and much more...
THE MIRACLE OF
ISRAEL
Synopsis
When the American soldiers
discovered the “Jewish graveyard” left by the Nazis in Europe - as well as the
survivors of the concentration camps, they were unprepared for what they saw and
shocked by what they found. The surviving Jews had no homes to return to, little
or no family remaining and were suffering in dire poverty. The Sephardic as well
as the Ashkenazic Jewish communities of Europe were gone. Looking back,
they and their communities were devastated, and looking forward, the challenges
seemed insurmountable.
The film explores the remarkable
determination that the survivors had to rebuild their lives. It also
explores their faith during and after the Holocaust. For the many of survivors,
the Zionist dream of a Jewish homeland was their anchor of hope. For
others, it was their determination to rebuild their lives with material security
and safety. And yet for others, the faith that had sustained them through
their darkest days, became the building block of re-creating a Torah life -
wherever they could. For example, the communities of the Chassidic
dynasties such as Sanz, Bobov, Satmar and the Torah institutions and communities
of Ponevich, Mir, Telze, just to name a few.
The antisemitism by
local Europeans continued even after World War II, especially among the Poles.
There were pogroms and Jews were killed, often by people they knew. Emigration
to other non-European countries was often not an option, as the quota system
instituted against Jews before World War II was still in effect, even after the
Holocaust. Only 1500 Jews per month were allowed by the British to enter
Palestine, as England did not want to antagonize the Muslim world. The vast
majority of survivors were classified as Displaced Persons and were placed in DP
camps. Once again, they were living under armed guard, in poverty and unwanted.
When U.S. representatives saw the situation in the DP camps, they pressed the
British to let in 100,000 Jews to Palestine, to no avail. The American JDC and
British JRC led the way in supplying these people with food, medicine and
schools.
The sympathy for the Jews in general and for Zionism in
particular grew markedly as a result of what the Jews suffered under the Nazis.
The British ignoring their legal obligation under the terms of The Mandate
illegally restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The political situation
was reaching a breaking point. The British “occupiers” were unpopular to both
the Arabs and Jews. The Jews were split as to how to deal with the British in
Palestine. Some, led by David Ben Gurion and Chaim Weizman believed in
negotiations and political pressure, while others led by Menachem Begin believed
the only way to create the State was to fight for it – and drive the British
out.
The route through and from Europe was treacherous for the
Jewish refugees seeking to enter Palestine. Thousands braved the elements and
made it to the shores of Palestine, only to see 62 of 63 immigrant ships be
turned away by the British blockade. The most famous of these ships, the Exodus,
created a standoff between its 4,500 Jewish survivors and the British.
Eventually the British sent the refugees back to France, and when the Jews
refused to disembark they shipped back to the “death land” - Germany. The
inhumanity of the action and the iron will of the survivors swayed world public
opinion.
In 1946, the British attempted to defeat any Jewish
opposition by arresting 5000 Jews in Palestine, including the leaders of the
Hagannah and the Jewish Agency. The Irgun reacted by bombing the headquarters of
the British forces at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
From
1945-1948, there was a groundswell of public support for the State of Israel by
Jews world-wide, and in the United States in particular. Meanwhile, in
Palestine, bombings and retaliatory murders are daily occurrences, as the
British were unsuccessful at keeping the peace between Jew and Arabs. Eventually
British Prime Minister Bevin decided that England would give up its rule over
Palestine and handed the problem over to the United Nations to
solve.
At the same time, the Cold War between the Soviet Union and
the Free World escalated. Stalin closed the doors on Soviet emigration
which prevented 3 million Jews from leaving. Furthermore, with the
official policy of atheism, being enforced, Jews were forbidden from practicing
their religion.
UNSCOP, The United Nations Committee on Palestine,
held hearings on September 1, 1947, to decide what course of action to recommend
to the UN regarding Palestine. Remarkably it was 50 years to the day
(September 1, 1897) that Herzl wrote in his diary, “in 50 years, a Jewish State
would be created.”
UNSCOP recommended to partition Palestine into
two states - one Jewish and one Arab. This Partition Plan was rejected by all
the Arab states. The resolution was passed in the United Nations with a
vote of 33-13. Amazingly, both the United States and the Soviet Union
supported the resolution, at the height of the Cold War. Russia believed that a
Jewish state with many Socialist and Communist ideals would lead it eventually
become part of the Soviet sphere of influence. This passing of the Partition
Plan negatively affected over 1 million Sephardic Jews living in Arab lands,
where the Muslims began turning against their Jewish
citizens.
Since there was no U.N. provision to implement the
Partition Plan, the Jews and Arabs were let to resolve the conflict
themselves. Arab violence escalated and war quickly became the norm. By
May of 1948, 1256 Jews, mostly civilians, had been killed by Arabs. As the
war for Jewish survival increased, thousands of local Palestinians fled to
neighboring Arab countries – believing that when the Jews were defeated they
would return home.
On May 14, 1948, the British officially left
Palestine and on the same day, the State of Israel was immediately declared by
David Ben Gurion, acting as its provisional Prime Minister.
America was the first country to officially recognize the new
State of Israel - eleven minutes after it was declared. U.S. President Harry
Truman signed the letter of recognition - despite the objections by The United
States Secretary of State George Marshall and the entire State
Department.
Immediately after the declaration an all-out war broke
out between the Jews and Arabs. Seven Arab armies attacked the new Jewish
State - but were not united both militarily and politically. For example, the
Arab League was established in order to counter The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem’s
ambition to secure domination of Arab Palestine. At the same time, King
Abdullah of Jordan wanted to merge Palestine with his kingdom. Eventually, the
Arab forces began to lose the war.
As the war was raging the
Jewish leadership begged the local Palestinian Arabs not to abandon their homes
but the Arab leadership forbade the Arabs to return or live in areas under
Jewish rule.
Unfortunately, in one form or anther, the war and
battles that began in 1948 have continue to this day.
How different
the situation in the Middle East would have been today if the Arabs had opened
their hearts to live in peace with their Jewish neighbors - and had accepted the
UN Partition Plan, which so favorable to them.
