SEWING THE SEEDS OF STATEHOOD: GARMENT UNIONS, AMERICAN LABOR, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL, 1917-1952 By ADAM M. HOWARD A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2003 Copyright 2003 by Adam M. Howard ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research and writing of this dissertation, spanning a period of five years, required assistance and understanding from a variety of individuals and groups, all of whom I wish to thank here. My advisor, Robert McMahon, has provided tremendous encouragement to me and this project since its first conception during his graduate seminar in diplomatic history. He instilled in me the courage necessary to attempt bridging three subfields of history, and his patience, insight, and willingness to allow his students to explore varied approaches to the study of diplomatic history are an inspiration. Robert Zieger, in whose research seminar this project germinated into a more mature study, offered tireless assistance and essential constructive criticism. Additionally, his critical assessments of my evidence and prose will influence my writing in the years to come. I also will always remember fondly our numerous conversations regarding the vicissitudes of many a baseball season, which served as needed distractions from the struggles of researching and writing a dissertation. Ken Wald has consistently backed my work both intellectually and financially through his position as the Chair of the Jewish Studies Center at the University of Florida and as a member of my committee. His availability and willingness to offer input and advice on a variety of topics have been most helpful in completing this study. iii I wish to thank my two other committee members, Brian Ward and Jessica Harland-Jacobs. Both offered insight and critical analysis from perspectives which allowed me to better define my themes and arguments. I would also like to acknowledge Joseph McCartin and Chen Jian, my two undergraduate mentors, who inspired my desire to become a graduate student in history and offered boundless support in helping me apply for graduate school. Additionally, I want to express gratitude for those faculty members at the University of Florida, State University of New York at Buffalo, and the State University of New York at Geneseo, who aroused my interest in the historical field through their courses and seminars while also offering assistance and advice throughout my undergraduate and graduate career. Generous funding for this project made the various research trips and time for writing possible. I wish to thank the Harry S. Truman Library, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Herbert Hoover Library, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, American Jewish Archives, YIVO Institute, American Jewish Historical Society, Feinstein Center, and British Politics Group for research and writing grants. I also want to thank the University of Florida for the Gerson Dissertation Fellowship, the Department of History for the Hanger Fellowship, and the Center for Jewish Studies for the Gerson Research Grant, all of which allowed for archival research and writing time critical to the completion of this dissertation. Just as importantly, I wish to thank my family, especially my parents Alice and Bruce, my brother Carl and sister-in-law Stacey, my aunt Sydne and Uncle Al, and my grandmother Beh. Their constant succor over the last five years made this dissertation iv possible. I also want to express gratitude to my friends, especially John, Don, Katie, Matt, and Laurie, for providing me much needed cathartic outlets as well as help with the daily challenges of graduate student life. Finally, I thank fellow graduate students at the University of Florida who I have worked with over the years for contributing their insight, assistance, and constructive criticism for my work and general intellectual pursuits. v TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Origins of American Labor Activism for the Zionist Project.......................................8 The Impact of Jews in the Garment Unions ...............................................................11 Voices in the Wilderness: The Genesis of the Labor Zionist Movement...................15 Bundists and Labor Zionists .......................................................................................17 The Rise of Poale Zion ...............................................................................................21 2 BREAKING THE BARRIERS: THE GROWTH OF LABOR ZIONISM AND THE PENETRATION OF THE JEWISH TRADE UNIONS, 1914-1928 ................32 Poale Zion and Early Assistance to the Jewish Labor Movement in Palestine..........34 World War I and American Jewish Aid to European Jewry ......................................35 Formation of the Jewish Legion .................................................................................37 A Turning Point: The Balfour Declaration.................................................................38 AFL Support for the Balfour Declaration...................................................................45 Reaching Out to the American Jewish Community: The American Jewish Congress.................................................................................................................50 Breaching the Trade Unions: The Origins of the Gewerkschaften Campaign and the National Labor Committee for Palestine .........................................................52 Searching for Succor: The First Histadrut Delegation in the United States...............57 Branching Out: The Evolution of Labor Zionism during the 1920s ..........................67 3 BUILDING A NATION: FUNDRAISING, COLONIZATION, IMMIGRATION, AND POLITICS, 1929-1943......................................................................................73 Embracing Histadrut: Being Pro-Palestine and Non-Zionist......................................75 New Avenues for Fundraising: The Development of the League for Labor Palestine, Third Seder Nights, and Music Festival Nights ....................................83 With Their Own Eyes: The Trade Union Delegation to Palestine .............................88 The Epiphany: Colonization for Jewish Refugees......................................................92 vi The Founders’ Dinner: A New Level of Trade-Union Commitment.........................99 The McDonald White Paper .....................................................................................104 Winds of War: The Impact of World War II on American Labor Activities in Palestine ...............................................................................................................107 The Political Chameleon: Franklin Roosevelt’s Relationship with American Labor and Palestine..............................................................................................116 Crisis and Decision: The American Jewish Conference and the Division of the Jewish Labor Committee .....................................................................................119 4 FULL COURT PRESS: THE MOBILIZATION OF AMERICAN LABOR FOR A JEWISH STATE IN PALESTINE, 1944-1947....................................................123 Speaking to Congress: Supporting House Resolutions Favoring a Jewish Commonwealth....................................................................................................127 The American Jewish Trade Union Committee for Palestine: Setting the Agenda for American Labor and a Jewish Homeland in Palestine...................................131 The British Labour Party Victory: High Hopes and Bitter Disappointment ............140 Defending the Workers: American Labor and Its Defense of Histadrut ..................150 With a Watchful Eye: The British Foreign Office and American Trade-Union Activism...............................................................................................................153 The Communist Factor: Communism, American Labor, and Support for a Jewish State in Palestine..................................................................................................162 Nation Building: The Direct Financing of Histadrut, Trade Schools, and Medical Centers .................................................................................................................169 The American Trade Union Council for Labor Palestine: The Complete Unification of the AFL and CIO on the Palestine Question ................................172 5 A STATE IS BORN: ELECTORAL POLITICS, MASS FUNDING, AND THE CREATION OF ISRAEL, 1948-1952......................................................................178 Months of Indecision: Protests over the U.S. Arms Embargo and Failure to Implement Partition .............................................................................................180 Rise of the New York State Labor Parties: The Origins of the American Labor Party and Liberal Party ........................................................................................184 New York, New York: The Looming Election and New York State Politics..........186