JUDAH MAGNES 
BIO MUSEUM RABBI A majority of the idea creation of a Jewish state there was the alternative proposed by Judah Magnes for a binational state
Magnes is virtually forgotten outside of university presses that bear his name. Glory be to this great figure of Zionism! We
read with passion all the discussions that preceded the creation of the State of Israel
Do not let the enemies of Israel the task of recovering these great figures as Jewish
Hugo Bergmann and many others who are Honor the Jewish people, even if the story does not give them reason.
Born in San Francisco, California, July 5, 1877
Died in New York, New York, October 27, 1948.
Judah Magnes was the first chancellor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between 1925 and 1935. After a decade the post of Chancellor, Magnes could draw several conclusions from its course. He left an institution of 450 students, 90 teachers some of whom were refugees, different faculties Humanities and headed by a university senate. When the office of Chancellor is abolished and Judah Magnes became president, he used that position to call for the reorganization of Zionist goals because he feared a takeover by the State University
cat inist The foundation of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1925
Dr. Magnes, who was also one of the founders of Brit Shalom
- an advocate of peace and brotherhood between Jews and Palestinian Arabs - invited representatives from Arab countries and leaders Arabs to attend the inauguration ceremony, asking even one of them to deliver a speech. Under his influence, the Jewish National Committee issued a Proclamation of Palestine to the Arab people introduced by these words: [It's] a national holiday, a cultural event for us: the opening day of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. We hope that this day is celebrated across the country. Particularly welcome among us will be members of the Arab nation that will join us in Jerusalem, the temple of science
mfa gov Haaretz "published for the first time extracts from diaries of Judah Leon Magnes, the Zionist leader who sought to obstruct the creation of the state.
save Jews themselves
AlterInfo Ofri Ilan
Haaretz, May 5, 2008
The medical examination conducted by Dr. Judah Leon Magnes Ehrenfels on, the president of the Hebrew University, had showed that his health was still fragile balance. Date: April 13, 1948. Magnes, a 70 year old man, patient, knows that his illness will soon because of it. Despite this, he decides to urgently fly to New York, and thence to the White House in Washington to stop the war raging in the country. It is hardly anyone outside of a pacifist group of teachers, but it has its input and influence at the top of the U.S. administration. The extracts from his diary, published here for the first time, highlight a forgotten chapter of the era of the War of Independence: the journey of Zionist leader who sought to convince the President of the United States to impose a cease-fire and prevent the implementation of the Partition Plan and the creation of the Jewish state. When
November 29, 1947, sharing decision was taken, all the Jewish Yishuv did not descend into the streets to party. A group of intellectuals, professors at the Hebrew University for the most part, was convinced that the war that broke out following the creation of the Jewish state would cause a catastrophe for the Arabs as for Jews. Judah Magnes, founder and chancellor of the Hebrew University, was a Reform rabbi, pacifist and anti-imperialist, among others known for his opposition to WWI. At the same time, it was one of the most important Zionist leaders of his time, a founder of the Jewish community in New York, and a key intermediary between the Zionist and the American administration. Since his immigration to Palestine in 1922, he supported the creation of a single state, binational, for Jews and Arabs, with a government composed of representatives of both peoples.
disciple of Gandhi and Jeremiah
Written in English, diaries Magnes are kept in the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish people in Jerusalem. He describes the despair caused by the civil war in the territories of the British Mandate nearing completion. Events of politics and war mingle with the worsening of his illness. He recounts his troubled sleep and nightmares.
"Unlike other Zionist leaders like Ben Gurion, Magnes newspapers are not just a political document," said Prof. Aryeh Goren, The Hebrew University who has studied and published writings Magnes . "His writing is very personal - it pours and talks about his doubts and weaknesses. "Magnes
considered himself a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and the prophet Jeremiah, and he opposed any kind nationalism based on military force. The association Ihud "he founded with some of his friends, is required for the symbol of the Zionist left the camp for all matters concerning relations with the Arabs. Its members were attacked by nearly all parties in the Yishuv, and treated defeatist mentality attached to the exile, and unpatriotic.
"Magnes predicted that even if we win the war, there would still be after a war, and yet another. There would be no end to it, "Goren said the professor. "Lorsqu'ont began fighting the War of Independence, he tried to stop the implementation of UN resolution and to promote the idea initiated by the then U.S. State Department, that freezes the UN partition resolution and imposes until both parties a 'trusteeship' with an interim government until an agreement on conditions for further regulation. Magnes thought it was time to stop the course of events, hoping that will establish itself in the meantime some understanding and the ability to talk. "
April 12, he wrote in his diary: "It is now more than a generation time that I preach peace, reconciliation and understanding. How could I not draw me to the world and say, 'Folks, stop the bloodshed. The agreement is possible. " For years I expect this time. "The American consul told him that if a trusteeship is not established before May 15, Palestine will enter a period" full of danger and bloodshed. " "It takes a courageous and constructive approach like mine," writes Magnes. "The time has come - Alone or with others, I will visit the United States to deliver this message. He hoped that if a state was proclaimed, the United States would impose sanctions on all Israel. "A war can be waged without money or ammunition," he told his supporters in the United States.
April 13 in the afternoon, Magnes, still asleep, was contacted by Brigadier Jones, commander of the British sector of Hebrew University, who announced that 34 employees of the University and Hospital Hadassah, whose hospital director, Dr Chaim Yasky were killed in an attack on a convoy on its way to Mount Scopus. Ultimately, it emerged that 77 people were killed in the attack - many were friends of Magnes. No less than by the massacre, Magnes was deeply shaken by the circumstances that led four days earlier, on April 9, took place the massacre in the village of Deir Yassin, where more than a hundred Palestinians were killed by members of the Irgun and Lehi. At the funeral of victims of the convoy, Magnes is the link between the two events and condemns "acts of cruelty that both sides have committed in the country, these days. " He is denounced as a traitor by many in the Yishuv, including professors from the University he directs.
"At the end, we will lose"
As he despairs of opportunity for political change within the Yishuv, its position is strengthened in the sense that only America can save the Jews themselves. "I'm going to New York with the hope that I can contribute to the peace of Jerusalem," he wrote. "We need the authority and power of the Security Council so that we table the weapons." According to Aryeh Goren, "Magnes feared that what happened in the Sheikh Jarah neighborhood of [the attack on the convoy traveling to Hadassah - ndt] happens all the Jews in the country. In his letters he expresses the fear of destruction of Jerusalem. "
Accompanied by his wife, Beatrice, and the doctor looking, Magnes went to Lod Airport. The U.S. consulate, which had organized the trip by plane, also feared the route: The road to the airport being exposed to sniper fire, they passed by the city of Rehovot. Magnes landed in the United States and began a series of meetings with diplomats and with Jewish leaders. He presented his plan: "A significant majority of Jews will say that if only they are allowed to immigrate and build for another 30 or 40 years, they did not need a state," he said during a meeting in New York. "A state, it will be possible to get a war and a war ... We can build anything 'to Haifa, Tiberias, Jaffa, and many other places in the country, but we like Germans - in the end we will lose the war. "
Magnes argued that" there are millions and millions of Muslims in the world, and they are not pressed for time ... Millions and millions of Arabs are willing to sacrifice their lives - they are relatively cheap - about the number of Jews who are miserable in the world. "
May 4, whereas in the Gush Etzion and the Lake of Tiberias fighting intensifies, Magnes met George Marshall, U.S. Secretary of State. "A solution to the problem of Palestine is only possible if the Arabs and Jews are required to meet to work out their salvation. A trusteeship will provide that opportunity, "he said to Marshall.
Marshal expressed his enthusiasm for the ideas of Magnes, but accompanies it to the exit. Near the door, Magnes Marshall asks: "Mr. Secretary, I ask you a direct question: is there a hope to impose a trusteeship? "Marshall replied in a hesitant manner. "The United States has offered to participate in an international military force to Palestine, but no country has joined the proposal." An American gentleman
The next day, he met U.S. President Harry Truman. Magnes said that "There are still a few days until May 15 (date of termination of the British mandate - O. Ilan). Truman made a vague answer. He thinks that the three monotheistic religions have common moral principles. If all three reach the agreement, the spiritual basis of Russian communism collapse. But, according to Truman, the Jewish leadership rejected his peace plan. "The Jews have rejected my proposal," said Truman Magnes. "You, Jews and Arabs, you spoil everything."
Over the past ten days, fighting has raged between the people of Chaim Weizman, who asked the administration to recognize the State of Israel that will be created, and supporters of "trusteeship". May 14, the day when Ben Gurion declared independence, Magnes, ill, was lying in his hotel room. The United States, on which he based his hopes, were quick to recognize the new state. According to Aryeh Goren, Magnes when she heard the news of the establishment of the State, he visited his son at the hotel "Waldorf Astoria" where resident Haim Weizman, his political opponent. He entered the chamber Weizman and shook his hand, congratulating him on his success. "Magnes was a gentleman U.S., "said Aryeh Goren. "Having lost, he went to congratulate Weizman.
Less than five months later, Magnes died in the United States. To Aryeh Goren, "there is no doubt that his trip to America has precipitated his death." His remains were transferred to Jerusalem, near the Sanhedria. Aryeh Goren said the desolation of what in Israel today, the figure is almost forgotten Magnes, outside the university presses that bear his name.
(Translation from Hebrew: Michel Ghys) *
"We can not collude with a society where nationalism has become a creed imposed. In light of our universal conception of the history of Jewish destiny, and because we are concerned about the situation and safety of Jews in other parts of the world, we can not agree with the policy direction that dominates the program Zionist current, and we do not support it. We believe that Jewish nationalism tends to create confusion among our companions on their place and function in society and diverts their attention from their historical role: living in religious community wherever they are ... The new Jewish voice speaks through the mouth Such guns ... is the new Torah of the Land of Israel. The world was chained to the madness of physical force. Heaven forbid that we should now follow up Judaism and the Jewish people to this madness. Judaism is a pagan who conquered much of the powerful diaspora. We thought at the time of romantic Zionism, that Zion would be redeemed by righteousness. All American Jews bear responsibility for this mistake, this mutation ... even those who do not agree with the actions of the executive pagan, but who sit with folded arms. Anesthesia leads to moral its atrophy. "
President Judah Magnes, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, during his opening statement at the beginning of 1946 -
Read the file on jewishvirtuallibrary: MYTHS AND REALITIES
Guide to the Israeli- Mitchell G. Bard Arab
"Most of the time, the greatest enemy of truth is not the lie - deliberate, premeditated or malicious - the greatest enemy of truth is the myth, persistent, repeated and persuasive. "
President John F. Kennedy
