Rav Kook wrote to the mizrachi delegation to one of the world Zionist congresses (Iggrot 571):
“מקור הציונות הוא המקור הקדוש העליון, התנ”ך. לא הד קול, שעם שנאוי בעולם הולך לבקש לו מקלט בטוח מרודפיו, אלא שגוי קדוש, סגולת העמים, גור אריה יהודה, נעור מתרדמתו הארוכה, והנה הוא הולך ושב אל נחלתו, אל גאון יעקב אשר אהב סלה”.
“The source of Zionism is the Holy High source, the Tanach. Not an [mere] echo, that a hated nation in the world is seeking a safe refuge from its enemies, but rather that a holy people, special among the nations, the lion-cub of Judah, is awakening from its long slumber, and is going and returning to its inheritance, to the pride of Jacob which he loved, Selah!”
May all realize that without understanding the spiritual roots of our mission, without connecting our mission to that which is eternal and holy, there will never be a chance at long-term success.
Amnon Lord in a recent column claims the answer is NO. In a wide-ranging discussion of the recent “revelations” that Teddy Kollek served as a British “informer” prior to 1948, Lord comes to the conclusion that what drove the Mapai during the 1940’s was enabling absolute political hegemony over the “Yishuv” and in order to do that they cooperated with the British in 2 crucial areas: 1) keeping the local Jewish population quiet insofar as to what was happening to Jews in Europe. and 2) cooperating in uprooting the Jewish underground groups such as the Irgun and the Lehi.
According to Lord, the Mapai’s purpose in all of this was to maintain political control – not necessarily to advance the cause of an independent Jewish state. For that matter he claims that Mapai was perfectly happy remaining in political control as a British vassal – as long as they had political control.
ב-1945, נוכח המאבק המתפתח בין בריטניה לבין המעצמות העולות – ברית המועצות וארצות הברית – על ארץ ישראל והמזרח התיכון, היה האינסטינקט הפחדני של הנהגת הסוכנות, קרי בן-גוריון ושרת, לקבל חסות ופרוטקשן מהשלטון הבריטי הקיים. מפא”י בכלל לא חתרה להקמת מדינה יהודית, אלא עודדה את הבריטים להישאר; המדינה היהודית הוקמה כמדינת אין-ברירה כאשר היה ברור שהבריטים זונחים את בן-גוריון וחבריו ומפקירים אותם לגורלם, אולי בציפייה שאלה יזעיקו אותם חזרה כדי להינצל משחיטה.
In 1945, in light of the conflict which was forming between Britain and the rising superpowers, the USSR and the USA, it was the cowardly instinct of the Agency leadership, that is Ben Gurion and Sharet, to receive protection from the British regime. Mapai made no efforts to establish a Jewish state, rather it encouraged the British to stay; the Jewish state was created as a “no-other-choice” state when it became clear that the British are abandoning Ben-Gurion and his friends and are leaving them to their own fate, perhaps with the hopes that this group [Ben Gurion] will call [the British] back in order to same themselves from [Arab] slaughter.
מבחינה מדינית, התנהגות כמו ההלשנה של טדי קולק יכולה לקבל צידוק רק אם האוריינטציה החד-צדדית לכיוון בריטניה מוכיחה את עצמה. אלא שהנהגת היישוב לא קיבלה שום דבר בתמורה לשיתוף הפעולה שלה במשך שנות המלחמה. עד 1942 ניתן היה להעלות ארצה אלפי יהודים כדי להצילם מידי הגרמנים, אך הבריטים לא אפשרו זאת, והנהגת הישוב המפא”יניקית לא לחצה עליהם ואפילו סייעה לעצור ספינות עולים. אותה אוריינטציה בריטית לא הניבה שום פרי גם אחרי המלחמה, באותה תקופה גורלית שבין מלחמת העולם למלחמת העצמאות. בניגוד למיתוס האקדמי התעמולתי הנפוץ היום, כאילו “העולם” שהרגיש אשם בגלל השואה הקים את המדינה היהודית, הבריטים, שהיו חלק קובע ב”עולם” הזה, בלמו עלייה לארץ והתנגדו נחרצות להקמת המדינה. הם גם עודדו את הערבים לתקוף את מדינת ישראל לאחר הכרזת העצמאות. לא ברור אם כך איזו תועלת לאומית ומדינית יכלה לצמוח ממדיניות הסזון. נראה שבאותה תקופה פוסט-מלחמתית שיתוף הפעולה של תחילת שנות ה-40 כבר הפך לעסק מושחת, לסימביוזה שארוחה אנינה של צדפות, רוסט-ביף ויין טוב, כפי שמופיע בדיווח על הפגישות בין קולק למפעיליו, מסמלת את מהותה.
From a political perspective, behavior such as the informing on Jews by Teddy Kollek can only receive legitimacy if the one-sided orientation towards Britain proves itself. Unfortunately, the leadership of the settlement receive nothing in return for their cooperation during the years of the war. Until 1942 it was possible to bring to Eretz Yisrael thousands of Jews in order to save them from the Germans, but the British did not allow this, and the Mapai leadership of the settlement did not pressure them and even aided them in capturing [illegal] immigrant ships. The same pro-British orientation did not give any fruit even after the war – during that fateful period between the world war and the war of independence. in contrast to the propagandistic academic mythology which is so popular today, as if the “world” which felt guilty because of the Holocaust established the Jewish state, the British, who were key players in this “world” obstructed immigration of Jews and firmly opposed a Jewish state. They also encouraged the Arabs to attack the state of Israel after the declaration of independence. It is thus unclear what kind of political or national benefit could have arisen out of the policy of informing on Jews [the “season”]. It seems that in that same post-war period, the cooperation of the early 40s had been transformed into a corrupt enterprise. [It transformed] into a symbiosis whose essence is captured by refined clam dinners, roast beef and good wine (as meetings between Kolek and his operators are described).
It is worth noting that not only was Kollek involved in informing on underground fighters, but he was also the one, as Lord points out, who handed over Joel Brand to the British – thus preventing his attempt at rescuing Hungarian Jewry.
באוטוביוגרפיה של שמואל תמיר, שיצאה שנים לאחר מותו, יש תיאור מפורט של “קליטתו” של יואל ברנד בקושטא על ידי אהוד אבריאל וטדי קולק. מי שקורא את הקטעים האלה לא יכול שלא להגיע למסקנה שמעצרו של ברנד על ידי הבריטים באחת מתחנות הרכבת בוצע בעזרתם הפעילה של קולק ואבריאל, כלומר שהם תפקדו כסוכנים בריטים. הסגרתו של יואל ברנד, שבא להציע לבריטים את העסקה של אייכמן להצלת יהודי הונגריה, נועדה קודם כל למנוע ממנו לקומם את דעת הקהל בארץ ובעולם היהודי. אפשר להתווכח אם היו סיכויים כלשהם לביצוע עסקת ה”משאיות תמורת דם”; אבל ודאי שניתן היה, בעזרת יואל ברנד, לבצע הרעשת עולמות על טבח יהודי הונגריה. זה בדיוק מה שהנהגת היישוב פחדה ממנו לאורך כל תקופת השואה, שמא דעת הקהל היהודית בארץ תצא משליטה.
In Shmuel Tamir’s autobiography, which was published years after his death, there is a detailed description of Joel Brand’s “absorption” in Istanbul by Ehud Avriel and Teddy Kolek. Whoever reads these sections can not help but arrive at the conclusion that Brand’s arrest by the British in one of the train stations was achieved through the active aide of Kolek and Avriel, that is, that they acted as British agents. The handing over of Joel Brand, who came to offer the British Eichman’s deal for the rescue of Hungarian Jewry, was intended primarily to keep him from stirring public opinion in Eretz Yisrael and in the Jewish world. One can argue whether there was any chance of success for the “trucks for blood” deal; But it is certain that it was possible, with the help of Joel Brand, to create a world-wide shakeup regarding the slaughter of Hungarian Jewry. This is precisely what the leadership of the Yeshuv feared throughout the entire Holocaust, lest the Jewish public opinion in Eretz Yisrael will move beyond its control.
So on this Holocaust Memorial Day and Independence Day period all I could think about was two things: 1) How the leaders of the Zionists (and later the State) will often do anything to maintain political power – and thus can’t be trusted with our welfare and 2) How miraculous it is that the Jews have a state despite of all this. Chag Sameach!!!
עד מתי עצל תשכב ע”ד מ”ש אם אין אני לי מי לי ואם לא עכשיו אימתי והן נגד ב’ דברים חכמה ומעשה.
אם אין אני לי מי לי הוא לענין חכמה כלומר שאם אין אני אחשוב בשבילי מי יחשוב בשבילי ואם לא עכשיו אימתי הוא לענין מעשה שאם עכשיו לא אעשה אימתי אעשה ואמרו עכשיו ולא אמרו היום כלומר אפילו באותו יום עצמו אם לא אעשה עכשיו אימתי.
וזהו ג”כ כאן עד מתי עצל תשכב הוא בהעדר המעשה כי כאשר שוכב אינו עושה כלום אבל יכול לחשוב. מתי תקום משנתך הוא בעדר המחשבה כלומר אם אין אתה עושה עכשיו אימתי תעשה ואם אתה אינך חושב בשבילך מי יחשוב בשבילך.
I have a tough time with letters like this the one about to be posted, simply because it may not fall in line with the opinions of my rabbeyim. However, the lessons we can learn from these letters are immeasurable. We need them to show how the zealots not only manipulated public opinion today and for generations to come, but they also managed to sideline important players while they were still alive. They sold the world a pack of lies, all under the guise of “Frimkeit.” Another topic of interest – person of interest, rather – is Rav Hirsh Pesach Frank, zt”l, Ravof Yerushalayim. The zealots have a real problem with him, since he accepted the job as Rav of the Rabbanut Yerushalayim, but they can’t deny his greatness like they do with others. So they came up with this story of how he lost 2 children to hunger – which is true, I think – and that’s why he HAD to take the Rabbanut job. That would be OK were it not for the following letter, which shows what he thought of the Hungarian Kanoyim. The letter was written to his Mechutan, who was active in the Mizrachi.Manipulating
‘As I wind up my letter, I should let his honor know a bit of the affairs of the town [Jerusalem], though it is not my way to write such things, for we could not write enough. However … directed us to inform his Honor. According to … his Honor has the ability to correct things. Having heard that it will of benefit, I find myself obligated to uncover the mystery enveloping the conduct of our city.
The Gaon, our Master RA”Y Hakohen Kook (may he live) was accepted here at Rav by the majority of the Holy Community here. It is well known that the members of Kollel Ungarin are envious of our Russian and Polish brethren. Especially, so that the proceeds earmarked to the Hungarians should increase, it is not good for them that the Chief Rabbi of the Holy City be other than Hungarian. So what did the members of Kollel Ungarin do? A few of them gathered together … At their head the old lad … He propagandized to found Vaad Ashkenazi (Ashkenazic Council). Now this old lad is a great expert in arranging elections from all, revealed only to him. The entire electrocal process is invisible. It is difficult to describe in writing his diligence in this matter. He puts together a list of a large committee, also a steering committee. On the surface, all is lovely. On the inside, all is rotten, for from the ranks of the Hungarians and Galicians he picks … youngsters and from the other kollelim, when he sees an old man or imbecile who won’t understand his tricks, he brings him into the Vaad. So the result of the invisible election is that he is the Secretary and young fellow… the Chairman. They write and sign tens of thousands of letters to America and the entire world in the name of all the Ashkenazim in Jerusalem … that Rav Hayyim Sonnenfeld is the Rav here, when all see and know that R. Hayyim Sonnenfeld was never, and will not be, the Rav, for he is an old, frail man for whom it is not possible to get involved in the affairs of the town. But this old lad uses him and his name as a pawn to destroy an entire city. He and his gang of empty fellows publicly, brazenly insult the Gaon Kook (may he live). The old lad got together with young writers who frequent the home of the ancient Rav Yishak Yerucham Diskin (may his light shine), for this old man is under the influence of young secretaries… They manipulate him whether way they please and obtain his signature for all their antics. In my estimation, he is not guilt at all for he cannot see writing, and signing is also difficult for him The secretaries made for him a stamp of his signature which is an exact replica and they write and sign whatever they please. Woe to a generation whose leaders are such lads, little foxes.
About six weeks ago, I spoke with Rav Hayyim Sonnenfeld, and at one point, I asked him if it right that he signs himself as the Rav of the Ashkenazim in our Holy City?… He answered me that the truth is, he himself does not sign so, but they made for him a stamp and wrote this on it. The Gaon, Our Master RAY Kook (may he live) is the Rav here. All the largest institutions are under his presidency. He is the Rav of the city and carries the burden of the community. They placed new, inexperienced people to carry the load of the community … These sycophants and insolent fellows stroke these old men to their advantage. I wrote these things hurriedly, without order, as it does not fit my temperament to take care of such things. The upshot is, if his Honor can publicize the truth that the aforementioned elder sages – without disparaging them – are not communal leaders and one cannot pay attention to their signature. The affairs of the Jerusalem community, general and specific, temporal and spiritual are neither the domain of the elder sages nor their followers, who as a rule are simple folks who have put on a cloack of hypocrisy, announcing that they are zealots of the Lord. They use the names of the elders sages to blind peoples eyes, while anyone discerning sees that their aim is not truth, They employ smut sheets to stir up controversy in Israel.
His honor should let me know if any benefit may come of my words, which are but a drop of the sea of what should be known… ‘
