowed in til '44.

Q: Was Henry Kissinger one of the Jewish Germans in the US Army?

A: I’m not sure, I’d love the answer to that. Maybe someone would do some research or will know the answer. I think there were no Palestinians until about '67. There were and still are Arabs.

Hold on, Merna. Let’s be careful. Don’t let’s get to that debate yet. Shelly Shapiro, a new book called “The Windsors War” by Alexander Laman uses newly revealed documents to show what a traitor and Nazi sympathiser the Duke of Windsor was. Motto from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. That’s a Hamas motto, yeah.

Nigel, as you have rightly explained, it’s a very complicated and complex story to which you have given content. One of the aspects of British policy in Palestine was to endeavour not to drive the Arab countries to side with the Nazis and we both know how that one ended. Yes, of course. You see the British couldn’t afford. You see in the first World War, they had induced the Arabs to side with the Turks promising them land after the war. They had actually, if you think about it, it was the Emir Hussein who was Sharif of Mecca. They thought he was the most important man in the Arab world. He was the descendant of the prophet. His son Faisal and Abdullah, they fought with the British and after the war the British gave Faisal a consolation prize of Iraq and they gave Abdullah the consolation prize of Jordan, which they had so promised about for declaration too. Look, in the war, the British made promises to the French, the Jews, the Arabs. Nice to hear from you, Nigel.

Naomi is giving us something. I’m not sure what. Davis Warfield was Wallis’s uncle. The link to Atlantic Drift documentary about the ship sent to Moroc. But thank you, Mauritius. Thank you Naomi. The full name of the author Martin. Let’s go back, see if we can find that.

Oh, Michelle is answering my issue. Kissinger was drafted into counterintelligence core in 1943. I do love this group. You know I’ve often said it. Michael Ofsted, there was also a shoulder patch, HMJF, His Majesty’s Jewish Forces. You remember the ship, the Exodus the film the “Exodus?” Otto Preminger’s film? When Ari Ben Canaan, his fictitious character says how he wore that badge. Mauritius.

Yes. Okay. I think that’s all the questions. Thank you very much, Emily. And if you could attach the last slides to my other presentation, I’d be very grateful. And I will begin with Lord Moyne and I will see you all next Wednesday. 'Cause as I said, I’m swapping with Patrick next week. So lots of love, everybody. I know it’s tough, but I think we’ve just got to go through all of this. I do believe knowledge is strength, by the way. So lots of love to everyone. Bye.