A Jewish Eyewitness on Zionism
If an Arab writer exposes Zionism and criticizes it, they are
labeled an enemy; if a European writes about it neutrally, highlighting the
dangers, evils, and wrongs, they are accused of anti-Semitic bias; but what should
one say when the writer is Jewish indeed, the director of the American Jewish
Council?
His Jewish identity protects him from the accusation of
hostility toward the Semitic people, and his American identity ensures his
preexisting sympathy for Israel; therefore, his testimony carries double weight
because neither his Judaism nor his Americanism could prevent him from seeing
the truth once he opened his eyes.
"He Who Knows the Truth Must
Proclaim It": Elmer Berger's Journey of Honesty and Integrity in Reporting.
As for this distinguished Jew, he is Dr. Elmer Berger, the
executive director of the American Jewish Council. He traveled across the
Middle East on a visit primarily intended to assess the condition of Jewish
minorities in those countries, so that he could subsequently report on what he
saw and heard. He visited Cairo, Baghdad, Beirut, Damascus, and Arab Jerusalem
in Jordan, concluding the tour with a visit to occupied Jerusalem in Israel.
The date of his first address was April 7, 1955; it was sent
from the ship that brought him from America across the Atlantic. A second
address followed from the ship, after which his letters began from Cairo, where
he sent six letters during the two weeks he stayed there. He then left letters
in Baghdad, sending one from there, followed by two from Beirut, two from
Damascus, four from Arab Jerusalem, four from occupied Jerusalem, and one from
Haifa. He concluded with four letters sent on his return journey—from the
airplane, the ship, Tangier, and Paris.
In total, he wrote twenty-six letters over two and a half
months. They were compiled into a small book, which I read and found marked by
precision, honesty, and truthfulness. From its title, I sensed the courage of
its author in confronting the Zionists, for he titled it: "He Who Knows
the Truth Must Speak It." All the letters were addressed jointly to
two people: the president of the Jewish Council and its secretary.
Berger Debunks the Propaganda: The
Difference Between What He Heard About the Arabs and What He Actually Saw.
Here are glimpses of what appeared in these letters, through
which the reader can form a picture of Israel in comparison to the Arab world.
While the Jewish visitor found across the Arab nations broad-mindedness,
generosity of spirit, moderation of opinion, tolerance of faith, and a spirit
of brotherhood, he could do nothing but express his profound astonishment at
the vast difference between what he found and what he had heard and been led to
believe by Zionist propaganda, which resonates throughout the world in general
and especially in the United States.
I say that while he found all these admirable qualities in the
Arab countries—qualities he had not expected—he witnessed the full extent of
hardship and oppression, and he, a Jew distinguished in his Judaism and a
prominent American in his Americanism, saw all of this hardship coming from
“Israel,” both before entering it and after.
Berger Confronts Hermann: The Struggle Between the State and the
Jewish Nation.
This is his first address, written on the ship as it crossed
the ocean. He recounts two incidents that occurred just days before leaving his
country. Regarding one of them, he says:
“You know the difficulties I faced when I tried to obtain a
visa to enter Israel. I had written an official letter to Ephraim Hermann—the
Israeli Consul General in New York—in addition to the regular application I had
submitted a few weeks earlier. The result was that I was invited to meet Mr.
Hermann for lunch. Instead of discussing the visa I requested, the conversation
turned to the reason that prompted me to go to Israel. Naturally, the
discussion then evolved—by the logic of context—into a very long conversation
about religious matters.
I think I can summarize what was discussed until late that
afternoon by saying it was a calm and thought-provoking conversation. However,
we concluded that the difference between his view and mine was like that
between two poles; there was no common ground at all. He, like most men in the
Israeli government, was deeply secular, with no trace of Jewish religious
feeling. He dedicates himself to what he calls ‘the Jewish nation’—it was not
enough for him to speak of a Jewish state. He said that the interests of the
Jewish nation worldwide come first, and from them the state emerges; for, he
explained, if you ensure that Jews around the world remain united as one
people, then this single people will take care of restoring Israel if it falls
into misfortune.
Berger Reveals: Israel’s Arrogant Approach to the Displacement
of Arab Jews.
The conversation led us to Israel’s attempt to relocate Jews
from their homelands to its territory. I learned from him how, during World War
II (that is, before the establishment of Israel), he represented the “Jewish
Agency” in Romania and tried at that time to gather money and influence to
bring Romanian Jews to Palestine—but he succeeded only to a small extent.
When I expressed my opinion on the incidents in North Africa,
which were stirred by Zionists, he told me that Israel, in truth, does not
really need Arab Jews. He even said, “I might be willing to give you ten Arab
Jews in exchange for a single American Jew,” implying that Zionist Israel does
this under the pretext of saving Jews from those around them. I was astonished
and objected, asking how Zionist Israel could imagine itself as a god saving
its subjects, and why it assumes that American Jews, for example, would
willingly leave their homeland to live there.
When I told him that a Jew, wherever he lives, naturally integrates
into the people of his country—sharing their life and participating as he
should—the supposed “Jewish problem” disappears entirely. He immediately
replied that such integration contradicts Israel’s goals, because it would
fragment the “Jewish people,” and the bond among its members—which Zionism
considers of paramount importance—would cease to exist.
Identity Conflict: American Jews’ Loyalty Between Faith and
Zionist Politics.
Then we had a long discussion about American Jews. My view is
that Judaism for them should remain purely a religious faith, without affecting
their loyalty to America in any way. His view—shared by all Zionists—is that
part of the Jewish religious faith itself should serve to establish a bond
uniting Jews worldwide as a single nation.
He admitted during our conversation that he personally does
not care about the faith for its own sake; he only wants it to serve as a tool
to achieve Zionist political goals. I frankly shared my perspective with him:
that Israel, in reality, seeks to distance Jews from their religion, creating
for them a purely secular political stance. I explained that this division,
splitting Jews into two groups—one aiming to gather Jews under political
objectives regardless of religious faith, and the other wishing for Jews to
remain citizens where they are while retaining their religious faith—is not
new. Its early signs appeared during the American and French revolutions in the
18th century.
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Source: From the book “Our Culture Confronting the Age”
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