Revisionist Zionism in America: the Ac Mpaign to Win American Public Support, 1939-1948 Joanna Maura Saidel University of New Hampshire, Durham
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Winter 1994 Revisionist Zionism in America: The ac mpaign to win American public support, 1939-1948 Joanna Maura Saidel University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Saidel, Joanna Maura, "Revisionist Zionism in America: The campaign to win American public support, 1939-1948" (1994). Doctoral Dissertations. 1824. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/1824 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter free, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zed) Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. REVISIONIST ZIONISM IN AMERICA: THE CAMPAIGN TO WIN AMERICAN PUBLIC SUPPORT 1939-1948 BY JOANNA MAURA SAIDEL A. A., Merrimack Valley College, 1975 B. G. S., School for Lifelong Learning, 1983 M. A. L. S., Keene State College, 1984 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History December, 1994 Revised 1997 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9518489 Copyright 1994 by Saidel, Joanna Maura All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9518489 Copyright 1995, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED c 1994 Joanna Maura Saidel Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation has been examined and approved. Dissertation Director, Dr. John Obert Voll, Professor o f History Dr. Charles A. Hildebrandt, Professor of Sociology, Keene State College Dr. Mark Schwarz, Associate Professor of History Dr. Harvard Sitkoff, Professor of History Dr. Douglas Wheeler, Professor of History Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following people for their assistance, support, and cooperation in helping me to write this dissertation: the director of my dissertation, Professor John Obert Voll; members of my dissertation committee, Professor Mark Schwarz, Professor Douglas Wheeler, Professor Harvard Sitkoff, and and Professor Charles Hildebrandt. I would also like to thank Professor William Harris, Professor Clark and Dr. Joel Klein for their help and support. I deeply appreciate the support and cooperation which I received while completing the interviews which were vital to this dissertation. I wish to thank Yitshak Shamir, Dr. Alex Raphaeli, Hillel Kook, Shmuel Katz, Professor Ben Zion Netanyahu, Shmuel Merlin, Dr. Israel Eldad, David Wyman, Professor Nadav Safran, Walter Laqueur, Ambassador Parker T. Hart, Ambassador Richard Murphy, and Abba Eban. I would also like to thank those who helped with research, Ricki Garti, Assistant Director of the Oral History Division at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Mr. Bildger, archivist at the Truman Library; Professor Betty Maset researcher at the Roosevelt Library; Jeff Urbin, Truman Scholar at the Roosevelt Library; the F.B.I., C.I.A., and the archivists at the Central Zionist Archives, Jerusalem,. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................iv ABSTRACT............................................................................................. vi CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 1 1. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT............... 19 2. REVISIONIST ZIONISM COMES TO AMERICA....................... 38 3. THE BATTLE FOR A JEWISH ARMY...................................... 63 4. BERMUDA............................................................................. 94 5. THE FIGHT FOR A JEWISH STATE........................................ 108 6. ROOSEVELT AND PALESTINE............................................... 181 7. RESCUE AND PARTITION ............................................... 208 8. REUBEN HECHT: THE EUROPEAN CONTACT ......................... 240 9. BEGIN VISITS THE UNITED STATES ......................... 260 10. A QUESTION OF TERMINOLOGY.......................................... 274 11. CONCLUSIONS...................................................................... 302 APPENDICES................................................................................. 311 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................. 370 GLOSSARY................................................ 380 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT REVISIONIST ZIONISM IN AMERICA: THE CAMPAIGN TO WIN PUBLIC SUPPORT 1939-1948 by Joanna Maura Saidel University of New Hampshire, December, 1994 Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, followers of the Zionist Revisionists went to the United States at the urging of their leader, Vladimir Jabotinsky. They established two groups which initially attempted to gain public support for the creation of a Jewish Army. The New Zionist Organization of America, headed by Benzion Netanyahu, followed the Revisionist political party. Its campaign exposed the anti-Jewish position of the British in Palestine. It was effective in placing the Palestine problem on the world (rather than regional) agenda of the State Department The Irgun Delegation to the United States, headed by Hillel Kook (Peter Bergson), acted independently, in defiance of the Revisionist political party. While assisting in some rescue work for the underground Irgun Z’vai Leumi, the American delegation did work which was primarily political and educational. Though independent of one another, the efforts of both groups vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. heightened public awareness of the extermination of European Jewry. They created a nationwide advertisement campaign which pressured the United States government through growing public support They fought for a Jewish Army and later for statehood. They were the pioneers of the Jewish lobby in America. The Irgun Delegation provided intelligence to the United States in World War II and aided in the rescue of American airmen. They also helped to forestall the pro-Arab policy of Franklin Roosevelt His allegiance and promises to Ibn Saud resulted from wartime national security concerns which necessitated Saudi oil concessions and guarantees for an American air base at Dharan. The Irgun Delegation to the United States and the New Zionist Organization of America have generally been overlooked, or incorrectly described, in American Jewish historiography. Personal interviews, F.B.I. files, and government documents confirms that they were two distinct, independent organizations having different philosophies and goals. They remained neutral toward one another until Hillel Kook called for a democratic (rather than Jewish) state in Palestine. This resulted in charges that the Irgun Delegation was anti-Zionist and in an open attack by the NZO. The antagonism which existed between the two groups was never totally resolved. vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further