Israel's Moment: International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945–1949

518 Pages·2022·6.306 MB·English

by  Jeffrey Herf

Israel’s Moment
Israel’sMomentisamajornewaccountofhowaJewishstatecametobe
forgedintheshadowofWorldWarIIandtheHolocaustandtheonsetof
the Cold War. Drawing on new research in government, public and
privatearchives,JeffreyHerf exposesthepoliticalrealitiesthat under-
pinnedsupportforandoppositiontoZionistaspirationsinPalestine.In
an unprecedented international account, he explores the role of the
United States, the Arab States, the Palestine Arabs, the Zionists, and
key European governments from Britain and France to the Soviet
Union,Czechoslovakiaand Poland. Hisfindingsreveal a spectrumof
support and opposition that stood in sharp contrast to the political
coordinatesthatemergedduringtheColdWar,sheddingnewlighton
howandwhythestateofIsraelwasestablishedin1948andchallenging
conventionalassociationsofleftandright,imperialismandanti-imperi-
alism,andracismandanti-racism.
Jeffrey Herf is a Distinguished University Professor of Modern
European history at the University of Maryland. He is the author of
UndeclaredWarswithIsrael:EastGermanyandtheWestGermanFarLeft,
1967–1989 (2016). He is a member of the American Historical
AssociationandtheGermanStudiesAssociation.

’
Israel s Moment
International Support for and Opposition
to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945–1949
Jeffrey Herf
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DOI:10.1017/9781009049221
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Contents
ListofFigures pageix
ListofMaps xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xiv
ANoteonStyle xvii
1 Introduction 1
2 ZionistMomentumandtheWarCrimesIssueinthe
UnitedStates,1944–1945 24
3 AmericanLiberalsandLeftistsSupportZionist
Aspirations,1945–1947 69
4 HajAminal-HusseiniandtheFrenchGovernment:
May1945–May1946 106
5 The“QuestionofPalestine”attheUnitedNations
GeneralAssembly’sFirstSpecialSession:
April–May1947 131
6 TheTrumanDoctrine,theColdWar,andJewish
Refugees,Spring1947 153
7 TheFrenchGovernment,JewishImmigrationto
Palestine,andtheExodusAffair 192
8 ZionistMomentumandtheUSandBritish
Governments’Counteroffensive:September–
December1947 223
9 TheUSStateDepartmentPolicyPlanningStaffMemos
OpposetheUNPartitionResolution:January–
February1948 263
vii
viii Contents
10 TheUSandUNArmsEmbargo:November
1947–May1948 292
11 ResponsesinWashington,theUnitedNations,
andinEuropetotheEstablishmentoftheStateofIsrael:
MayandJune1948 333
12 InternationalResponsestotheArab-IsraeliWarI:
May–June1948 349
13 InternationalResponsestotheArab-IsraeliWarII:
July–August1948 372
14 TheUSAandBritainAgaininOpposition:
FromtheBernadottePlantotheEndofthe1948War 399
15 Israel’sAdmissiontotheUN,andSharett
andBen-Gurion’sRetrospectives 437
16 Conclusion 452
Bibliography 464
Index 479
Figures
2.1 SenatorRobertF.Wagner,January1,1940. page25
2.2 CongressmanEmanuelCeller,April5,1943. 26
2.3 Massdemonstration,sponsoredbyAmericanZionist
EmergencyCouncilandAmericanJewishConference,
MadisonSquareGarden,NewYorkCity,June12,1946. 51
2.4 RabbisStephenS.Wise(right)ofNewYorkandAbba
H.SilverofCleveland,Ohio,co-chairmenoftheAmerican
ZionistEmergencyCouncil,aftertheyconferredwith
PresidentRooseveltattheWhiteHouse,March9,1944. 56
3.1 I.F.(IsidorFeinstein)Stone,NewYorkCity,January1,
1955. 80
3.2 FredaKirchwey,January1944inVogue. 83
5.1 AlfredFiderkiewiczwithAndreiGromykoandTrygveLie,
UNGeneralAssembly,firstSpecialSession. 137
5.2 AndreiGromykoaddressingUnitedNations,November29,
1947,speaksinfavorofanimmediatevoteonthePalestine
PartitionPlantoUNGeneralAssemblyatFlushing
Meadows. 147
5.3 GeorgeC.MarshallandWarrenR.Austinatopening
session,GeneralAssembly,UnitedNations,Flushing
Meadows,September16,1947. 148
6.1 JewishorphansfromBelsendisplaced-personscampin
GermanyarrivingatMarseilletoimmigratetoPalestine,
January1948. 164
6.2 USpresidentHarryTrumanandsecretaryofstateGeorge
Marshallshakehands,Washington,May29,1947. 165
7.1 ÉdouardDepreux,Frenchministerofinterior,speakingat
theformerheadquartersoftheGestapoatruedesSaussaies
inParis,March1947,duringtheinaugurationof
commemorativeplaquetothememoryofthosedeported
duringtheNazioccupation. 194
ix
x ListofFigures
7.2 Frenchinteriorminister(publicworks)JulesMochand
FrenchforeignministerGeorgesBidaultleavetheÉlysée
PalaceinParisafteracabinetmeetingtodiscussfiscalreform,
January1957. 195
8.1 USStateDepartmentMiddleEastexperts,November10,
1945atWhiteHouseaftermeetingPresidentTruman. 229
8.2 JamalHusseini,headoftheArabHigherCommittee,greets
AmirFaisalAlSaud,chairmanoftheSaudiArabian
delegation,beforetheopeningmeetingofthesecondregular
sessionofUNGeneralAssembly,September16,1947. 236
8.3 USundersecretaryofstateRobertA.Lovettanddirectorof
theStateDepartmentPolicyPlanningStaffGeorge
F.Kennan,September6,1947. 243
8.4 USsecretaryofstateGeorgeMarshallandBritishforeign
secretaryErnestBevin,attheUnitedNationsconferenceat
thePalaisdeChaillot,Paris,October16,1948. 244
9.1 ClarkM.Clifford,specialcounselforPresidentHarry
S.Truman,Washington,November1,1948. 284
9.2 ChaimWeizmannandEleanorRoosevelt,November14,
1947,LakeSuccess,NY,UnitedNations. 289
11.1 “May16,SalutetheJewishState,MassDemonstration,
MadisonSquareGarden,”AmericanZionistEmergency
CouncilannouncementofmeetinginthenewspaperPM. 339
11.2 SumnerWellesdeliverstalkon“Palestine’sRightful
Destiny,”May14,1946,totheAmericanChristianPalestine
CommitteeinBaltimore. 342
12.1 DavidBen-GurionreadsIsrael’sDeclarationof
Independence,TelAviv,May14,1948,duringceremony
foundingthestateofIsrael. 350
15.1 IsraeliforeignministerMosheShertokrequestsIsrael’s
admissiontotheUnitedNations,November29,1948toUN
SecretaryGeneral,TrygveLie.AtleftAbbaEban,firstIsraeli
ambassadortotheUN. 441