Anglo-Jewry and the State of Israel: Defining the Relationship, 1948-1956

Abstract

THE IMPACT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT of a Jewish state after two thousand years had immediate repercussions for Anglo-Jewry, necessitating a redefinition of the response of Anglo-Jewish leaders and institutions toward Zionism and of their attachment to the Jewish homeland. This article analyzes the evolution of an unprecedented modus operandi between the Anglo-Jewish community and Israel's representatives and seeks to fill a void in published research on the relationship between Anglo-Jewry and the State of Israel, which has been inexplicably conspicuously terra incognita.1 Our point of departure for this analysis is May 1948, when, having fostered the Jewish National Home, Britain, albeit reluctantly, was directly responsible for the birth of the State of Israel, and continues through to the Suez Crisis in October 1956, when Anglo-Jewry was embroiled in defining its stance on Israel's alleged collusion with Britain. Anglo-Jewry's response to the establishment of Israel was unique because of its historical and complex involvement in Britain's policy toward Zionism and the Jewish National Home. The role of Zionist activists was crucial during Britain's Mandate over Palestine as London became the pivot of the activities of the Jewish Agency Executive and the World Zionist Organization. This status, however, rapidly declined as Britain's policies were seen to be detrimental to the aspirations of the Zionist movement-policies that culminated, in the May 1939 White Paper, which set in motion the creation of an independent Arab state and the demise of the Jewish National Home. Following the Nazi occupation of Europe, the threat of an imminent Nazi invasion of Britain and Palestine became an increasing possibility. Thus the fate of Anglo-Jewry and the Yishuv (the Jewish community in Palestine prior to May 1948) lay in an outright victory and the total eradication of Hitler's Nazi war machine. Anglo-Jewry miraculously escaped