“If I knew that it was possible to save all the children of Germany by transporting them to England, and only half by transferring them to the Land of Israel, I would choose the latter, for before us lies not only the numbers of these children but the historical reckoning of the people of Israel.”
David Ben-Gurion, December 7th 1938 (Quoted on pp 855-56 in Shabtai Teveth’s Ben-Gurion in a slightly different translation).
---
Yitzchak Gruenbaum was the first Interior Minister in the State of Israel. During the Holocaust, he served on the "Committee of Four" chosen at the outbreak of World War II to maintain contact with Polish Jewry and aid in their rescue. This is what he said:
“I think it is necessary to state here – Zionism is above everything.”
“I will not demand that the Jewish Agency allocate a sum of 300,000 or 100,000 pounds sterling to help European Jewry. And I think that whoever demands such things is performing an anti-Zionist act.”
Yitzchak Gruenbaum at a 1942 gathering in pre-state Israel (Yishuv) about rescue of Jews in Europe.
---
A five-page memorandum entitled "Comments on Aid and Rescue," authored at the beginning of 1943 by Apolinari Harglass. a Zionist activist from Poland who coordinated the Jewish Agency Rescue Committee's work, exposes the selection process of Jews from Europe.
"Whom should we save? ... Should we help everyone in need, without regard to the quality of the people? Should we not give this activity a Zionist-national character and try foremost to save those who can be of use to the Land of Israel and to Jewry? ...
[l]t seems cruel to put the question in this form, but unfortunately we must state that if we were able to save only 10,000 people from among the 50,000 who can contribute to building the country and the national revival of the people, as against saving a million Jews who will be a burden, or at best an apathetic element, we must restrain ourselves and save the 10,000 that can be productive from among 50,000--despite the accusations and pleas of the million.
"I take comfort from the fact that it will be impossible to apply this harsh principle 100 percent and that the million will get something also. But let us see that it does not get too much.
"We must save the children first, because they are the best material for the Yishuv. The pioneer youth must be saved, but specifically those who have received training and are spiritually able to perform Zionist labor. Zionist leaders must be saved, since they deserve something from the Zionist movement in return for their work ....
"The immigrants who have come via Teheran also demonstrate what distressing results arise from immigration without proper selection. Along with the pioneers and Zionist leaders come masses of people who have no connection with Zionism, people who are completely demoralized in the national sense."
----
This gives me pause when I reflect on the legacy of Zionist leaders.
